After leaving beautiful Taormina, we got on to the Autostrada and headed for Cefalu (Chefaloo). This way, we could avoid the horrid traffic of Messina that we had encountered on our first day in Sicily. This road was amazing. Not sure how many bridges and tunnels we went through but Kerrie had cramp in her arms from opening and closing Greg's helmet visor! Between every tunnel there was a stunning coastal view as we travelled over the bridges suspended in the air. We returned to the coast about 10km before Cefalu and followed the winding coastal path in to town.

Our hotel is perched on the side of a hill and has a great pool, private secure parking for the bike, coastal views and a delicious breakfast. We are glad that we are here for 3 nights. The only problem is that the town is at the bottom on the hill - great going down but not so good after dinner when we have to go back up.

As we arrived in Cefalu just after lunch we had plenty of time to wander through the narrow streets of the old town and along the beach. As usual, the town has an impressive Duomo as its central square. This fortress - basilica was built in 1131 and is very ornate inside. It never ceases to amaze us how these magnificent structures were built so long ago. It is surrounded by cloisters and a seminary and overlooks the old town. After wandering the narrow cobbled streets we sat by the water and watched the world go by. This was obviously a pastime of the local pensioners as well as there were several old gentlemen just sitting or wandering around the sea walls. We found a lovely restaurant down by the water for dinner and made the decision to spend the next day on an organised tour to visit 2 of the Aeolian Islands - Lipari and Vulcano.

The bus for our tour left the bottom of the hill at 6:40am so it was an earlier than usual start. As breakfast didn't start till 7 we thought we would miss out and have to settle for just a coffee. When we went down for the coffee, we discovered that breakfast was ready because we had to leave early - pretty impressive we thought!

A bus took us to Milazzo - back along the Autostrada we had ridden in on the day before. Unfortunately, this time there must have been an accident on the road as we were diverted in to the villages - quite a challenge for the bus driver. We were late for our boat trip and as soon as we boarded, we were off. The trip out to Lipari, the first island took just over an hour and Kerrie was glad she had her Sea Bands on her wrists as the trip was fast and not so calm. We had 2 and a half hours on Lipari to look around.

The main feature of Lipari is Punta Castagna, a fortress on the top of the cliff - yes, with another beautiful cathedral beside it - Basilica Cattedrale di S. Bartolomeo. The gold ornamentation inside this church was stunning in every sense of the word. There were also old pumice pits to explore and plenty of cafes by the water to relax in. We had lunch while we watched two fishermen untangle and repair their nets. Back on the boat, we were transported to Vulcano, only about 15 minutes away. As the name suggests, this is one of the active volcanos in the area. The attraction here was the black beaches, the ot (hot) water and the mud baths which many on the boat were soon trying out. We spent our time wandering along the narrow streets and enjoying the local coffee and gelati as the steam rose in a stream from the top of the volcano.

On the way back to Milazzo, the boat sailed around the mythological area of the Aeolian Islands including Papa Giovanni rock, Grotta degli Angeli (Angel's Cave) and the Piscina di Venere (Pool of Venus). Where we sat in the boat was shared by a group of school students and their teachers obviously on the way home from an excursion to the islands. After several head counts by the teachers and the usual antics of 12 year olds, including one being sea-sick, Kerrie decided that she was really happy that it was not 4L with her in charge! Kerrie decided to count the tunnels we went through on the way back - 42! It made us wonder had many we had travelled through so far on the trip?

Back in town at 7:30 we were hungry but satisfied with our day off the bike experiencing a brief visit to the beauty of the Aeolian Islands.

On Thursday we rode out of Cefalu to find the Targa Florio. The Targa Florio was an open road endurance car race that started in 1906, one year before the Isle of Man TT. The track was 72 km around the hills of Sicily and was a time trial, like the TT with cars starting at 15 second intervals. The race was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns and is now used as part of the World Rally Series. We were hoping to ride the length of this old race track but as we started our ride, it was easy to see why the race had been discontinued - the road was atrocious with much of it just falling away down the side of the mountains. We headed to Collesano, one end of the race road and expected to ride to the other end. About 5 km out of town the road ended! Looked like it had just washed away - so it was back to town to see if we could find another route. We found our way to Cerda, the town where the race began. This time we made it through town and out the other side until we met another Strada Chiusa (road closed) sign. I guess we were not destined to retrace the steps of the famous drivers from the past. Back in Cefalu Greg tried out the pool and we had a picnic lunch sitting in the sun and doing nothing in particular - is this what retirement is like?

