PUGLIA: EXPLORING THE HEEL (PART 2)

Hi All,

We spent our first night in Puglia at our new Palazzo in the picturesque, sleepy village of Minervino di Lecce,  in the heel of the Italian boot.

The Minervino di Lecce Town Square (which is really more of a Town Rectangle)

 

The village consists of several homes, a church,

The Church-more about the church a bit later

Puglia: Exploring the Heel (Part 1)

Hi All,

We left Bernalda and Basilicata behind and drove east toward the Puglia region located in the heel of Italy’s boot.

Our route from Bernalda to Minervino di Lecce in Puglia

As we approached the Adriatic Sea, our first stop was at the second UNESCO
World Heritage Sites that we would visit, Alberobello, a “must see” if you like little Hobbit houses.

These small, cylindrical whitewashed homes with cone-shapped roofs are called Trulli (pronounced like “truly”) and they are very cute.  I mean like kitten or puppy cute.

Basilicata Italy: Stepping out in the Instep (Part 2)

Hi All

We have been in Italy for almost 48 hours, and I thought it was probably time to reset my watch to Italian time (8 or 9 hours later or earlier-I wasn’t entirely sure),

I wasn’t even sure of the month

so on the morning of our second day we visited the most accurate timepiece in the area:

The sundial at Metaponto beach

Basilicata, Italy: Stepping out in the Instep

Hi All,

After a fantastic dinner at the Palazzo Margherita (Francis’ place), the next morning, though jet lagged and exhausted, we decided to visit the environs of Bernalda. Our first excursion was to a UNESCO World Heritage Site called Matera, a cave city that has existed for 10,000 years, give or take,

which was around the time the elder members of our group were in grammar school.  

Italy: The Instep and Bernalda

Hi All,

First, I have to apologize for not sending this out earlier.  I generally try to write these blogs contemporaneously with our travels, but on this trip I spent most of our free time reading about current events. Riveting!

There was one upside to this: we have decided to cancel our scheduled trip to the Ukraine next year (we were already booked at the Trump Towers in Kiev — so sad).

Many of you may remember that Jill and I were married in Italy just over five years ago.

June 19, 2014                Our Wedding (Calanzano,  Italy)