Friday was a full office day for Hugo. After work we went for another swim. There were clouds around, so it was a little cooler than the previous day, but the water was still very nice.

Back at the apartment we had a quick shower, then explored more of Cefalù’s narrow streets on the way to the cathedral.

Sunset over Cefalù harbour and the old stone pier

Caro beside the sea at sunset in Cefalù

Restaurants and palm trees in Cefalù Cathedral square at night

Cefalù Cathedral illuminated against the blue evening sky
Caro at a fork between two narrow cobbled streets in Cefalù

We stopped for gelato again. The board listed a piccolo cup at €2.50. Until then, a small cup or cone had usually meant one scoop, so for the first time in 53 days we decided not to share. Caro ordered a small wild-berry gelato and Hugo a small tiramisu.

Instead, they stacked both flavours into one small cup and still charged only €2.50. Coming from Croatia, where a single scoop had sometimes cost as much as €4, this was a bargain, but we were back to sharing.

Saturday was a proper rest day. We slept until almost 09:00 and only went out at about 10:30 for a swim.

The forecast showed rain and thunderstorms for most of the day, but there was a small gap in the weather. We optimistically took our sun umbrella to the beach.

On the way we bought a Sicilian mafalda filled with ham, cheese and sun-dried tomato. Mafalda is the sesame-covered Sicilian bread we had started seeing in the bakeries. We ate the sandwich on the beach under the umbrella, then went for a swim.

Hugo and Caro with a mafalda sandwich under their beach umbrella

The wind soon picked up and Hugo had to get out to close the umbrella before it blew away. We stayed in the water a little longer, but the storm kept moving closer and we eventually decided it was time to leave.

We timed it just-just. As we reached the apartment, the rain started.

It rained for most of the day. Hugo caught up on admin and work, while Caro painted and listened to more of her audiobook.

By evening the rain had cleared, so we went for another walk through streets we had not explored before.

Cefalù Cathedral illuminated at night beneath La Rocca

We found the former oil store of the Mandralisca family, where large storage jars are sunk partly into the floor. The room now forms part of the Museo Mandralisca.

Large storage jars sunk into the floor of the Mandralisca family oil store

We also visited Cefalù’s medieval washhouse. The Cefalino River runs underground beneath the town, through the washhouse and out towards the sea. Water fills the old stone basins through 22 cast-iron spouts, 15 of them shaped like lions’ heads.

Stone laundry basins inside Cefalù's medieval washhouse
Cast-iron water spouts and stone basins in Cefalù's medieval washhouse

At the cathedral we bought a gelato brioche with dark chocolate and pistachio gelato. As in Castellammare del Golfo, the two scoops were enormous. It seems that ordering gelato in brioche comes with a much bigger serving than ordering a cone or cup.

We were almost full afterwards. It felt more like a complete dinner than an ice cream.

A gelato brioche with dark chocolate and pistachio gelato in front of Cefalù Cathedral
Parmigiana di melanzane and a thick Sicilian bakery slice on a plate

We still bought parmigiana di melanzane and a thick bakery slice for later, although Hugo could not even finish his share.

Tomorrow we leave for Agrigento. This time we have already bought the train tickets.