Monthly Archives: September 2023

Our week at the Il Borgo Villa, Sicily

September 26, 2023 – 1:56 pm

September 23, 2023

We flew from Bari, the capital of Puglia, to Catania, Sicily on the evening of September 22 and took a taxi to our hotel in the heart of Catania’s Old Town. Our travel agent, Martina, had booked the place but not told us what to expect.

It was the most outlandish accommodation we have experienced as well as the most humorous and appealing. For starters, there was a huge, ceramic black foot in the middle of our room, not to mention the life-size ceramic sculpture of Spiderman outside our door, as if standing guard. There was pop art in all the public rooms and on every shelf and wall space. We wandered around smiling at everything. The hotel was on a pedestrian only street with several restaurants. We selected one and had a delicious meal of fresh fish and pasta. We were joined by the first of our selected group to arrive, Jayna and Craig Ashcraft, Ken and Julie Zuckerman and Jean Creasey. They had all arrived early for our group gathering and we were happy to have them join us for dinner. We were all giddy to finally be together in Sicily after a year and a half of planning. We lingered over dinner a long time umtil we were all getting sleepy. We crawled into bed giggling about the foot at tne end of our bed.

September 23, 2023
Breakfast was on the plant bedecked terrace overlooking a piazza. It was the usual European breakfast of cappuccino, cheese, lunch meat, fruit, yogurt and fresh breads. Each day we try to eat less, but are not very successful. Thankfully we don’t eat like this at home, or we would be blimps. Then we went for a stroll around the old town and observed that our hotel was literally on the same street as the busy and entertaining Fish Market.

The Fish Mongers are all shouting about their products and wanting us to taste and buy different fish. Above the street was a roof of colored umbrellas that provide some shade and rain protection. Then we followed Rick Steves walking directions and saw several ancient buildings as well as churches and underground antiquities.

Back at the hotel by noon, we checked out, got some lunch, picked up the car and headed for our villa for a week called Il Borgo. It was a half hour drive south of Catania in the middle of orchards of fruit trees and grass land. It definitely contained the required 12 suites, public areas and large swimming pool. It was just a bit more rustic than I expected.
Mark and I busied ourselves deciding where to locate each of our 21 guests, putting name tags on each door and laying out T-shirts Mark had designed and made for everyone. Before we knew it, our first guests appeared and by 6:30 everyone had arrived, except Judith Ciphers, whose flight plans delayed her until mid-day on the 24th. The weather was very warm and the pool very inviting. As people arrived they put on their suits and hung out in the water. Everyone ordered cocktails and the party began.

By 7:30 we gathered in the courtyard for dinner. The villa staff provided us with a delicious buffet with typical Sicilian dishes. The sky sprinkled on us and most of us moved under cover. Al Dover gave a lovely welcome thank you to Mark and me for hosting the week. It was very touching. Then I talked about housekeeping matters and Terry McAteer talked about the planned activities for the week. I was thrilled that everyone had arrived safely and were already enjoying themselves. Success. We had been so busy chatting that we forgot to take photos. Sorry.

September 24, 2023

We woke up to a sunny and warm day. Breakfast was at 8am. Some of us stayed by the pool while 8 of us went to the beach at Agnon Bagni Beach about 12 minutes from the villa.

The water was a comfortable temperature and we had fun bobbing around. Liz and Jean went for long swims. I thought the beach was pretty dirty and a bit disappointing. The pool was a much better place to cool off. Some of us worked out with Roxanna back at the villa.

We changed, ate a fast lunch and drove in several cars to Syracuse for a walking tour led by Terry. It included Greek antiquities in the middle of the modern city, the ancient city walls, the large and lovely Piazza Duomo and the Cathedral, which had originally been a Greek temple, later replaced by a muslim mosque and finally by the Roman Catholic Church . We attended Mass in the Cathedral at 7pm and dinner at a nearby reserved restaurant at 8pm. The food was terrific. All went as planned by Terry. Love that boy.

