Traipsing Around Brindisi

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Today is our first day of the Christmas break. We won't be headed to Rome until the 22nd, so we will be doing some day trips. Today has been one of the first opportunities to go do some more exploring around Brindisi. When we first arrived, most of our sightseeing was utilitarian; that is, we were just trying to acclimate ourselves. Since then we have been travelling elsewhere instead of our backyard.
So today, Beth spent the day in bed trying to catch up with her prodigious capacity for sleep and I headed out to explore the byways of neighborhoods that are unfamiliar. It was a beautiful day and typical for a Saturday afternoon - that is, virtually deserted. Here are some photos of today and early unposted photos. I intend to capture more of our life here in Brindisi this week and the remainder of the school year. We have decided that we will not return for a second year with the organization that employed us. June will arrive soon enough and we need to squeeze in all the travelling we can.
Here is a glimpse of Brindisi.

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Photos

Fruit & Vegetables
This is around the corner from us and my favorite shop. Produce is always fresh and it is handy for a quick morning run.

Aldo
The shop owner is a great guy and always has some special treat or will go out of his way to get me what I want. I get to practice my Italian with him. Great guy!

Little space - lots of veggies
Some shop keepers don't allow customers to handle the produce. Aldo does and I appreciate that. His place is popular with the senior set from the neighborhood. I fit right in! :-)

Wharf road
Our path to the ferry that crosses the small bay. The local fisherman live in this neighborhood.

The Motobarca
This shuttles back and forth all day. It is only a 3 minute ride max across the little bay or a 20 minute drive around.

Inside the Motobarca
The crew has decorated for the hoiday season. It usually maintains a 10 minute roundtrip schedule...usually :-)

A wide piazza
with a monument to the dead soldiers from WWI. It has a nice view of our nieghborhood across the bay.

Elementary school
I came across this one while just meandering around. I want to go observe an Italian school and class in action before we leave.

Saturday Afternoon
in downtown Brindisi, a virtual ghost town. Evening however is different. It will be packed with Brindisinos out for their evening stroll.

Downtown Piazza
Looking a bit lonely...not many folks out and about.

Piazza tucked away
on a street corner in the middle of a neighborhood. I hadn't ever seen it.

Cool old tree
This is the tree in that little piazza. This piazza actually had some nice grass.

Naval station
The Italian navy has a small naval station here in the harbor. Though the bay is narrow it must be quite deep to handle such large ships.

View of the bay
on the way back home. It is quite narrow.

Comments

[Judy Liedtke]

Sleep-a -thon
Beth is my hero for spending Saturday in bed. I too have an abnormally high capacity for sleep. One day we'll have to see who's queen.

[GS arcs]

Sleep-a-thon stats
Beth slept Friday evening on the couch from approx 6PM until 10:30PM...got up an headed to bed and promptly slept until approx 9AM Sat morning...ate an orange then slept again until 2PM...watched a bit of tv then fell asleep on the couch for another 4 hours approx...watched a bit of tv and then went to bed...got up Sun morning at around 8AM...no doubt there will be some afternoon snoozing today...in a previous life she was a bear.

[Dave K]

Happy Holidays, Americano Brindisinos!
We'll miss you this year, but see you next!

[GS arcs]

Traipsing around Brindisi
Ciao Dave!! It is tough to go without the company of family and friends at this time of the year. I miss do my Christmas season stuff like going out to a fine dinner and the Nutcracker or other holiday offering. Look for a Christmas card from Italia! :-)