It had an odd feel to me. I am always alert to whether or not a church gives me a feeling of being a place of living worship or a museum. The Cefalu duomo is a place of worship - many marriage banns were posted - but it had an odd, dusty feel that was not quite museum-like, but something else. It thought it was beautiful and a fascinating compare/contrast with Monreale. One of my favorite aspects of both mosaics are the angels' wings - I don't know if this is common in this period's mosaic iconography, but the colors and patterns reminded me a bit of Native American designs.
(The comparison that is always made is that the Pancreator in Cefalu is not quite as stern as that in Monreale, and that is true.
Our photographer
And then the beach:
Crowded, but nice. Once again, I lucked out on a parking space, right along the road at the beach. I remain fascinated by the peddlers - selling the exact same things, right down to the small East Asian woman walking about in the same outfit as the one at San Vito, offering massages. Peddlers selling beach towels, beach toys, jewelry, hats , bags and coconut. Why doesn't anyone sell sunscreen?
On one side, Frenchman reading Le Monde. Catty-corner, Italian reading a car magazine. Next to him, a German woman reading a Lee Child novel. One down from her a large extended Russian family - with 2 young children and a pregnant mom! Down with the Russian birth dearth!
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