As we reached the halfway point of our European Trip we booked a tour of the Itria Valley.
A full day visiting four quite different towns.
The first stop was about an hour from Lecce, the stunning Polignano a Mare, a beachside town built into the rock. More than that it is the home of the man who wrote Volare (listen here)!
Polignano A Mare is just a stunning. Continue reading
When we planned our trip to Europe I knew I would need to do some research and writing. I was quite looking forward to it. When we’d been away in 2015 I had used the early mornings and afternoon siesta time to write and that was in winter.
This time it’s summer and its hot and humid making the afternoons not that pleasant. As a result, it hasn’t been hard to spend many of our afternoons reading and writing while we have been travelling. My PhD supervisor will be pleased!
One task I have over and above my PhD research is to write a chapter for an academic book due for release next year. My contribution is due about a month after we get back and has been the main focus of my attention while we have been travelling. The topic is aligned to my PhD research which was why I pitched the idea in the first place.
With breakfast done, the day set to be hot and humid and a disappointing but not unexpected loss to my beloved Adelaide Crows out of the way, I sat down to write.
Continue reading
After a few relaxing days in Lecce, my favourite person and I decided on a day at the beachside town of Otranto, about 45kms from Lecce.
The bus stop for the summer bus service was just around the corner from where we were staying. Armed with our bus timetable that our truly amazing beyond Airbnb super host had given us, we arrived at the bus stop about 15 minutes early. Continue reading
After a hectic week of travel in Israel, amazing as it was, it was definitely time to get back on the Slow Travel bus (or train as that was our mode of travel to Assisi from Rome).
We decided to take an Airbnb to have a bit more space, as well as being able to do our washing and relax. Our apartment was just outside of the Porta Nouva. While it was at the bottom of the hill an escalator awaited for the trip up the hill – how civilised.
The very first thing that captured our attention were the views from the town.
Assisi is about the Saints, and coming straight from Israel it had even greater resonance even for a non-Cathlic. like myself.
There were nuns and monks everywehere.
I was struck by how so many people gaze in awe at the religious sites. Continue reading
Umbria is often referred to as the green heart of Italy.
The view across the Umbrian valley from Assisi with its patchwork of fields confirmed this. Umbria has a reputation for its food, wine and olive oil; all of which we can confirm from our stay in Assisi.
Our days in Assisi, a medieval town that looks across the valley, had enabled us to sample the wines. Montefalco Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso were becoming favourites.
We visited a local wine bar, Bibenda, that had a reputation not just for the wines but also for its sommelier owner who has a truly extensive knowledge about the region.
We’d seen in a “things to do” post from Airbnb about a “new experience”, being a wine tour of a Montefalco winery and decided to see if we could make it work without a car.
Who wants to drive if you are doing some wine tasting? Continue reading