Stylish Sicilian Silhouettes

Among the photos, taken by our daughter, in Sicily (April 2010), I found this to be the most striking and representative of the Sicilian dress style.

(with friendly permission from the photographer, Margo Shipley)

Springtime in Sicily, Favignana Island

We had taken a hydrofoil boat with Ustica Lines from Trapani to the island of Favignana. What we thought would be a pleasant ride turned into turning heads checking on each others facial welfare. There were some really sad looking faces on board, but fortunately, this ride (€ 17,50 for a return trip) only lasted about 30 minutes.

Favignana is the main island of the three Egadi Islands and islets. It is also part of the largest protected marine areas in Italy, so all three islands are a paradise for those who love scuba diving.

Lazy afternoons

This was a typical sight to see – another lazy afternoon, locals leaning up against the café’s wall. The temperature was very pleasant at about 20°C, but the constant wind is another story:  Favignana, the windy island has earned its name rightfully so.

Playing tag on car-free streets

It seems to be a car-free island with so much room for pedestrians and kids playing tag. But yet, there is a car-ferry from Trapani to Favignana.

Anchor graveyard

Favignana is surrounded by crystal clear turquoise sea. The beach held plenty of mermaids’ tears and this spot was also an anchors’ cemetery.

Antipasti

I did it again – I wanted to take a picture of the food I had ordered, but by the time I got it and remembered to take a photo, I had taken my first bite already…. I do not feel bad after having read the article First Camera, then Fork by N.Y.Times. I guess we all need this reminder. This antipasti was all I needed for lunch at the Bar-Ristorante Nautilus.

Sicily, as well as the island of Favignana, was surprisingly clean. Cleaner than Germany! Well, I guess the constant wind serves as an ever present sweeper.

Low vegetation on this windy island

The constant wind only lets heath-like flora flourish along the coast line.

Sicily is well organized in regards to infrastructure, transportation system, tourist information, and prices are reasonable.

Tobacco and Church in Sicily

On our strolls through Trapani, I discovered this unusual photo on a cigarette machine in front of a tobacco shop.

vending machine for cigarettes with church ad

The photo advertisement on the right side of the machine shows Jesus, I’d assume. Is the church running ads for attracting more members? Are cigarette consumers supposed to feel guilty when buying a pack?

Interestingly enough, one can only buy cigarettes from the machine by inserting one’s health card, I have been told. Would it be the health insurance card? If so, then this is an interesting way of gathering data for health statistics.

Springtime in Sicily

We have only returned from our trip yesterday afternoon. Mostly everything is unpacked, pictures have been uploaded, bills have been sorted, and memories stored away.

Here are a few  more pictures taken in Trapani, Sicily.

Easter Sunday procession through Trapani

Six men upfront and six men in the back carried this float from one point to the next. In between, little strips of white and yellow paper came falling from the sky (well, from a balcony somewhere). Many people gathered at a market place where a high catholic figure, in a red robe, spoke down to the people from yet another balcony.

Trapani in the morning hours

The houses are tall and the roads so narrow. These tall buildings serve as a windshield and temperature buffer. There seems to be a constant wind, which must be rather nice in the summer time. Except during the days of the African wind Scirocco, which can paralyze life up to 20 days each year.

Sicilian coastline

The water is so clear and clean looking. On our walks, we only saw very low rocks – no cliffs at all – around the coastline. Some of these rocks show fossils in the shape of shells, snails. etc.

Street with a view

Brownish buildings, black rocks in the water, and the blue sea, all mingled in sunshine in April.

Amid rocks and mermaids’ tears, there was the catch of the morning…

I was beach combing for mermaids’ tears, and found myself in mermaids’ tears heaven. There were so many washed up on the shore. Not just regular broken glass shards, but the ones who had been in the water for a long time, polished smoothly by sand and water (a good quality mermaids’ tear takes 15 – 60 years of natural polish). It took me a minute to realize I was picking them out of a long strip of fish heads washed ashore.

There is much more to discover in Sicily. We only had three days there, but it was enough to realize that there is so much more to do and see.

I was able to use my Italian skills here and there, but you could also get by with only using English with the younger generation.

Springtime in Sicily

A passenger, sitting behind me on our flight to Trapani, commented how green the island looked compared to her usual summer visits, when the land is brown and parched.

Vineyards on Sicily

The land is green and lush in April. I heard golfing in Sicily is really good in this season as well.

Narrow streets and tall houses in Trapani

This is one rare front without laundry hanging on the balcony. Wherever we turned we could always see laundry flapping in the wind.

A typical thing to do on a lazy afternoon – watching people passing by in the street. It is very common to see people spending their free time like this.

street dogs

I guess I forgot that there are many more dogs roaming the streets without a master in Southern Europe. At night, after dinner and wine, we would often pass a sleeping dog on the sidewalk.

I have taken a fancy to Sicily, its pace, people, and pleasures.

Diese Webseite verwendet Cookies. Wenn Sie auf der Seite weitersurfen, stimmen Sie der Cookie-Nutzung zu. Mehr Informationen

Diese Webseite verwendet so genannte Cookies. Sie dienen dazu, unser Angebot nutzerfreundlicher, effektiver und sicherer zu machen. Cookies sind kleine Textdateien, die auf Ihrem Rechner abgelegt werden und die Ihr Browser speichert. Die meisten der von uns verwendeten Cookies sind so genannte "Session-Cookies". Sie werden nach Ende Ihres Besuchs automatisch gelöscht. Cookies richten auf Ihrem Rechner keinen Schaden an und enthalten keine Viren. Weitere Informationen finden Sie auf der Seite “Datenschutzerklärung”.

Close