A Night to Remember...

In the morning we got up early to checkout.  Since the weather has been all over the place, we were constantly checking our phones for the forecast to see if any rain was heading our way.  We were surprised by last night's showers and that pretty much ruined our chances for stepping out.  Since we had a 3 hour drive back home, we figured we can still have a chance to see what Lecce was all about. We had our morning espresso and a mini pound cake treat for breakfast and wandered around for some souvenirs.  I really wanted some leather goods, but unfortunately it was not in season in Lecce. So much for that.  We walked around some more and ran into a leather shop.  A man was busy putting together a bag but stopped to help us find what we were looking for.  He made everything by hand, and the leather fabrics in his showroom were gorgeous.  If we had enough time he would have made me a brand new bag to my liking, but I was pleased with the one I found in his shop. He was a true gentleman and I've been wearing my new purse ever since.

We decided to head back to town, but first my friend asked me if I would like to see a castle.  It was in the town called Andria and nearby her hometown.  I figured why not since we could knock out another distinctive castle out the way.  This one was HUGE!!  The Castel Del Monte was built near Bari in the 13th century by the Emperor Frederick II.  His policy in Italy, unlike that in Germany, where he encouraged the feudal system, was that of an absolute monarch. For this reason, and also for defensive purposes, he built a number of strong castles in his lands of Apulia, Calabria and Sicily, the largest and most influential of which was Castel del Monte.  ("Castel Del Monte". unesco.org.)  I was blown away by the size and of it's octogon shape.  We drove up to a parking lot to park our car and then hopped on a bus which took us to the hillside of the castle.  I noticed the storm clouds reeling in, and because of it's low altitude, we decided to skip the inside tour and just take pictures outside.  It started to get gusty up there so we made our way back to the bus which took us back to our car. 
During that time we were checking out the castle, my friend recieved a phone call from her boyfriend.  He wanted to hold a wine tasting for his friends who brought bottles from nothern Italy.  They decided to hold the tasting back at the house instead of going to a restaurant, and that's when panic struck.  She would have to cook a feast for 10 and we still were an hour away from home.  Not to mention, we would be arriving into town around 2:30pm which meant we were cutting it close if we wanted to stop by the market to grab some items for dinner.  Siesta usually hits around 3-5pm, and my friend wanted to start the preparation for dinner at that time. 
Nontheless, we picked up whatever we could for dinner and made our way back home.  The guests were to arrive at 9pm, and my friend still had to clean up the place as well as prepare the food and get ready.  I helped out in the kitchen by doing the dishes.  Because of the limited dishware, I washed while she reused the pots and pans to continue to cook the meals.  It became a stressful ordeal to beat the clock.  Around 8:15pm is when her boyfriend arrived home from work and started to help out in the kitchen while we got ready.  What threw us off is the first early arrival guest showing up at 8:45pm on the dot!  Yikes!  He entertained while we finished up and the next thing you know, the rest of the guests arrived right on time at 9pm.  Time to get this party started!
What is hard for me as an American, and as a LIGHT DRINKER is the tasting of the wines on an empty stomache.  I'm used to having wine with my meal, but here in Italy, you sip and savor and then eat a huge feast to balance out the fuzziness.  Well for me, I'm almost at full drunk mode, but then making I make it more ackward by trying to contain myself at the table.  It's something I definitely have to work on, but since this was my 3rd wine tasting while on vacation, I hope I didn't make a fool of myself this time around. 
My girlfriend threw an amazing feast and we savored every bite.  I even learned a recipe to take back home.  I love dinner parties!   

Sight seeing in Lecce!

Check out those luxe leather fabrics!

Castel Del Monte in Andria!

Gorgeous castle!

Massive!

More fig dishes!

Check out that table!

Good times with good friends!

A night to remember!

