Termini Imerese, a chocolate lunch, and a night at Cefalù

12/19 - Cefalù to Termini Imerese - 21.43

Rising early, I was soon on the train to Cefalù, where I got back on the highway leading to Palermo. The day's stop was Termini Imerese, and the walk took me past giant orange groves and a small stretch of pines, where I ate an all-chocolate meal, lunch of champions. As you might imagine, I felt a bit strange after all that chocolaty goodness, so I struck up the courage to purchase two oranges from a fruit truck along the side of the road. Instead of the usual annoyance with such a small purchase, described two posts ago in further detail, I got a decidedly positive response, in that the fruit vendor waved me away when I tried to pay, saying Merry Christmas. Now, before I go on, I have to make it clear that I am not begging for food. I mention this because my mother is really worried that people will think I am out of money, and therefore need to beg for food. Nope, that is not the case; rather, the people in this part of the country especially are extremely generous, and I have simply been the recipient of this generosity numerous times.

It was grey and rainy when Termini first came into sight, and the last two hours of my walk were next to the large, imposing power plant, suspiciously located on the water's edge, sucking any beauty and positive energy straight out of the atmosphere.

The town of Termini Imerese was slightly depressing, seeming more like a British industrial town than anything else. I walked around looking for affordable lodging, came up empty, asked at a bar, received a free coffee (something that would not have happened so easily in a British industrial town, by the way. And no mom, I didn't beg for it) and some options, found them all way more expensive than what I was accustomed to paying, received a wink-wink suggestion to sleep at the train station, and in the end, stepped off the train at Cefalù.

So I got to sleep in Cefalù after all, at a Bed & Breakfast right on the water. I was late for dinner, choosing instead to explore the town, and ended up receiving all the leftovers from a pizzeria/rosticceria after befriending the owners, including all the fatty fried foods for which Sicily is famous. Again, no begging, just kind people and good timing.

Chocolate for lunch, fried balls of rice for dinner, and I think I lost weight that day. Screw the whole get in shape to look good line of motivation; life can be full of guiltless culinary pleasure when you exercise.