Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, my beloved birthplace. Houses that are now restructured and made into B&B's as the town becomes more and more touristy. 

 Another delicious and simple food consumed at our Sicilian block party. Pani cunzatu  that literally means fancied up bread. This is the original version that is basically home made bread with superb local olive oil and incanestrato cheese or Sicilian pecorino cheese. The new and more complex version features anchovies, tomatoes, lighter cheese and oregano. It's nice but the original version is more to my liking..

   The colors of these Sicilian watermelons are real. No manipulation at all. From a block party we had in my beloved Castellammare del Golfo, my hometown. This is my dear neighbor and friend Angela.

 Beautiful, fresh and delicious Sicilian oranges they are like no others.

     Selinunte is an old Greek city in Western Sicily that was destroyed by the Carthaginians. Some of the ruins have been sort of restored as best as possible but this archeological part is famous for the countless ruins. It's worth a visit.

     Another archival Kodachrome II shot in Sicily in the summer of 1969. This place is gone, replaced by new vacation homes. The camera was the Canon FT with the Canon 50mm F 1.4 FL lens. I just love this shot.

    Eating in Sicily is a seriously delicious affair.  These are grilled calamari, super fresh at the La Cambusa restaurant at the tourist port in Castellammare del Golfo.

         

            Eating in Sicily where the seafood is exceptional along with the rest of the food. This risotto ai frutti di mare was consumed at a seaside restaurant ln Castellannare del Golfo with the freshest sea food, Absolutely delicious.

Mozia, Sicily. The salt fworks

 

Napkin holders mafe of olive trees wood, Sicily

 These are hand made and very durable napkin holders made and sold by a very gifted artisan who sells them on the belvedere overlooking Castellammare del Golfo.

What incredible Sicilian produce

 

Back to Sicily

I love this photo of these two ladies resting and watching the goings on in the town's villa or park. 

Due caffè

In Italy you do not say espresso, you simply say caffè; it's understood that you want an espresso. Also a macchiato is not a big deal. It's an espresso with a little steamed milk. It actually costs se same as a plain espresso. The idea of a double espresso is typically American. The bigger the better. The land of the super sized. As you can see, the espresso is usually corto or lungo meaning short or long. I prefer it as corto as possible. The design on the macchiato was a sign of affection on the part of the barista. After all the cucécé caffè is owned by distant relatives but very close friends. I really miss my Castellammare del Golfo.

Have a delicious weekend

Have a peaceful Sunday

Portrait of a great lady

This wonderful woman, a great cook and restauranteur, invited us to a super Christmas day dinner at her house. Then we returned for a late supper after a period of rest. She is the mother of a dear friend and after the supper was over I convinced her to sit for an available light portrait. I believe that the result speaks for itself. I used an Olympus PL-2 and did not do any post production manipulation. Just the J Pegs out of the camera using the auto white balance setting. Amazing what is possible with digital. But the important thig was that the food was delicious and the company extraordinary. These are life's truly important moments that make lasting memories.

Have a sweet Sunday

Sicilian block party

In front of my house in Sicily we have an annual block party. Every neighbor contributes and we have lots of fun. Some years we have a block dinner at night that is not only fun but full of delicious home made delicacies. This year I'm stuck n this side of the pond so I can only relive the happy memories. I have really great neighbors who are not only friendly but very helpful and keep an eye on the house when I'm away. I'm very lucky that way. I'm the one on the bottom left with the dark blue T shirt. There were some tourists from the UK who just could not believe all the joy and alacrity.

A trip to the farmers' market

I have posted and raved about my favorite place to buy fruit and vegetables. A true farmers' market where items are very fresh, of high quality and very reasonably priced. I am talking to the market at Castellammare's Piazza Petrolo knows as "lu scaru." These items are from an April visit three years ago. Naturally in Sicily the growing season is 12 months so there's always fresh vegetables to buy. The eggplant was from a green house along with the delicious cherry tomatoes but their flavor not quite as spectacular as in the summer, was very good indeed. We see medlars and naturally citrus fruits that Sicily is famous for. The fava beans were just picked.

What a way to earn a living

Beach sellers walk back and forth on the long beach and try to sell their wares. They are mostly African men but there are also some  young Chinese women. It's very hot and that contraption is very heavy and bulky. A very hard way to make a living.