Ostuni and Polignano a Mare

are two of the more popular cities to visit in Puglia (the region where we live, sometimes referred to as Apulia in English) and sit between Bari and Brindisi

Ostuni

is relatively famous in Italy and referred to as the “la Città Bianca” (the White City).  It sits on a plateau overlooking not only the Adriatic Sea to the east, but also the Valle d’Itria to the west.  It is clearly visible from the train between Bari and Brindisi as a white citadel overseeing your trip down the Adriatic coast.

Like many places we have visited in this area, its history of habitation dates back to the stone age and it has been conquered and reconquered more times than I have space to outline here.  The current old city dates back to medieval Norman times.  With its narrow streets and views to the Adriatic, it is a wonderful place to spend time strolling and shopping.  Should you ever visit, be aware that like some other cities we have visited, the train station is not in the center of town, but rather on the coastal plain and the city is either a bus or a taxi ride away.  You could walk (it is only a mile and a half) but the road was not made to handle pedestrians and if you know anything about drivers here, you probably don’t want to take the chance.

Photo credit to Italy Magazine

The view of the Adriatic from Ostuni

Ostuni shares its patron saint with Lecce and Brindisi, Sant’Oronzo

The streets

Had a recommendation for this restaurant, but it was not open.

View to the sea

Il Duomo

Inside Il Duomo

Imaginative gate

A bridge over a tranquil street

My girls

Polignano a Mare

is one of the stops on the regional train from Lecce to Bari and one that we thought little about as we continually passed through it on our way to Bari and other places.  Then one day a friend asked us, “Have you been to Polignano a Mare, yet?  No?  Well, you must go.  It a beautiful town hanging over the sea and a you don’t want to miss it.”  How do you not give into a recommendation like that?

So we bundled ourselves up on a cool, clear day in late January and took the 45 minute train ride and I must say, it did not disappoint.  It is curved around a small inlet with a sandy beach (I imagine it is very crowded during the tourist season) that is accessed by a beautiful path leading down under an arched roadway bridge with restaurants along the way.  The edge of he town is perched along low cliffs and lava flows over the Adriatic and is absolutely enchanting.

Since we were there on a cool winter day, there were few tourists and it felt at times like we had the city to ourselves.  The only drawback there was that very few of the shops or restaurants in the old city were open.  But we found a restaurant and we don’t do much shopping anyway, so all in all it was a win.

Just a couple of weeks after our trip there, Holly found an article on the internet about the 10 most beautiful cities in Italy to visit and Polignano a Mare was on it and I concur.  If you are ever in this area, take the time, it is worth the effort.

We are off to Barcelona on Sunday and in the next couple of months we have trips planned to Budapest, Venice and then Albania.  Should be interesting.

Jim

Today marks one year since this adventure started for real.  My last day of work at Thomson Reuters was March 31st, 2016 and April 1st (April Fools we are) was when we really kicked into gear.  I thought a little recap of this incredible year was in order.

We spent the month of April condensing our lives down to a storage room (full of things most of which I am now uncertain we will never want again, with the exception of Holly’s piano) and a few pieces of luggage.

After a brief stopover in Rome, we spent May and June getting to know Lecce and Puglia and making many of the friends who have been the real wonder of our trip.  If anything has been the highlight of this adventure, it has been the warmth of the people who have welcomed us into their lives.

Gianfranco, Paola and their lovely daughter, Camilla

Stefano, Sally and me with the Adriatic in the background

Roberta and Maurizio

Mateo and Ann

Our teachers from the school, Rylee, Emma, Anna and Valentina, with Mateo receiving his certificate

Marco, the supplier of all things GOT. Winter is coming.

Our friend Dario, teacher, architect and film director

Having already secured an apartment in Lecce starting on October 1st, we decided to spend the month of July in northern Italy and we chose Lucca.  What a wonderful choice that turned out to be.  Lucca was not only a magnificent walled city, it was an easy train ride from many other wonderful sites in the north.  From there we visited Pisa, Cinque Terre, Ravenna, the Ligurian coast and Florence.  We were hosted by Connie and Martin who again turned out to be warm and welcoming.

Lucca

On the walls of Lucca

Lunch in Ravenna

Mosaics in Ravenna

Crossbow tournament

Cinque Terre

The incomparable tower in Pisa

Dinner above Lucca

Connie and Martin

We then needed to return to the US to secure our Italian visas.  On the way we stopped over in Ireland to be hosted by the warm hospitality of friends we met in Lecce, Cooleen and Padraig.

Padraig and Cooleen

Outside of Dublin

The Cliffs of Moher

We then spent the rest of August in Seattle, transferring to the Bay Area in September so that we could apply for our residence visa in person at the Italian Consulate in San Francisco (the only place on the planet where we could apply).

The Golden Gate

Lake Tahoe

In Mendocino with Holly’s brother, John, and his wife, Nan

California coast

El Capitan

Seattle and Mount Rainier

We returned to Lecce at the beginning of October.  It is hard for us to believe that that was 6 months ago.  We are half way through our 1 year lease.  What a year.

Most of my posts have been descriptions and pictures of the places we have been and that seems like what a blog like this should be.  But I would like to add to the story and talk about how we are doing.

As I think most of you can imagine, selling nearly everything you own, renting out your house for two years, then taking off for Italy and the unknown, leaving family behind, can be very emotionally draining.  And it has not been without some anxiety.  Financially, it was a little more difficult to get to this point than we had anticipated, but that has been righted and we are managing quite well, even if a little spare.  There were snags getting our Italian visa and then dealing with the bureaucracy here to obtain our Permesso di Soggiorno  (a document we also needed to stay here) was a trial to say the least.  We are both doing our best to learn Italian.  Holly has become quite advanced and I am still working on it everyday.  My memory is just not what it once was, but I am progressing.

I see postings on Facebook all of the time about following one’s dreams and doing the things you want before it is too late.  Whenever I read those, all I can think is that Holly and I have chosen to do just that and we have never had a doubt or regret about what we are currently doing.  Speaking for myself, I sometimes miss Seattle, family and friends, but I would not trade this experience for anything I can name.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that, with all of the negative things going on in the world right now, this blog brings you at least a small respite and gives you a few minutes just enjoying some of the wonderful places and things the world has to offer.