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)

Back in Amsterdam: The Nordic Travelers Return

Hi All,

After a short 90 minute flight from Bergen, Norway,

Windmills can be seen in the bottom right of the photo taken from the plane

we arrived back in The Netherlands.   Over half the land in Holland has been reclaimed and used to be under the sea.  It was easier to visualize from the air.

One third of the Netherlands, including the airport, is below sea level

Most of these fields were once under water

Our Bergen Binge: Seven Norse Course(s)

Hi All,

We were in Bergen for less than 24 hours, and we spent nearly 20% of our time eating (and drinking) dinner.

It turns out that there was a restaurant in Bergen that was written up in the NY Times called Lysverket

Not much from the outside

which serves “Neo-Fjordic” cuisine.

When was that last time you had “Neo-Fjordic” cuisine.  We generally dine only at the “Paleo-Nordic” restaurants, as I’m sure you do.

B to B: Balestrand to Bergen

Hi All,

We left Balestrand for our final stop in Norway, Bergen which is the second most populated city in Norway.

Not our ferry, in fact, not a ferry at all, but my only picture of a boat on the fjord.

It was our longest and last chance to be captivated by the glorious scenery of the fjords.

Visiting Vik

Hi All,

Before I describe the next days agenda I want to pause for a moment and, as promised, say a word about the stave architectural style

 

O Little Town of Balestrand

Hi All,

Our destination was the quaint village of Balestrand

I know it looks a lot like the other fjordian towns, but this one is Balestrand

As we got off the ferry from Flam, both Jill and I felt the almost imperceptible alteration in the space-time continuum.  The population of Balestrand surged from 1,294 to 1,296 (an increase of almost 0.15%), bumping it up to the 373^rd most populous municipality in Norway.