Our first two months in Italy came to an end on Friday, July 1st. We rented a car on Saturday and moved our base to Lucca in Tuscany, where we will stay for the month of July.  Before we left Lecce, we signed a one year lease for an apartment in the “Centro Storico” and we will be returning to the United States in August to apply for our long stay visa.  We obviously like it here.

After finishing up our four-week Italian class with a group of students from Ohio State, we stayed an extra day in Lecce at the insistence of the manager of the apartment we lived in, Gianfranco Miglietta, because he wanted to throw us a party.  He is building a place in the country by himself and he invited not only us but many of his friends to join in the festivities.  He had his daughter, Camilla, and her boyfriend, Simone, drive us to and from the party (have I told you how warm and hospitable the people here are?).  In addition to the half built house, there is an entrance arch and a small external pavilion (where the party was held) with Gianfranco’s pride and joy, the wood fired pizza/bread oven he built.  With the assistance of several others, he made pucce, the local puff bread for sandwiches, and pizza.  All of which were delicious and we all ate until we could eat no more.

We have had several remarkable experiences since we arrived in Italy, but this was one of the very best.  The warmth of Gianfranco, his wife Paola and his daughter Camilla made us feel like we were truly special.  We look forward to reconnecting with them when we return.

We didn’t get home until after midnight and then had to wake up at 5:30 to finish packing and head out for Lucca.

Our Ohio State Classmates

Sunset just as we arrived

The entry arch

The setting

The oven warming up

Preparing the oven

The dough

Gianfranco and Paola

Paola and Holly

The chef and Paola

The Product

The entrance

Cooking

Cooking

Cooking

Cutting

Eating