We’ve been back just over two months but unlike when we were in Sicily, where long days stretched out ahead of us here in Brighton things are usually busy. This weekend I’ve had some time to sort out the last batch of photos. It feels like the closing chapter of a book that started off well then deteriorated quite severely into page upon page of boredom and frustration but nonetheless managed to end on a high note - that being a lovely week of island-hopping before returning home. We spent a few days on Lipari, which must have been our fourth or fifth visit. Milazzo people like Lipari because they think it’s just like Milazzo. In reality it’s much much nicer, and it comes with lots of opportunities for photographing some of my favourite things: Little boats, shutters and balconies, rooftops, painted doors, blue seas and blue skies, pirates and good things to eat. Here are the best of the pictures. Lipari, a set on Flickr.
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We’ve been back just over two months but unlike when we were in Sicily, where long days stretched out ahead of us here in Brighton things are usually busy.

This weekend I’ve had some time to sort out the last batch of photos. It feels like the closing chapter of a book that started off well then deteriorated quite severely into page upon page of boredom and frustration but nonetheless managed to end on a high note - that being a lovely week of island-hopping before returning home.

We spent a few days on Lipari, which must have been our fourth or fifth visit. Milazzo people like Lipari because they think it’s just like Milazzo. In reality it’s much much nicer, and it comes with lots of opportunities for photographing some of my favourite things: Little boats, shutters and balconies, rooftops, painted doors, blue seas and blue skies, pirates and good things to eat. Here are the best of the pictures.

Lipari, a set on Flickr.

Prima volta in barca a vela..Last weekend my boss took us sailing, a little voyage out to the islands. We saw some lovely parts of Vulcano and Lipari that you can’t reach without your own boat. The swaying, even on calm waters, made me feel a little wobbly on the inside but fortunately I wasn’t called upon to assist with the pulling of ropes or tying of knots.Any potential sailors/students of Italian or English should check out those facebook groups…
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Prima volta in barca a vela..

Last weekend my boss took us sailing, a little voyage out to the islands. We saw some lovely parts of Vulcano and Lipari that you can’t reach without your own boat. The swaying, even on calm waters, made me feel a little wobbly on the inside but fortunately I wasn’t called upon to assist with the pulling of ropes or tying of knots.

Any potential sailors/students of Italian or English should check out those facebook groups…


Source: Flickr / alison-louise

Island Living

We visitied Lipari this weekend…

Marina Corta

I had been once before, but with only enough time for a quick look around before going on to Stromboli, where I spent the rest of a fantastic weekend taking photographs of blue doors, reading Treasure Island and daydreaming about pirates.

skull and crossbones

Lipari has had it’s fair share of pirates it turns out, whose attacks eventually prompted the construction of the mighty citadel walls in 1556. The fact that I had to refer to Wikipedia to pass any kind of comment on this once again demonstrates my lamentable lack of knowledge when it comes to history.

I am making an effort to visit all seven islands this year. Having already returned to Stromboli, and spent the day on Vulcano climbing to the crater, that only leaves four to go: Panarea, alledgedly favoured by the rich and famous; Salina, unspoilt and traditional; Filicudi, population down to 250 souls following mass emigration in the 1950s; and Alicudi, end of the line, where mules replace motor vehicles and they’ve only had electricity for 15 years. Peversely, due to the poor state of Italian public transport and our living so close to the port, it is definitely easier and perhaps even quicker to reach this remote place that Palermo, the island’s capital.

from the climb to the crater on Vucano, Lipari in the distance

What am I going to do on an island like Alicudi? On which even the Rough Guide can only muster a paragraph’s description - although this can hardly be Alicudi’s fault, and is probably due to a lack of churches to fill up the page space. The answer is wander, take pictures of the boats, daydream.

little boat on the beach, Lipari

There is something about little boats and island life that attracts me. Maybe it’s all the books I read and loved when I was young: Enid Blyton’s The Secret Island - children runaway from cruel guardians and live self sufficiently by their own wits and talents. Arthur Ransom’s Swallows and Amazons - brave explorers, untrustworthy natives, the jolly roger, pemmican. Jostein Gaarder’s The Solitaire Mystery - shipwrecked sailor and a pack of cards. I want to bring all three back with me after Christmas and read them all over again.

When is one too old to read children’s literature? One of my favourite bloggers wrote a cook book about food from children’s literature - tuck boxes, midnight feasts and the like - the research for which necessitated reading and re-reading titles intended for pre-teenagers. I hope island hopping is as valid an excuse.

Source: Flickr / alison-louise

Vulcano, a set on Flickr… I Morti, or Day of the Dead, is a national holiday in Italy. Traditionally Italians go to the cemetaries, visit the graves of loved ones lost . It seems to be more of a day of good natured remembering and an excuse to eat a special kind of cake than anything sad or mournful. In anycase it means a day off less than a month after term starts, which can only be a good thing. What with having no-one to visit in the cimeterio we used it to take a day trip to Vulcano, the nearest of the Aeolian islands, visible from the beach outside our flat, from which vulcanoes in general took their name.
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Vulcano, a set on Flickr…

I Morti, or Day of the Dead, is a national holiday in Italy. Traditionally Italians go to the cemetaries, visit the graves of loved ones lost . It seems to be more of a day of good natured remembering and an excuse to eat a special kind of cake than anything sad or mournful. In anycase it means a day off less than a month after term starts, which can only be a good thing.

What with having no-one to visit in the cimeterio we used it to take a day trip to Vulcano, the nearest of the Aeolian islands, visible from the beach outside our flat, from which vulcanoes in general took their name.

Source: Flickr / alison-louise

red white and blue

There are more tourists here now than when I first arrived. They are easily spotted, usually taking pictures of things Sicilians consider mundane in the extreme. They come in two main varieties: with backpacks* (young and poor) or with suitcases on wheels (circa middle age).

washing line : car with face, both from Cefalu

Even with the seasonal increases, the number of tourists here seems small to me. Most stay only long enough to catch the next ferry to the Aeolian Islands. Milazzo doesn’t get a very favourable write-up in either the Rough Guide or the (recently re-published and far superior) Lonely Planet, which both describe it as “a town besieged by industry” or something equally off-putting, referring to an oil refinery that sits on the coast a little way out of town.

This wouldn’t be my choice of description. Compared to overdeveloped concrete-happy resorts featuring rows of identikit holiday villas, restaurants selling overpriced tourist fodder and shops selling cheap tat masquerading as souvenirs, I don’t feel besieged at all.

I do think Milazzo has the air of a working place, even if you’re not looking at the refinery. It’s mostly in the boats. Today I walked along the lunghomare to a little beach where I sat on the sand amongst the fishing boats.

Milazzo

There are a lot of boats around these parts, ferries and hydrofoils on their way to the islands, fancy yachts, cruise liners. I like the little ones best. These are hardworking boats for catching fish. There are so many of them, moored on pebbly beaches all along the coast. I like their uniform colours, white and red and blue; I like their shabby, dishevelled appearance and the ropes, nets and buckets that are often strewn about. I like how the flowers start to grow around them when they’ve been there for a while. I guess at heart I am an untidy soul.

Cefalu : Trapani : Marchesana

I have put all this R/W/B inspiration to good use through pinterest, where you can make virtual pinboards of all your favourite things. If it sounds like a way of wasting more time on the internet, that’s because it is, but it’s incredibly satisfying and quite addictive to see your collections coming together. On the other hand, it must be very good for an untidy procrastinating soul like myself to see so many tidy rooms, co-ordinated outfits, neatly arranged things and finished projects. Maybe it’s time well spent after all.


This is a screenshot. All photo credits here, on my pinboard