Sicily in Spring

I just can't help myself. Sicily is one of those places that begs to be photographed. We've only been here 24 hours and I've already downloaded my card 3x. Ok, it wasn't a full card, but still. I'm obsessed. My husband is always asking me, What are you going to do with all those photos? I just dismiss him with a, Oh, it's for the blog, and keep on shooting. The truth is, not even a fraction of the number of photos I take even makes it to Flickr more or less the blog. BUT because our hotel has wireless Internet (yahoo!) I've decided that this time the photos might actually make it to the blog! So here you go, Sicily in Spring.


Pear blossoms at Bina's. I think that's what she said. She has so many flowering trees I can't remember. Maybe it was apricot?


This was the view from our balcony apartment (hotel) after the rain. This afternoon when I left Bina's a storm passed over us complete with hail. The road had turned into a river. It was rushing with such force I actually had the sensation we were being swept backwards. I was running with my head tucked down in an attempt to shield my daughter who was in my arms while also gripping my sons hand in my own. Without looking at the sides of the road all I could see was the movement of the water. It was surreal. My legs knew I was running up hill but my eyes betrayed my brain making it seem as though I was slidding backwards.

The rug man along the side of the road. Nope, I never did buy one. But I always look.

To be honest I was so busy looking at the rugs, I didn't even notice this car until my husband asked if I got a picture of it. I guess it's true, girls will be girls and boys will be looking at cars.

It just isn't a day in Sicily unless you've stopped at least once to let the sheep go by. I think today was the first time in my life the shepherd didn't ask me for a smoke. Is it possible he actually remembers me? One time along this same stretch of road after shaking my head no he handed me a giant handful of wild asparagus he had picked while walking with the flock.

And speaking of asparagus, in the afternoon we did a little wild asparagus 'hunting' of our own. This was one of the paths we took. This is going to sound odd, but there are places (dumping grounds) in the countryside where you can find tons of broken ceramic tiles. This is one of those places. Now despite my husband making me promise I wouldn't haul any more trash from Sicily home with us, I just couldn't resist packing away some particularly pretty pieces in the bottom of the stroller! I didn't get a picture yet, but I will.

And this is a wild asparagus!

A broken window that caught my eye as we waited for the ferry from Calabria to Messina.

A pretty wooden fence overwhelmed with flowers. The countryside is filled with wild flowers in every shade and hue. I'm so glad we were able to come for one last spring even if it does make leaving that much harder!

In Messina we were sitting at a stop light when I turned my head and saw this little alley. I loved the colorful laundry, palm tree, green shutters, and the tippity top of the church steeple in the background. So very Sicily.

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Although we have been enjoying our time here, we are shocked and dismayed by the damage the earthquake did in L'Aquila, north of Rome. Like many people we are looking for ways to help. Jessica of Why Go Italy has posted ideas and links to organizations that are doing their best to provide relief to yesterday's victims.

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