Tuesday 25 March 2014

My favourite places to visit (continued)




Old church door, watercolour























To continue my virtual  tour around Sicily I delved into my sketchbooks and chose to visit Erice, a mediaeval town high on a hill 750m above sea level.



There a two ways to get up to Erice (unless you have a helicopter), you can drive up the steep and winding road or get on the cable car from Trapani....not for the faint-hearted!








Once you're there it's like going back in time.  The old cobbled streets, ancient churches and two castles give you a real sense of history.   The origins of Erice go right back to the Elymians, but it was also conquered by the Arabs and the Normans giving  the town an original architectural and cultural mix found only in Sicily.










You can fill a whole day exploring and looking...or tasting some of the local pastries!


















Admire the breathtaking views along the coast, it's said you can see Etna on the other side of the island on a clear day.



Tuesday 11 March 2014

My top places to visit in Sicily





I'm planning where I want to go as soon as the weather gets a little bit better.  After the flu and grey, cold days I'm ready for some blue skies.  I'm lucky to live in Sicily where there is not only warm weather nine months of the year but also plenty of interesting and beautiful places to visit.  
I thought I would show you some of my favourite places to visit, a virtual tour you might say!






My first destination is 'Le Saline'  a natural reserve along the coast between Marsala and Trapani.  I've often  posted my sketches and I never get tired of painting or photographing the lagoon, salt pans and windmills.

  



The shallow waters and dry winds are ideal for extracting salt from the sea water.  The lagoon (Lo Stagnone) is closed off from the open sea by four small islands.






One of the best times to go is as the sun gets lower and the colours of the sun setting reflect on the sea and windmills.  Have I sold it to you yet?  It will always be on my list!

The little watercolour sletches above are little on the blue side as I had to photograph them...how I miss my  scanner!  Here's a tiny watercolour from a year or so ago, much better colours.





Where will we go next?  Wait and see!