It Started With a Backpack and a Dream

We rented an airbnb and spent a month in the spring of 2025 in Palermo, Sicily. We knew we would return, after having fallen in love with Sicily the previous summer, on our extended family reunion 10-day roadtrip around the island. It wasn't even a question in our minds that we would plan another visit, to embrace my Sicilian ancestry and move a little slower during our month there. That included taking road trips back to Montellegro twice to spend time with family, and also to visit the little towns around Palermo. 

We rented a car for our longer adventure, or sometimes simply grabbed a bus if the location was nearby. One day we hopped on the train to travel a bit further to Cefalu, a little town along the coast that is quite well known for its beautiful Mediterranean shoreline and history. I'm always happy no matter how we travel from place to place, but this particular day, our choice for a train ride would have a very surprising outcome, more so than I could possibly have predicted. 

We arrived midmorning and walked the very busy narrow streets of the town, dodging then fruit man's truck, bicyclists, fellow tourists, and also more often than not, the locals zipping through town on their speedy mopeds. It was a gorgeous spring day and the town was buzzing in the same way many little tourist spots are sought out all over Sicily. 

We kept our eyes open in search for some local food to eat as we walked and navigated the few streets of Cefalu. Being a seaside town on a sunny day, even the beaches had folks flocking to lounge and to grab some rays on the sand. 

I recall finding some delicious sandwiches at one of the local shops and we found ourselves lining up with the workers from the neighborhood on their midday lunch break. Always get in the longest line and pay attention to where to locals eat! I had also decided that with the temps rising and the day turning out to be a bit on the warm side, some gelato was next on my agenda. After noticing someone walking by with a cooler option of granita, I settled on a mango granita instead. So many choices and so little time!

It was time to head back to the station and wait for our return train to Palermo, and that's when a chance encounter became a sweet meeting of the minds. I was carrying my Disney backpack and a woman on the platform approached me to chat. She was a local, not a tourist and had a very good grasp of the English language. She mentioned that she loved Disney and had just applied to the international exchange program and was waiting to hear back if she'd been accepted. We chatted for quite some time and before I left her, I had this very strong feeling she would be hearing from Disney soon and would be accepted into the program, and I told her I felt her dreams would come true. We decided to keep in touch and I wished Irini well. 

Fast forward a few months and I noticed she was in Florida already. I was so happy she made her dream come true, and would spend over a year at Disney in Orlando, working at Epcot in the Italian pavilion at the Tutto Italia Restaurant.

More than a year later, after we finally returned to the US after a very long 14 months of international travel, I found myself with a few days at Disney. I reached out to Irini hoping she was still working at Epcot. I actually caught up with her right before her program ended and we shared a chat as I enjoyed a nice meal at Tutto Italia. She had made the most of her time while working for Disney, and actually traveled all over the United States, and even made it as far as Alaska. 

Two random strangers meeting at just the right time, on just the right day, on the very same train platform, in a tiny town in Sicily...

There's Always a Story!