Wine Tour: Day Four

In order to get into the “vacation spirit” I’ve been looking at some ideas for my next getaway.  I get a sudden urge of wanderlust whenever I’m on The Blue line.  Seeing people board on with their luggage gets me excited for them!  I miss traveling but I’m planning on booking something in the upcoming weeks.  I need to get out of this rut.  Luckily I’ve been busy with my friends so I haven’t the time to think bad thoughts.  Summer in Chicago is honestly the best time to be here and I’m fortunate to be here.

Back to recapping my trip 2 months ago!!!  I know I’m so bad.  The day after the wedding we assumed we would be able to sleep in late after such an eventful night.  Yeah right.  Our guests next door started ringing the doorbell around 12pm.  Since the bride and groom slept at the venue for their honeymoon night, we had no idea how to open the door.  We luckily found the right key to get the inside door opened but that alone took 20 minutes to figure out.  It was then when our neighbors told us to get ready right away.  We were all heading to a wine tour back at the winery and we didn’t want to be late. 

We quickly got ready and car pooled over to the countryside.  There, other guests were waiting for us.  Someone made some pasta for us to hold us over, and then the bride and groom showed up with paninis.  It was time for the tour and we followed the groom to the wine cellars.  We also had the chance to check out the winery’s vegetable garden.  There we learned the agriculture of this region and why they produce the vegetables that they do.

After the tour, we all car pooled back to the apartment.  The bride’s aunt and uncle stayed behind to catch up on some rest.  We relaxed for a bit until more guests came over.  We decided to have some light bites along with some wine tasting to get us going.  Tonight we were going to head to the center of town to celebrate a saint’s day. 

Once the sun went down we drove up and luckily found parking right away since the whole town was celebrating.  It was a beautiful evening spent with the locals.  We even heard music from an orchestra playing the national anthem.  I loved seeing everyone’s patriotism!  

Our last pit stop was our favorite café for gelato!  What a treat!

Housewarming Wine Tasting Party!

Last Friday I attended a wine tasting at a friend's new house in the burbs.  She recently made the transition from the city and was throwing a party to show off her new home to her friends.  Growing up in the city of Chicago, I have grown accustomed to the fast pace lifestyle, (although lately I've been wondering if I'm ever going to slow down).  Although it took a while to drive through rush hour traffic to get there, you can see how happy everyone was see us.  Her kids couldn't wait to show us their brand new bedrooms.  Better school system, everything is conveniently closer, and the low crime rate convinced us this was the best decision our friend made for her family.  They needed more room and the cost of living in Chicago has  skyrocketed.  I'm happy for them.  As for us, we got a chance to enjoy some wine from Italy, Argentina, and Germany!  I missed my friends and it was nice to see everyone again. 

We all got a chance to give warm wishes to the host by writing messages on a wine glass that she gets to keep.

He's too cute!!

Everyone wanted a chance to hold him...

Another selfie in the books!  What a long day!

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!

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...