Gratteri and Castelbuono

 I always make great friends when I travel and this trip is no exception.  Ines (German), Remo (Swiss) and Dachia (Russian), and I decided to rent a car and get out of Cefalu for a couple of excursions.  On Friday we met in the late afternoon and drove up into the mountains to two lovely old towns.  As we climb the mountains, here is a view of the coast (and humidity) we are leaving behind:

It's difficult to tell what people who live in Gratteri actually do.  It is isolated and small.  It has its own access to fresh water and there is also a water purification system in place.  The town is full of windy streets, very picturesque, super quiet and charming.  Nothing was open.  We just walked and took photos.  It was the late evening so people were hanging out in the wee piazzas and wondering about us as we walked by.

Here are some scenes from our walk:

From there, we drove to Castelbuono... in our little Fiat 500:

Castelbuono has a past that mixes Arab and Norman influences.  The construction of the castle, which is buono, began the in 14th century and wasn't finished until the 17th, I believe.  We were there in time for dinner.  The restaurant had at one point been nominated for a Michelin star.  The restaurant itself was a bit clumsy.  But the food was interesting a good.  We got an amuse bouche of a fluffy ricotta thingy and a eggy spinachy thingy.  For dinner, I had the pappardelle with pesto and a Sicilian red wine. 

We then walked back to the car.  The town was lit up so prettily.  Loveliness.