Plan B

After our rained out Monday, we had to figure out what to do for Tuesday.  Again rain was in the forecast, but when we woke up, it was partly cloudy.  We could see in the horizon the storm clouds moving in so we decided to act quickly and pack up an overnight bag.  We checked the weather conditions in certain cities and Lecce was suppose to have rain the next morning.  Then again, Lecce was 3 hours away from us.  We figured let's go as south as we possibly can to beat the rain and enjoy some action.  And away we went on our little excursion.  We drove before the storm hit us but from then on, it was a constant race to beat the clouds.
We drove for almost 2 and a half hours til we settled in Ostuni.  We were hungry and needed another shot of espresso.  Most of the times, we were driving through acres and acres of land so it did get tiring on the eyes.  Plus my friend was doing all of the driving since she knows how to drive stick shift.  Ostuni was a beautiful city!  Gorgeous white brick that practically glowed from far away!  I couldn't wait to see what was in store for us.  There was a lot of traffic going into town so they have a pretty good following as far as tourism goes.  We had trouble finding parking and had to hike up into the central region, and when I mean hike, I mean we HIKED!  lol.  Luckily I had my gladiator sandals on but it's was still difficult to walk because of the steep roads.  We settled for some pizza at a cute restaurant and luckily got seated right away.  We must have just beat the rush because the restaurant got filled up pretty fast.  I felt bad because they seemed to be under staffed.  Regardless, we had no worries because we were resting for a bit.  I ordered pizza (which was pretty big but delish) and my friend had a bowl of pasta.  We also ordered a bottle of white wine. 
We started to walk around town when it started to rain, and then it rained harder.  We took cover at a cafe.  I decided to have a cappuccino, but something that my friend had said earlier struck a nerve with me.  She said people usually don't have cappuccino late in the afternoon.  I was surprised because we sometimes took a siesta and depending if I slept too long, I would wake up too groggy.  I can't believe Italians wouldn't serve themselves a cup of something because the day is not over when siesta is.  People sometimes go to work and finish up business.  Just something to think about. 
Once we figured the rain wasn't going to give up, we knew we had to get out of there or else we'll never make it to Lecce.  The steep roads were very hard to walk through in the rain.  We were soaked.  I hate the fact we couldn't hangout in Ostuni much longer because we never got a chance to walk around.  I did notice some graffiti with the demonic symbol 666 on it, and an upside down cross.  I found out later that it's not devil worshipping necessarily.  People have a lot of conflict with the Church and express their frustrations that way.  Interesting. 
When we FINALLY reached Lecce I noticed the temperature change.  It was definitely warmer, and seeing clear blue skies made our day!  We found parking in the street and made our way to our bed and breakfast which was located in the central area of town.  There was a lot of hustle and bustle in Lecce, so I knew we would enjoy our time here.  Believe it or not, I missed the action of a big city.  People were finishing up siesta and going back to work when we arrived.  Although at this time my friend was crashing hard.  She wanted to rest badly. 
We settled in our b&b and met the owner.  He gave wonderful recommendations and was super nice to us.  I'm still not use to the idea of a bed & breakfast spot, but since I was with my friend, she reassured me we would be ok here.  It had great ratings and we were in the middle of everything.  I left her there to rest up while I walked around the central area and sight see.  We were still on the lookout for a dress for her to wear to the baptism coming up next week.  I figured I'll wander around and checkout the retail shops myself first to see if there's anything for her. 
I did find some wonderful leather shops along with other interesting finds.  But they were mostly tourist shops.  I couldn't find their retail shopping district, so I was out of luck.  I came back and woke her up an hour later so it wouldn't get too late for her to look for herself.  We decided to chance it and shop outside the central region and that's when we found the retail shops.  It was getting frustrating again because most of the stores had fall merchandise and nothing cute for a Sunday baptism.  We had reached the last couple of stores on this block when my friend found a stunning day dress.  It had a houndstooth print and was fit-n-flare but we figured she could wear it in the winter as well with opaque tights.  We found a winner!
Now it's time to head back to the b&b and change for the evening.  The shops were now officially closed and the restaurants were getting packed for dinner.  I changed into a mini floral print maxi dress and my friend wore a cute floral dress.  The nightlife in Italy is mostly restaurants and bars, so we don't have to wear club wear out since the crowd is mostly tourists.  At this point we kept walking around trying to find the one restaurant that caught our eye, but that turned out to be over an hour of confusion.  We were hungry and upset and finally we caught the one!  An osteria restaurant with a intimate setting.  We were pleased! 
I devoured my plate and we were getting excited about going out for a bit.  But guess what happened?  Yup.  The rain found it's way to Lecce, and it was raining hard.  We were one of the last guests leaving the restaurant and we were stuck on what to do.  We had no umbrella and one of the workers there tried calling a cab for us but with no such luck.  He gave us one of their umbrellas from the restaurant and we figured we'd walk back to the b&b.  It was hard to walk in that rain especially on the cobblestone!  We had to take our time.  I'm still amazed people ride their mopeds in that weather.  We ended up falling asleep and skipping our big night out on the town.  What can you do?

