Blogs from Italy, Europe - page 9

As we arrived in Tuscany the cold Rose had developed from Scotland transferred to me somewhere in France, and we decided to focus on getting well. So we had a couple of days in the villa and focus on getting well. As you can imagine this became boring quickly and by the third day we decided we needed to venture further than the supermarkets and went out for dinner to a local restaurant. Ristorante Pizzeria Da Caino La Cantina will focus in future blogs as we intend to have this as outrTuesday dinner venue. The next day we went to Lucca for the day, about a 20 minute drive. Once we arrived and parked, we aimlessly walked the streets absorbing the atmosphere while Rose found a little bag shop and purchased a replacement bag for the ... read more

Today we leave Piedmont, but know that we will be back again to explore more of this lovely region. Our trip today is about 4 hours of driving with a stop mid way. So we set off early to ensure we can minimise time in the hottest part of the day. On our first Italian trip we spent 1/2 day in Parma and did a tour of a Parmesan Cheese factory, we had decided we needed to return to the factory and pick up some cheese for Tuscany. As with all the world, Latteria Sociale San Pier Damiami has new products, but the factory has not changed. They have doubled their production by now producing Parmesan cheeses from Brown cows as well as the traditional Black and White cows. We decided to get 1kg of each ... read more

We had chosen Agnes and Albin by Johanna's lovely property in Incisa Scapaccino for the lovely pool and the lovely cottage. We really enjoyed our stay and made the most of the pool dedicating two days as Pool days. During the middle day of our stay we explored the region attending a wonderful market at Aqua Terme and explored this wonderful town. In the centre of the town is an open hot water spring with water at 74 degree. After the explore of the town we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon lunch at Osteria 46 on the outside terrace, can you believe they have renovated a disused crematorium into a restaurant, the building structure was wonderful. Still, another great Italian meal at a reasonable price in and interest property. Due to the heat it was h... read more

Final day in the beautiful Pulgia region. Today was driving slowly to Bari via the white city of Ostuni, La Citta Bianca, with its whitewashed walls. It was sighted when we were still far from it as the old town is built on top of a hill and is still fortified by its ancient walls. From high above, for as far as you can see, the plain below is a sea of olive trees. The region is a producer of high-quality olive oil and wine. We circum-navigated by walking, the strong defensive walls built upon the hill-tops protruding rock. Tumbling clusters of white-washed houses wind around the hillside, at the top of which, proudly surveying the surrounding land, sits the magnificent Gothic cathedral. Originally the practice of lime-washing town's served as a means of lightening up ... read more

Oh, what a difference an evening makes. After the traumas of the day all was forgotten last evening as Lecce (and Italy) comes alive in the evening. People just come out of the stonework from 8pm. We are in the most magnificent location, exactly between the old and new town. We strolled the old town, settled on a place for a pre-dinner drink and then sought out a restaurant for a tasty Italian dinner. We had no regrets with our choices, restaurant or food. Today we decided to not drive anywhere. It was walk, explore and appreciate, “Florence-of-the-south”, Lecce. We took in nearly every street of the old town, photographing doors, windows, people, streets, buildings, paths, door knockers, plants, sites of interest, churches, archways, the old town ‘gates’ (entry points), walls, entrances and more. We stopped ... read more