Blogs from Brindisi, Apulia, Italy, Europe - page 6

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Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi September 12th 2006

Hello All! Circumstances have conspired to get in the way of serious blogging. Living here is labor intensive. How so? There are washing machines but no dryers. The wash cycles appear to last at least three hours, or perhaps it just feels like that since it seems to last forever. Then one has to hang clothes to dry and in this humid climate it takes a while. There are little handy stores 2-3 minutes from the apartment but are not open all day and closed on Sundays. There are open air markets that could supply some of the items we need but only open during the time we are at work. If you want to go to a good restaurant you have to wait until at least 8PM. In short, it requires planning and effort to ... read more
Inside the apartment
Inside the apartment
master bedroom

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi August 28th 2006

...my oh my what a wonderful day...plenty of sunshine...etc. etc. internet access hookup at last...went out and celebrated Italian style...bought myself a nice pair of shoes! Bought a pair that would meet approval from The Manolo (inside joke)...that'll bring a grin from our friend Judy L. :-) Next step...photoblogging! I promise. ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi August 27th 2006

So here I am sitting at school (on a Sunday)working on this post…still waiting for our internet ADSL activation. Last night I ended up calling our service provider to see what the problem was with our service. I asked for someone that spoke English because my Italian isn’t to the stage of being able to discuss technical matters (food & wine, yes…other irritating details, no). Kudos to the folks on the other end of the line; between my simple Italian and their equally basic English we managed to communicate. The problem: the service still hasn’t been activated on their end and it would be another 3 - 5 days. Yeah, well I won’t hold my breath. One merely accepts that everything takes time to accomplish anything. It’s Italy. This guy told me that here in southern ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi August 20th 2006

Ok...we're here and just about finally settled in. I was beginning to feel like the hapless hero of the old TV series "Get Smart." I apologize for not posting during the last few weeks since our departure. The last few days leading up to the daparture were frentic, frantic, and frenzied. We were operating mostly on adrenaline and very little sleep. Many thanks to Muhammed and Carolyn for hosting our "Buon Viaggio" party at their wine bar Piazza di Vino. (For those of you in Boise and those of you that stop in Boise, Idaho, I highly recommend their wine bar.) Thanks to our friends Steve and Debi for feeding us dinner the night before our flight. That was a life saver. I'd like to say that everything went smoothly, but that would be a complete ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi August 1st 2006

We are in a complete frenzy to get all the packing for storage, shipment, and carry-on completed. Each day begins early and ends late at night. I repeat...this is the most complex move of my life. In addition, there is all the work to prepare the house for rental. Now we have the anxiety of shipping our dog. We have to prepare for Plan B: The airline will not ship the dog because of the temperature restrictions. With the weather so hot lately, we have to prepare for the probable denial of transportation or that the dog will be grounded somewhere in transit. Arrgghhh! OTH we did have a magnificent meal just last Monday (26 Jul) with my former boss. She is the best supervisor I have ever had. We were treated to a meal at ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi July 30th 2006

so iheartilyapologize to allwho have actuall been checkng up on usto see if theres a new blog...basically it was a combination ofus havingno free money tospent on booking a comp, the lack of internet access in various hostels,and us frankly not being bothered..... but now we'r in brindisi taking a well deserved rest, mainly because therestotally nowt to do here! i thnk our last blog was venice..? well since then we've been in the hottest 15th century florentine monastery ive ever been in, a roman hotel....yeahi know, weve managed to get into or THIRD unintended hotel of the trip. but it wasnt really our fault!! we were sposed to ring ahead...anyway we stayed in a b and b cos our previoushstel woldnt letus stay in the same room.. and then sorrento was full of friendly australian ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi July 28th 2006

The Farewell Tour - Pt II On Saturday night (22 July) we met with a small circle of friends. A small intimate dinner party for ten was hosted by our very good friends Mark & Darin. Mark is the best amateur gourmet cook/chef I know. He has an outstanding sense of how food and wine work together. Best of all, he has a creative streak that sets apart the excellent from the outstanding chefs. This is the menu from that dinner - read an salivate  Entree Caviar Bar Marcona Almonds Breadsticks with prociutto Champagne Appetizer Lamb meatballs with mango salsa 2005 Rocky Gully Dry Riesling Soup Cucumber water with Minted Crab Salad Salad Tri of salads: Baby greens with raspberry/tarragon vinaigrette, Tomato and mozzarella, Beet and carrot with kiwi vinaigrette Sauvignon Blanc (failed to make ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi July 25th 2006

During a recent conversation with friends, it was mentioned that I would probably add a few lbs while living in Italy. This unfortunately has already occurred. My schedule has become very erratic these last three months and I have strayed from my normal eating habits. I am also deep into The Farewell Tour. Much like Cher, there doesn’t appear to be an end to farewell appearances. Each appearance marked by overindulgence in very excellent food & wine. Just this past Friday evening, I had dinner with my daughter and son-in-law. We met at The Cottonwood Grille (Boise, Idaho by the way) for a pre-farewell. I’ve never fully grasped the meaning of the expression, “parting is such sweet sorrow,” until now. My daughter is expecting her first child, my first grandchild. She is due right about the ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi July 22nd 2006

So how does one pack for a two-year adventure? Answer: Very slowly! Unlike other moves I have made in my life, this has proved to be a new challenge. We have to examine each item, one by one. We have created six piles in the process. One very, very small pile that we will take with us to Italy aboard the plane. One shipping pile consisting of a few books that we deem essential to classroom instruction. One pile that will be stored for two years - the litmus test being, "Will we need or want it in two years?" One pile going to donation. One is for sale items. And last but not least, the trash pile. We are now 16 days from departure. The house is in total chaos. Things are being continually lost ... read more

Europe » Italy » Apulia » Brindisi June 19th 2006

Yay!!!! We are not writing you fuming mad!!! We have a ferry and are going to board it in an hour!!! This morning we got up entirely too early... 5am (see mom it is possible for me to wake up that early!) to take our first of 3 trains today. Sorrento to Naples to Castera to Bari (so we are in Bari, but the internet location thing doesn't recognize it... probably because no one comes here really unless to go on a ferry). We got here around 12:30pm and got on a bus with a bunch of Aussies and Canadians (from Winnipeg) who were going to do the same thing. The ferry place was deserted... and after a lot of walking around trying to find the right place (lugging our bags around and sweating like crazy ... read more
Leaving Sorrento
Leaving Sorrento




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