On the train The trip from Lyon to Montpellier was easy. The French train system makes travel pretty easy once you figure out how to buy the tickets. The signs in the station are very clear, the notifications of the next station and how long it will be before you get there take the guess work out of travel. The Housesit We met Sheila in the station and had a short walk to their apartment. Very convenient. Kevin was out picking up some groceries. Even more convenient. We met Mr. Darcy who, in typical cat fashion, couldn’t really care less who we were. After lunch at a lovely outdoor restaurant, while Sheila did some last minute work related tasks before their two month trip, Kevin took us on a walk around the old city. It’s not ... read more

Dianne had planned this trip meticulously and the last stop was Matera. I had limited knowledge of what went on there. I heard something about the sassi (plural of sasso) being a bunch of caves where people had lived even into the 1960s. But I wasn’t prepared for what we saw. I can’t begin to describe how this ancient town developed. In an article in The New Yorker in 2015, D.T. Max gives a pretty good description of Matera di Sassi. Click here to learn the city’s history. Coincidently, he stayed in the same B&B we did. The city is gradually being gentrified and in another generation the original residents won’t recognise it. Our B&B on Via Fiorentini between Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso is pretty upscale. We discovered one similarity to an old cave dwelling: ... read more

The Lecce visit continued with another road trip. Otranto revisited We had such a good time in Otranto with Bob and Rita that we decided to spend another day there. This time we had to take the train. They told us in the ticket office we had to change trains twice to go 43 kilometres. They aren’t big on announcing things on the regional trains but as we approached the town where the first change was to occur, the conductor came through, telling us to stay on the train right to the second city. Only change once. Whew. However, when we got to the Otranto station to come back, the sign said (we thought) there was no train but a bus would take us back to the transfer point. There were about 5 people on the ... read more

By the sea After three consecutive stays in large cities (Copenhagen, Milan and Rome) it was nice to get back to a seaside city (OK, Copenhagen is by the sea but we didn't see much of it). Trani is also a lot smaller at only about 50,000. It is also the site of my first “epic failure” of “Google Maps”. I had mapped out the route from the train station to the B&B and it looked pretty weird. I should have been suspicious. After a few false starts we realized it had us coming out of the station on the wrong side and making a very roundabout walk to the B&B. The city map posted outside the station cleared up the difficulty and it was easy to find our destination. The B&B was on the second ... read more

Editor's note: We have tried to keep the comments on the pictures short but sometimes... If a comment appears to be cut off, try double clicking on the picture or the link under the picture to see the rest of our riveting text. Travelling to Rome Milan to Rome is no big deal once you figure out the Italian train system. As Canadians, we aren’t used to good train systems but theirs is pretty good. And fast. We noted the overhead sign showed we were going 300 km/h. The temperature showed 32°C which I thought was warm until I noted later it was up to 33°. Not a good sign. Our good Italian friend, Eddy, picked us up and drove us to our apartment. It was good to get together again; it has been quite a ... read more