Amazing! (Stupefacente!)
Beautiful! (Bello!)
These are just a few English and Italian words that don't even come close to describing our latest adventure. Due to a few well placed Italain holidays, Tom had the chance to get away from work for about a week. We decided to take a trip to the heel of the Italian boot - a region known as Puglia!
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I figured I would add some maps to give you the area where we were. It's hard to fully describe the area, the city, the food, the crafts, the people and the outstanding colors.
We stayed in a lovely little city called Lecce. We found it to be an amazing place to - it was nicely located to be able to visit many of the other amazing cities in the 'heel region'. We were lucky enough to travel to Otranto, S. Maria di Leuca, Gallipoli, Cutrofiano, Alberobello and many little towns along our coastal adventure. We did so much and took so many pictures (totalling 850) this posting is going to split up into multiple parts. Here in Part 1 we will visit Lecce (Homebase). At the end of this posting I will give everybody an update on Home-n-Hearth and upcoming destinations.
The drive from Rome to Lecce took about 5 hours by car - a long time in a car but it went very quickly. It is one of the many breathtaking drives you can take in Italy. Once out of the city limits of Rome you start driving in Italian countryside. Before long the countryside turned into miles and miles of farms - growing olives, grapes and artichokes. Along with the produce - wildflowers grew all along the roadside and in many unplanted fields. The vibrant color patches of bright red, sunshine yellow and a deep violet popped in the lush green background. Truly a sight to see!
Our first stop and our home base - Lecce! Lecce is the second largest city by population in the Puglia region. It is considered the main city in the Salentine Peninsula (the southern sub-peninsula of the heel) and known as the 'Florence of the south'. It is rich in Baroque architecture and maintains a strong Greek influence. The main industry in the area is 'Lecce Stone', a soft limestone like rock that is used for building and sculpture. In addition olives, olive oil and wine are other primary exports. The Puglia region is accounts for about 70% of the olive oil production in Italy. The local artisians work with the local stone, ceramic design, and interestingly paper mache' (cartapesta). And as with all Italian cities - castles, walls, and amazing churches...
Enough babbling about Lecce - here are some of the great sites of this city...
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| Anfiteatro Romano in the city center |
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| City pride! |
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| Piazza Duomo & Bell tower |
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| Harmony Fountain & the Castle... |
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| Campanile/Bell Tower |
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| Locks of Love...* |
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| Local Artist...** |
* - Lock of Love, as seen in a previous post from Florence by the Ponte Vecchio, many people make their statement of love by placing a lock with their names on it in a public place.
** - A local artist from Bottega del Piccolo Artigiano - a master in making paper mache' creations. We purchased a lovely angel for a-top our holiday tree! She was lots of fun and as you can see...she took a liking to Tom.
While posting pictures of this lovely city, I would be remiss in not showing you a little of our hotel and the amazing people that work there...
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| Dinner at the hotel w/Martinis! |
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| Our lovely Jr. Suite w/terrace |
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| Tom & I with the lovely & very helpful Maria! |
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| Tom & I with the amazing Marco (he makes a great Martini!) |
We have to thank the entire staff of the Risorgimento Resort - an amazing hotel (&spa) with the kindest staff, amazing food, and fantastic location. Maria and her associates were invaluable in pointing us to the best food in Lecce and great sites in the area.
If you get the chance to visit this lovely city - stay with Maria and Marco at the Risorgimento.
Even though I now have 10 more pounds to loss, when there eat at the following places:
- La Torre di Merlino (The towers of Merlin), great freindly staff and wonderful food!
- Blu Notte, Fantastic food and amazing desserts (definitely try the Ricotta & Fig Torte - you will not be disappointed).
As an over note of out trip in Puglia, I think Tom & I learned, when ordering a Misto (mixed) appetizer - order a small main meal. Numerous times we ordered an Antipasto Misto and plates started to show up and never truly stopped.
Wow - OK, I am feeling full just thinking about it...
Time to give a quick update on Home-n-Hearth...
After getting home from our trip we still had one more day before Tom had to go back to work - after a little thought we decided to go see a movie in Rome. Don't go too nuts - our Italian is not that good. We went to local movie theatre that shows OV movies (Original Version) - meaning in English. We went to go see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It was truly a cute movie - very light and fluffy. The best way I can describe it is...'Eat, Pray, Cocoon'. Simple a group of older folks (65 and older) move to a retirement hotel in India all looking to find different things out about their lives. I would give it 3 1/2-4 stars...great rainy afternoon viewing.
Another amazing thing to come home to was the garden or should I call it a forest. The garden tripled in size in just a week. The tomato plants are now approximately 3 feet tall and are all flowering. Most even have little tomatoes starting. The lemon tree is all green again and lemon flowers are starting to pop-up all over.
Life is good and the harvest is going to be even better...
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| My forest in from of the forest... |
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| Plants gone wild... |
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| Future Salads & Sauces... |
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| Future Lemoncello & Lemon Bars... |
Ok, I have gone on enough...
Next posting will have more of our great trip! Next up S. Maria di Leuca & Gallipoli!
In future a great look at a Masseria (converted olive/wine estates into BnB's).
Our visitors start next weekend with my cousin Pat and her friend!
Looking forward to their visit.
Let the games begin!
Also, go to Trip Advisor and check out the reviews of Tom G!
For now - Abbracci a tutti, we send love and best wishes to all our friends and family!
un tranquillo (a relaxed) - Ron & Tom
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