TRAPANI IS BEST KNOWN FOR SUMMER TRIPS to the Aegadian Islands of Favignana and Levanzo. We never had any intentions of swimming and the stormy seas would keep us ashore but we thought Trapani would make for a good stop before Palermo. If we had known that our AirBnB would be far and away our best in Sicily we might have stayed longer.
🎶This is the Way We Wash our Clothes, Wash our Clothes, Wash our Clothes 🎶
Pedestrian Street in Trapani's Centro Storico
Hidden Courtyard, Centro Storico
Whimsical Street Art, Trapani
Along the Mediterranean, Trapani
Yesterday, after starting the laundry and searching out a replacement keyboard for Connie’s MacBook Air we took a walk into Old Town Trapani. While we didn’t find much of historic interest, Centro Storico was truly charming with hidden courtyards, wonderful old buildings and vicolos leading up to the corniche where the howling wind whipped spray into our faces. John took advantage of the great kitchen and prepared his version of a Sicilian dinner—spinach and ricotta tortellini with mushroom marinara sauce, crostini and garlic bread. So “Grazie mille, Vitalba, for the wonderful kitchen!"
Old School Wind Power
Still grinding out the salt
Windmill for grinding salt
Flamingos can't resist salt ponds
The Salt Pans between Trapani and Marsala have been in operation since Norman times. They were so important to the economy that Frederick II had them nationalized in the 12th Century. Windmills still dot the horizon from a time when they pumped water from pond to pond and ran mills to grind the course salt. It’s not Holland but they make for nice photos. The salt pans are still churning out salt today but the area is under management of the WWF—World Wide Fund for Nature, not the phony wrestling organization. It is a unique environment that attracts large numbers of bird species including Flamingos, Avocets, Stilts and Ducks of all feathers.