Labor Day in Italy!

I had chose this week to be in Italy mostly because I didn't have to miss so much work if I incorporated the Labor Day holiday in there.  Turns out it could have been a bad idea after all.  They were not lying about the rain.  We had to get up early because my friend had to go into work for an hour.  She teaches English here in Italy and takes assignments as they come.  Today she had to go to a daycare that mostly dealt with kindergardeners and 1st graders.  These kids were so adorable!  Italians come in all shades, so it was interesting to see different faces in class.  They were very excited to learn something new.  Our lesson was on England, so my friend taught them easy expressions and words associated with their nearby neighbor.  We also did an exercise with Simon Says.  Kids have a lot of energy so it's good to have them moving constantly to pay attention.  I do have to say I enjoy how expressive Italians are with their speech.  Sometimes I think it helps to get your point across instead of beating around the bush. 
Afterwards it was already 11am so we started thinking about lunch.  We figured we can go by the farm and do some fig picking.  Yesterday we had a slice of fig pie in Peschici and my friend wanted to bake one and have me compare which one is better.  She definitely improved her cooking skills in Italy.  On our way to the farm we passed up a little town called Torremaggiore.  It was there where I saw my first castle.  It was small, but very well constructed.  The town turned it into a public library.   
We enjoyed the time we had outside walking through the farm and observing the grape and olive trees.  We picked a basket full of figs before we got interrupted by a very big guy that came out of nowhere and scared us half to death.  He had a garden tool with him.  I think he thought we were stealing, but once we explained who we knew that owned the farm, he left us alone and walked off.  I honestly do not know where he went because there was nothing out there but acres of land.  I noticed the clouds getting darker and darker and we figured it was time to head back.  Being out in this particular farm area, lots of truckers pass by, and with that, prostitutes waiting at every corner.  It's interesting seeing them out in the open, but my friend informed me that the town had gotten rid of the brothels because of the church.  They felt that having them roam about will give them an opportunity to get help instead of having them working in an environment that's hard to get out of. 
Regardless, once we got home, the storm came, and it came HARD.  I saw the streets flood with a few inches of water.  Trees were bending sideways.  I heard thunder but didn't really see any lightening.  But it lasted for close to 30 minutes.  Enough to do some major damage.  It rained the rest of the day.  A couple of times it stopped but then it started again.  Me and my girlfriend were stuck in the house.  We napped during siesta and then got up to make dinner.  A couple of friends were going to join us for dinner.  My girl threw down in the kitchen!  I couldn't wait to eat!
Once our little dinner party came over, they set out the wine for the evening.  I truly enjoyed tasting new flavors, mostly because I do not consume beer back home.  If in Chicago, I usually order a vodka with cranberry, sometimes a glass of red.  But because of the company I was with, Italians adore their wine and are glad to share different variations with you to increase your knowledge.  It was a quiet evening with friends, but we made the most of it despite the weather conditions.  Now the biggest challenge is to figure out what to do the rest of the week...

Final Concert Series of the Summer!