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 Sept-Oct: Italy/Sicily/Malta, Adventures | Comments (1)

Martina Franca and Alberobello-our last 2 towns in Puglia

September 22, 2023 – 2:55 am

September 21, 2023

We spent our last full day in Puglia with Silvia visiting 2 more towns in the Valle d’Itria and watching a cheese maker create his specialities of mozzarella and burrata cheeses.. The landscape consists of karst Murgia hills and large caves covered in dense vegetation and a cultivated plateau with red terrain that extends to the sea. The countryside is dotted with conical, white stone structures called trulli.

I was taken with these houses and wanted to see many of them. Here are a few of the offerings. We did get into an abandoned house Silvia knew about and that helped add to the story.

Our first stop in town was at a cafe shop called Bar Adula in Marina Franca. It was Silvia’s favorite place and we could understand why. The coffee choices were extensive and the best was a cold coffee drink called Granita Di Caffe that had an iced coffee mix at the bottom with dense whipped cream on top. Even I had to admit that it was excellent.

Once fortified with the coffee we walked under the entry arch into the Old City of Marina Franca. The first thing we saw was a statue of St Martino cutting his cloak in half in order to give half to a poor beggar. St Martin is the national patron saint of France.

We explored the Palazzo Ducale, a huge building that had belonged to the Caracciolo family of Naples. This family administered the town from 1600 to the 1800’s. Many rooms were frescoed with scenes from mythology and the Bible. Several doors were linked together to create a telescopic perspective with a baroque effect. An annual opera festival takes place here that is very popular, the Itria Valley Festival.

Martina Franca is the largest town in the valley with a population of 50,000. The town is named for St Martin and Franca refers to a tax free zone officially established in the 1300’s . The tax free zone helped establish the development of the area. Local products could be shipped in both directions to either sea. In the 1743 an earthquake damaged homes and public buildings. The new baroque style was used in new construction to good effect in the late 1700’s. Rococo decorations were also included in the structure. In front of the church is the Piazza Plebiscito.

Entrance gate to the Old city of Martina Franco

Many buildings were originally built in the 1300’s, but an earthquake in 1743 caused much destruction. It was a good excuse to use the new, modern styles of Baroque and Rococo in late 1700’s construction, including the Basilica of San Martino, the Church of St Dominic and its attached cloister and many houses.

Basilica di San Martino. Built after the earthquake of 1743

In front of St Martin’s Basilica is the Piazza Plebiscite. The piazza is surrounded by a covered archway that is popular for vendors in the summertime. Around the neighborhood we arrived at St Dominic Church, also from the late 1700’s. Attached to the church was the Dominican cloister, which is now used for a preschool. There were few people in the town. Almost no tourists. The streets provided very pleasant strolling with many upscale clothing stores. We found a store where Mark bought another shirt. This makes 3 new ones for him and one purple outfit for me. Enough!

We learned that many people who had lived in the town through the centuries had been very wealthy, but the younger generations turned to spending rather than investing and eventually they could not maintain their salacious homes, so they sold them. Today we see fancy entry doors, but plain walls on the rest of the building. New owners maintain the property as best they can. Here are a few.

A colorful scene of Martina Franca near the Basilica. From here we headed for the UNESCO Heritage site of Alberabello, which was begun in the 1500’s. The village is the town full of Trulli, round structures with cone shaped roofs that were dry-stacked. Many were whitewashed to protect the walls from crumbling as they built without cement. The people who initiated the structure were the Acquaviva Family. The first house was built in 1428. They paid no taxes because the roof was not permanent. By dry stacking, the owner could remove the roof and no longer have a taxable home, only a stable. As soon as the government taxing authority agreed there was nothing to tax and departed, the owner put the roof back on the building. The concept became popular. The town, having no taxable buildings, had no name either and was known as a ghost town.

Today Trulli houses are valuable as tourist attractions and second homes. Many of them are lived in full time and have all the conveniences of modern houses. Here is an abandoned countryside house Silvia found to explore. It had olive trees, and wheat fields. We pretended to be proud new purchasers of the fixer upper. This would be our 5th remodel. Nice huh.