On Friday we headed out of Cefalu and decided to ride the coast road to Palermo, only about 60km down the road. As we got closer to Palermo the traffic increased so it was up to the Autostrada for the last 15km. We had no trouble finding our hotel which is probably the biggest room we have had so far. The bike was tucked away safely in a parking garage for the next 24 hours and we set off on foot to explore this large city.

We wandered the streets up and down small alley ways through the markets. As with most of the cities we have visited in Italy the architecture is stunning and there is a town square on every corner. Quattro Canti or Piazza Vigliena has a beautiful fountain on each of the corners - a fountain about 4 storeys high. On the tourist map of Palermo there are 40 churches listed - just in the main part of the city. After walking for a couple of hours it was time for afternoon tea. What else would you have in the capital city of Palermo except Canoli and coffee! This Sicilian sweet treat was delicious and we may go back for another one before we leave.

For Greg, this would be the completion of his Godfather tour - The Palermo Opera House where in Godfather Part 3, Michael Corleone's daughter Mary was shot and killed on the steps. We are happy to report that they have cleaned all the blood away. We decided to take a tour of the Opera House and at the Senior's rate of 5 Euro each it was money well spent. Greg even got to sit in the seat occupied by Al Pacino (The Godfather) who is apparently the most famous "king" ever to sit in the Royal Box. This theatre is the 2nd largest one in Europe coming in just behind the Opera House in Paris.

After our tour we walked down to the ferry terminal where we would leave Sicily tomorrow. We picked up our tickets and checked the best entry point to get the bike safely on the ferry. We also found a very well stocked Scooter shop with heaps of accessories that Kerrie dreamed of having for her Vespa.

Dinner tonight was to be with company, Cheryl and Terry, who we met in Taormina. They are staying in a hotel about 50m from ours and will also be on the ferry to Sardinia tomorrow night.

Today is Saturday, 25th April, the 100th anniversary of Gallipolli. It feels rather strange not to have been to a Dawn Service or March to remember this important date in Australian history. It is also the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Italy at the end of World War 2. There are posters all over Palermo advertising the ceremonies that will take place. There are also posters of poppies - I guess they are a universal symbol of remembrance.

We spent our last day in Sicily filling in time until the ferry departs at 7:30pm - not hard to fill in the time at all. We found the food markets as we walked around town. The smells and noise told us how important these markets were to the locals. We stopped for a rest and ordered a conoli (we are hooked) and coffee at a little restaurant only to have the waitress walk us further down the street to a cafe that actually served what we wanted!

We stumbled across Casa Professa - a small square where they were setting up for a concert for the Festival of Liberation. There was another church in the square - of course. Even though Greg said he was churched out, we went in anyway. We are so glad we did. This church, built in the 17th century would have to be one, if not THE BEST church we have seen anywhere in Europe - including the Vatican. The Chieusa del Gesu has amazing murals on all walls and of course the ceiling. The carvings on the walls were so intricate that you could see every feature of the images depicted. Every little bit of marble used was sparkling clean. We were gobsmacked by the beauty of this church.

After more walking we found the city of Palermo to be a city of great contrast. There were all the high end retailers (even a Ducati shop - closed unfortunately) as well as the back street markets. The streets around the major tourist attractions such as the Opera were spotless but many of the smaller streets and back alleys were graffittied and the ground was heavily littered. Today the streets were very quiet and the traffic was manageable as it was a holiday - yesterday the streets were busy and we often found ourselves stepping back on to the footpaths as the traffic wizzed by - never take it for granted that the traffic will stop just because you have a green walk sign - pedestrians just don't rate!

Tonight we leave on the ferry for the next part of our adventure in Sardinia.

April 25th, 2015 100 Anniversary of Gallipolli LEST WE FORGET.