You would think by now I could have rested after being here in Italy for a couple of days, but NOOOO.  We won't stop yet!  We had to agree to meet up with a friend who wanted to join us for a day at the beach.  I was glad because rain was in the forecast the next couple of days.  You wouldn't believe it with the blue skies we had today.  So once again, we woke up early and picked up our friend and off we went! 
In Italy, especially in small towns, it's common for people to get up early on the weekends and head off to the beach in the summertime.  Since word spread about the sudden weather change that was going to happen, my friends felt there was more traffic than usual as we made our way up to Peschici.  Of course since we drove out of town pretty late (around 10am) we finally got there about 11:30am.  An hour and half of going up and down a mountain side.  Me and my friends joked about the dizziness at first, but this drive is not for the faint of heart.  Actually, most roads in Italy are very narrow, and everyone drives around in an itty bitty car.  No large trunk spaces around here.  Not to mention, I understand why most cars are stick-shift.  It's impossible to go up these steep hills!  I did notice charter buses going from town to town.  So you can get around using that.  I would suggest to plan accordingly since most of these drives were averaging almost 2 hours.  I knew off handed I was getting around places with the help of my friend who knew her way around.  I wouldn't have been able to pull this off unless I used the EuroRail and those usually get you to the major cities. 
We found parking near the local restaurant of the beach and figured we'll place a reservation so we can eat since we got hungry from the drive.  Again, one hour of sun and then it's chow time!  This time we did notice some vendors selling interesting beads and beachwear.  I bought some cute sundresses for 5 euros!  We also noticed a campground located on the beach.  It seems to be pretty popular with Germans and since the owners of the restaurant were part German as well, it was nice to see other cultures venturing out to this beautiful beach.  Supposedly people camp out at the beach all summer!  NICE!
The Trabucco da Mimi was located right off the seashore and had a gorgeous view overlooking the beach and village.  A "trabucco" is a special Italian fishing structure made of wood and usually perched on a cliff.  We ordered some wine and decided to venture out around the restaurant for a bit for some picture taking.  This was the life!  I can get use to drinking wine everyday with a view like this!  I can honestly say looking back I had a great time with my friends and listening to their views of the world and the Italian life.  It does make you appreciate what you do and do not have everyday back in the states.  Of course, being an American has its perks too.  You have to remember, most Europeans aren't fond of tourists in general, and change for that matter.  They take pride in their past and history, but sometimes have problems accepting new ideas and customs.  I can imagine how frustrating it can be.  My friend showed us an area overlooking the mountain side where a huge fire had taken place.  Apparently, there was going to be new development to be constructed and a fellow villager started the fire to delay the process (or not have it built at all).  Talk about extreme!
We went back down and laid out some more, but we then realized we did not want to ride back in the dark, especially down that mountain side!  We headed back to town and dropped off our friend.  She had to get up early in the morning anyway.  We also had to get ready (again) because tonight was the final night of the summer concert series in town.  Since a popular singer was performing, and the Italian press was going to be there, I decided to wear a silk one shoulder dress that I had won off ebay.  I couldn't figure out where to wear this dress, and this concert was the perfect solution.  Topped it off with my espadrilles, I ended up dancing the night away.  I had so much fun!  It was pretty exhausting but completely worth it...

  
     

12 Hours Non Stop!

Someone at The Big Party had mentioned rain on Monday, and now it was Saturday morning.  Me and my girl figured let's make it to the beach so we can get some sun in.  She figured out a route where we can also hit up some towns that had a good shopping district.  She had a baptism next week and was looking for a dress to wear.  We packed up a bag and threw in some clothes to wear out and away we went.  Our 1st destination was 2 hours away and it was already 12pm.  We should have left earlier but our night out wore us out.  Unfortunately, our drive started to catch up to us, and by the time we found our town, we were starving for lunch.  We knew the beach was nearby, but couldn't see it right away until we drove over this little bridge.  We noticed that people kept looking at this certain direction, and then it hit us like a ton of bricks.  It was one of the most beautiful sites I've EVER seen!  The sea, surrounded by rocks and white town homes.  We finally arrived to Polignano a Mare!
We quickly found parking and made our way below to the beach.  But with the sun hitting hard and us with an appetite, we figured we needed to eat 1st.  Luckily the beach had a restaurant, and we devoured ourselves to another all-you-can-eat-buffet.  We then changed into our bikinis and found a spot to lay on.  First of all, this was no ordinary "beach".  There was no sand.  In place were rocks, and trust me, it was uncomfortable!  We made the most of it regardless.  Italians LOVE to tan.  In fact, they can spend hours on the beach.  As for us, we only spent one good hour underneath the hot sun.  We decided to go to our next spot, but I will say, Polignano a Mare took my breath away!  It is gorgeous. 
Before we drove out, we had some gelato to cool ourselves off.  And I concur!  Italians know how to make gelato!  It was so yummy.
To change things up a bit, my girl drove to a small little town called Alberobello.  We headed to the central district where the Trulli houses were.  This village is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage site, and rightfully so.  This unique area is over 600 years old!  We walked around took a ton of pictures.  What I liked as well were the souvenir shops inside the homes.  I bought some cool stuff, along with my favorite item I got, a map of Puglia! 
On to the next, and this time we went to the city of Bari.  My girl really wanted to hit up some shops, but we were out of luck looking for a dress to wear to this baptism.  This metropolitan city had a retail shopping district, both high end and low.  I did manage to buy 2 tops, and she got a hot dress to wear out to dinner.  I changed as well, and slipped into my wedges again.  It was time for dinner and my friend wanted to go to one of her favorite restaurants.
We drove to the nearby town of Trani, and I fell in love again!  This port town is so pretty at night!  We walked around in the Marina and found the infamous restaurant La Banchina Osteria.  I ate like a queen once more.  We ordered a "Fruits of the Sea" platter and indulged in some tasty treats.  Everything was delish!  The hardest part for us was the drive back, especially after we had a huge dinner.  We got back into town and headed to the winery again, but this time for a private birthday party.  A friend had rented the space to celebrate his son's birthday.  He was turning 18 and had invited all his friends.  They were having a lively time, but by then me and my friend were exhausted!  We were all over the place for 12 hours non stop!  I did manage to dance for a little bit, but luckily we left before the party died down.   

