It has taken some time to warm up to Genova. It is a big city and a little gritty (what big city isn’t), but some of the views and musicians like the ones in the attached video help.

Genova street musicians

Lunch in Portofino.  This place lives up to the hype. Continue reading Portofino →

On the train to Venice today and the color of the Adriatic Sea is other worldly.

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 6, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

Sometimes referred to as the Detroit of Italy (that may not be a compliment but it does headquarter FIAT, Lancia and Alfa Romeo), Torino’s population is almost 900,000 people, with a metropolitan area over 2 million. It was the largest city to ever host the Winter Olympics when it did so in 2006.  Most people we have discussed this city with agree that the improvements made for the games were the best things to happen to this industrial northern Italian city in many years.  The city was spruced up to greet the world and those improvements still show up everywhere.  It is a beautiful, clean, well run city with great public transportation, museums and grand architecture. Added to that, the Alps serve as a backdrop and on a clear day you can even see Mont Blanc.  Unfortunately, the best we got was hazy, so we never saw it.

When we visit a new city, we always love just meandering around trying get a feel for not only the history of the place but also what it is like for current residents to live there.  I realize that when you stay in the historic centers and for the most part visit the grand monuments, architecture and museums, trying to get a feel for contemporary life in a city is at best difficult.  If you do not connect with people, you miss out on much of the richness a place has to offer.  We had two great experiences with people that enriched our experience in Torino and really made the trip the wonderful experience that it was.

First was with our Airbnb landlord, Renzo.  We have been very fortunate over the years finding places to stay with landlords who really care and try to help in every way possible, and our time in Torino was no different.  Renzo offered to pick us up from the airport and once we got into town, he gave us a quick tour of the city and took us to an overlook where we had some of the great views you will see in the pictures.  The apartment was as wonderful as it was spotless.  I wanted to move in.

He pointed out to us the Superga Basilica that is the highest point within Torino and said we had to go.  There is a cog wheel train that can be reached by bus and it takes  you up to the Basilica.  It takes some time, but he said it was worth the trip.  The next day we got a text from him that he had the bottle of wine he told us he would bring us (yes, he makes wine, too that is only sold to restaurants) and asked if we would like him to take us up to Superga.  We of course said yes. He stopped by, gave us a wonderful bottle of wine, drove us to the Superga Basilica and afterwards we stopped for a bicerin (a Torinese chocolate, coffee, cream and liqueur specialty) in the cafe that invented it sometime in the 18th century.  After all of that, a few days later he picked us up and drove us back to the airport on our departure.  I don’t know where these people come from, but I am always grateful for their gracious hospitality.

The second people story begins with Holly’s Italian teacher in Seattle, Roberta, who was born and raised in Torino and her parents still live there.  As a matter of fact they have been living in their current 4th floor apartment and working in their hair studio on the ground floor of the same building for 52 years.  Holly had made a plan with Roberta (who is herself as beautiful, gracious and generous as the Italians we have found here) that if we were ever in Torino we should stop by and meet her parents.  So plans were put in place for us to have dinner with them at their home during our time in Torino.  It was a little slow getting started as they had just returned from a trip and had been delayed.  We arrived at the appointed time, (as Americans do) 7:30, and Enzo, the father, was a little frazzled and his wife, Carmen, was not to be seen.  We offered to take a little walk around the neighborhood.  He seemed relieved and said that would be a good idea.  We took our walk for about a half an hour and when we returned Carmen was their and dinner was well on its way.  Their son, Donato, who was also coming called and said he was stuck in traffic and would be late so we sat, drank some wine, ate some appetizers and had a great conversation with the two parents.  They spoke no English, but Holly was up to the challenge.  I understood most of what was being said, but I still have trouble speaking.  Donato arrived at about 8:45 and we all sat down to one of those homemade Italian dinners we all wish we could create.  We ate, we drank and we talked until almost 1am and then Donato drove us back to our apartment,  I am not sure we have had a more charming evening on this incredible journey.

View of Torino and the Alps

Holly on the Po

A bridge over still water

Baroque masterpiece

For my theater friends, forced perspective seemed to have been invented here-

The Torinese  claim they have the largest open air market in Europe and I saw nothing that would allow me to dispute that.

A small part of the old Roman wall is still standing and Julius and Augustus are standing guard.

Part of the old Roman fortifications

Julius

Aguatus

In addition to the beautiful Basilica and magnificent view of Torino, the Superga hill was also the site of one of the worst tragedies in soccer history.  In 1949 nearly the entire Torino FC (most of whom composed the Italian national team at the time) was killed when their plane crashed into the back of the hill in the fog.  The memorial is located at the site of the crash has become a shrine decorated by soccer fans from all over the world.

The Superga from Torino

The view from the top

The Basilica with me, Holly and Renzo

The memorial

The memorial

The crash in 1949

Al Bicerin.  This drink is so good it is decadent.

The cafe

The drink

We have now visited so many beautiful churches and cathedrals that I don’t post many pictures anymore, but across the piazza from Al Bicerin stands the Santuario della Consolata.  The inside was so breathtaking, I needed to add a couple of pictures.

Our new friends in Torino and the authors of an evening that will be cherished by us forever.

We did feel a little tall

Carmen, Donato and Enzo

Next up: Barcelona and Budapest

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.