Goodbye to Wonderful Puglia and Hello Rome!

Woke up Thursday (10/10) morning to our beautiful view. We have loved every minute we’ve spent in our villa in Puglia.

Then, we made a trip to Lecce. It was pretty, but it was a long drive and a long day, and we didn’t love Lecce as much as we had hoped. We all wished we had stayed closer to the Villa and seen some of the small towns in that area. Live and learn.

Lecce is different from the other cities we saw in that it’s built from a material known as Lecce Limestone and it has a golden hue instead of the whitewashed appearance of a lot of the cities/towns/villages in Puglia. It also is a city filled with Baroque architecture and monuments and some call it the “Florence of the South.”

An ancient amphitheater is part of the first piazza when you enter Lecce’s walls

The Piazza del Duomo was a beautiful site and is where the beautiful and so was the cathedral.

Then is was time for lunch and wine, though I opted for a craft Italian beer for a change. We didn’t take any photos of our lunches…since we all had the same thing and it wasn’t especially “Italian.” We had fantastic hamburgers and the meat was locally, humanely raised. It was delicious.

This is one of the entrances into the walled city of Lecce. Just imagine Roman chariots riding through this entrance.

This sweet lady took a liking to Betsy, and took her arm to walk along the streets. She spoke no English, but chatted happily with Betsy anyway. She learned all of our names before we parted. It was a nice encounter. The languages of kindness and joy are easily understood and universal.

We stopped at a market on the way back to the Villa and bought some chicken and pork to grill, along with some salad. We’ve cooked a few times and it’s been fun to sit around the table.

The flowers for the table were cut from the yard. So beautiful.

Having enough ice was a challenge, but Emily and Lisa kept on top of it, constantly emptying trays and refilling them to make sure we had enough. Bags of ice, at least in Puglia, are not a thing, but really should be.

Chicken on the grill.

Night sky and the beautiful moon over the sea

The weather Friday was stunning again.

Betsy, Emily and I were up early and made a quick trip to Locorotondo, a small village close to where we were staying. I had read that it was not to be missed, and that was definitely true. It is a gem of a place. We all wish we had spent a day or afternoon there.

Patron Saint of Locorotondo, St. Roch/St. George. We loved how a dog was included in this tribute to him.

It was market day in Locorotondo and the produce looked so beautiful. However, the clothing items, shoes, etc. looked like a flea market.

The best part about this village is just how it looks when you walk through the streets. And the morning light made it all the better.

Locorotondo is a hill town, so the views from there are beautiful.

Then it was time to go to Bari and turn in the car, which was a relief. It’s always good to be free of that responsibility. After that, lunch and wine at a pretty little pedestrian plaza.

Bari sits right on the Adriatic and is a lovely town full of beautiful buildings and public spaces.

Saint Nicholas is Bari’s Patron Saint…Santa Claus, or at least the person on whom Santa Claus is based in some cultures. Santa Claus evolved from Dutch traditions regarding Saint Nicholas. During his lifetime, he had a reputation of generosity and of giving secret gifts to people in need. We visited the Cathedral that carries his name and that houses his remains.

Cathedral ceiling

Betsy at St. Nicholas’ tomb

 

Back to the villa for the last night, we enjoyed leftovers and an early night.  Then it was time to say goodbye to our fantastic villa and our time in the region of Puglia. We wish we had more time here. Something else that made it special was our host, Maura. She and her companion, Giancarlo, were fantastic. She offered advice, was ready to help with anything we needed and we engaged Giancarlo to drive us on a couple of the longer day trips. He is an expert driver and so kind and patient and she is just lovely. Meeting them was a great experience and we plan to keep in touch.

After an early morning exit from our villa, Giancarlo and Maura delivered us to the Bari train station for our trip to Rome. While standing on the platform, I was trying to figure out where to stand to get into the correct car. A woman beside me offered some advice and then we struck up a brief conversation. After just a few minutes, I began to realize who she was.

Elizabeth Minchilli is a writer/author who lives in Rome with her husband and two daughters. This is a great article about her:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/everettpotter/2019/04/23/the-italian-table-of-elizabeth-minchilli/#10f32792689e

I’m a big fan. I bought Eating Italy and Eating Rome before our trip and read every word, highlighted passages, made notes etc. In fact, Eating Italy is one of the reasons I chose Puglia as our destination. Her husband is from that region and her mother-in-law still lives in Bari. I’ll be buying her newest book, The Italian Table, as soon as I get home.

Her books are much more than about restaurants and recipes. They are about the culture of Italy and its regions. She’s a great writer and a really nice person as well.

I went totally fan girl when I realized I was standing next to her and chatting with her, and she was so gracious.

Train ride to Rome was great. First class, comfortable seats.

We arrived at our apartment around 1:30 and really like how comfortable and spacious it is. Our new host is also terrific and extremely helpful and informative. However, we are away from some of the major places, but a quick/cheap taxi ride gets us in the heart of things.

We dropped our things, found a lunch spot just down the street. The food was absolutely delicious…no photos here however. We were too hungry to take photos. Then we made our way to the Colosseum. I had booked advance tickets so there was no waiting in line.

We listened to the Rick Steves audio tour as we walked around the outside and inside of this magnificent structure, so immense and an architectural feat, but so horrific in the activities that took place here on a daily basis.

We left the Colosseum and made our way to the Monti neighborhood. Elizabeth Minchilli had suggested we walk around that area, which is also where she lives. We loved it. Winding streets and lots of activity.

We stopped off for drinks and since it was Happy Hour, the bar offered some free snacks.

It was what would be considered a dive bar in the states.

Then more strolling through the streets. We stopped and listened to a good band for a while and rounded another corner and watched people dancing in the streets.

We were trying to get a taxi home and it was really difficult. After walking around and trying to flag taxis, we saw one letting someone out. But, it a cab for just four passengers. Finding rides for five is more challenging. This guy on the street saw our frustration and said he would have a nearby restaurant call a taxi for us. We followed him and ended up loving the atmosphere. So, we stayed for some wine and struck up a conversation with him. His name is Larry and he’s from Victoria, B.C. Super nice guy. He says he’s going to visit Nashville. We hope so.

Our new friend Larry on the right. His shirt says Pursue.

The bar where we had such a good time. Once we got into a taxi, we were back home late and walked up the street to get takeaway pizza and buy some stuff we needed for the apartment. Had some pizza, laughs and then to bed.

Today, we hit the streets of Rome.

Ciao!