The Big Party

The jet lag was starting to catch up to me.  My friends had to go to the nearby town San Giovanni Rotondo for an appointment, and they figured we can all hangout there for the time being.  Problem was it was at 9am, and we had to get up around 7:30am to start getting ready.  Mamma Mia!  I don't know how I managed to get up, especially since I had my 10 bottle wine tasting dinner the night before.  We got back pretty late and now we're up and at em.  The drive wasn't so bad, but I'm assuming it was because the countryside was so pretty to me.  We were running seriously late, and as a result, had to wait for the next available time.  In the meantime, our little group headed to the Padre Pio church, and decided to checkout the older one first.  There were a lot of tourists in this area, all to see the Saint Padre Pio.  The cathedral was also a museum as well.  We spent some time there learning about his up bringing and admiring the hundreds of mail that were thrown in his vault.  We made our way to the newly built church, and what a site that was!  Beautiful gold paint were on the ceilings as if it were 14k gold.  Vibrant mosaics from the floor to the ceilings.  We joined in the slowly moving line to view his mummified body.  They mummified him back on the 1970s by the request of John Paul II once they made him a saint. Afterwards, we were hungry since we got up so early and figured it was time for lunch.  We made our way to San Marco in Lamis to their local bakery where we bought some pizza to munch on, and some pasteries for tomorrow's breakfast.  We were pretty high up on the mountain and noticed the dramatic temperature drop.  I threw on a jean jacket and we played around taking pictures of the view.  On our way back home I couldn't help myself and dozed off in the car.  I was crashing pretty bad.  We relaxed the rest of the day and kept the activity light since we knew we had a big night ahead of us.  It was the last weekend before the summer concerts series were officially done.  They were held in the town's winery.  I straightened my hair and slipped into a long black maxi dress and ankle ties wedges.  I opted not to bring heels to my trip because I heard about the cobblestone pavements here in Italy.  And if that's not complicated to walk on, it's either gravel or broken sidewalks.  I really don't know how Italians do it!  I didn't want to take a chance and ruin my heels so wedges was the way to go.

We made our way to the big party.  It was a great turn out, as it usually is since this summer concert series brings people from other nearby towns.  Italians love live music, and tonight's performance was a band that played rock/pop music. Me and my friend walked around and worked the room.  People were fascinated by the fact that I was from Chicago.  Not a lot of tourists make there way down here.  I could see by the look on their faces a sense of pride that I made it to their city.  Italians are very proud of their country, and regions.  And rightfully so!  Every town/city I had the opportunity to visit had their own distinct characteristic and beauty.  I enjoyed the company of new friends that evening.  Afterwards, a couple of people were heading to a nearby nightclub.  I got excited and my friends figured we should check it out for a bit.  I truly appreciate them doing this for me, mostly because we all had a long day that day.  Off we went to the Vida Loca nightclub!  There was a pretty good crowd at that time.  You figure it was after the winery party and that was over around 1:30am.  It's safe to assume the nightlife gets going pretty late here in Italy.  House music was pounding the speakers and me and my friend danced happily with each other.  I missed her very much and was happy to see her having a good time.