Lecce is difficult enough to get to that even when they come to Italy, many friends and family cannot find the time to actually travel that far south to visit us there. Zach, Shannon, Jamie and the Thanksgiving gang all made the effort and I hope they felt handsomely rewarded for their efforts. The only other exception was my daughter Jessica, her husband Matt, and their three children, Ethan, Brooklyn and Benson. They decided to make the trip last summer and we had a great time.
For those of you that still have some notion about southern Italy being somehow off limits, you are missing some incredible food, beautiful scenery, historic cities and friendly people. Perhaps we all need to see the great cities of the north, Venice, Florence, Rome and Milan, but once you have had your fill of too many tourists, try the south. You will find it fascinating.
We met Jessica and her family in the modern town of Pompeii and spent a day visiting the ancient ruins there and then returned to Lecce where all seven of us packed into our small apartment and spent a week exploring, eating, swimming and just relaxing. Traveling can be very tiring for all of us and I think it can be especially hard on young people. All I have to say is that this group never seemed to get bored or complain about the heat, the antiques or anything else. I cannot think of any better way to spend our precious time than sharing the wonders of the world with loved ones.
The Group
From left to right at the table, Jessica, Benson, Matt, Brooklyn and Benson.
Pompeii
Since it is one of the most visited sites in the world, I know many of you have been to Pompeii and wandered through this ancient city, but for those of you who haven’t, here are a few pictures to give you a feel for the place.
One of the reasons this place is so special is that because it was completely buried for so many centuries, nothing was destroyed by the ongoing urban development like so many other places. They are also doing some restoration (not sure how I feel about that) so that at times you can almost imagine yourself walking through the town nearly 2,000 years ago.
We started our day early when there were few people there. By the time we finished several hours later, the place was packed. I did my best to keep most of those people out of the pictures.
Lecce and points south
We not only spent time in Lecce, but also took trips to Gallipoli and Porto Cesareo on the Ionian side and Otranto on the Adriatic.
The farewell
It was rather sad to say goodbye at the train station, but it had been such an extraordinarily good time, who could complain?