We went into the town and found a Trullo house that the owner uses to attract tourist money. She does not live there but spends her days there to show off the place. Remodeling an old historic Trullo with a modern bathroom is illegal, but she has managed to get away with it because she did it before the restrictions took place.

We walked around the town an saw many trulli and eventually had enough.

From Albebello we headed into the countryside to a cheese factory called Itria Bonte and the home of the cheese maker, Georgio, He was a man of few words but oh could he make cheese. He took us through the process of making Mozzarella cheese, as well as burrata, which I much prefer. Mark, on the other hand, prefers mozzarella. I got so involved in the process that I forgot to take photos until we were standing with the finished products. After the demonstration, Georgio and his wife served the three of us lunch of a selection of cheeses, homemade salami, capicola, home made olives and wine and cheese cake for dessert.

We are at the end of our stay in Puglia and we have enjoyed every bit of it, just as our travel agent, Martina, said we would. Now we are headed for Sicily, where a whole new adventure begins.

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 Sept-Oct: Italy/Sicily/Malta, Adventures | Comments (2)

Polignano a Mare, a town on the Adriatic

September 21, 2023 – 12:26 am

September 20, 2023

We’v been slowly working our way up the east coast of Puglia and today we visited Polignano. It is a small seaside town with colorful character. Our new driver, Carlo, is the owner of the company that has been driving us around. He speaks very good English and was very pleasant to be with, especially as Silvia did not meet up with us until we reached Polignano, an hour after departing Ostuni. His tourist driving company is very lucrative and he and his wife and daughters are able to travel a fair amount. He goes to Sicily every year and has been to the US 4 times. He was driving us in a new Alfa Romeo today. We met up with Silvia at Elisa’s office at her guide service company, called Southern Visions, in Puglinano. We visited awhile and complimented Elisa on the excellent service we have received.

Me, Elisa, Silvia and Mark in Elisa’s office.

From there, we drove to the main gate and did a short walk through the gate and into Polignano.

The Church of St Maria di Asunti. Medieval exterior

We went inside the important town Church di Santa Maria Assunta and saw a real marble altar with lovely wooden choir, a beautiful organ, and an exquisite sculpture of the Nativity by Stefano da Putignano. Apparently it is so well regarded that an Italian stamp has been made of it.

Nativity scene sculpted by Stefano di Putignano

From the church we wandered around the small, narrow streets enjoying the views of town and the Adriatic See. Before getting on a boat to see caves, Mark had another cappuccino . I was concerned that the water would be rough, as it had been the other day, but the Sea was only slightly choppy. We, however had no interest in swimming. The caves were larger and easier to enter and experience than the last trip, which was nice. The rocks were colorful, there were lots of shells and it was fun to see the town hanging on the edge of the cliffs. The tiny, rocky beach was full of people enjoying themselves, but it did not occur to us to join them.

Mark downs a cappuccino before going boating

Carlo drove us back to our hotel in Ostuni, where we relaxed by the pool until it began to sprinkle. The first rain we have seen on this trip. It lasted only long enough to drive us out of the garden and into our room. After a couple of hours, we walked down into the old town and got a bite to eat. The couple sitting next to us spoke English so we got into a nice conversation. He was from Australia and she was from New York. Currently they live in Australia and are in Italy on a month long holiday. Well after dark, we slowly walked back uphill to our hotel and dropped into bed.

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 Sept-Oct: Italy/Sicily/Malta, Adventures | Comments (1)

Ostuni and nearby communities

September 20, 2023 – 1:33 am

September 18, 2023

This morning we gave up our rental car and were picked up by a new driver, Roberto, who took us to Ostuni. Before heading that way, however, we drove into the town of Surbo to a large shopping mall so Mark could buy an adapter. No problem.

Back on the road, the drive took about an hour. We began to see more olive trees that were alive and appeared healthy. We hope to learn more about what is happening to them soon. Soon we could see the white city of Ostuni. Roberto stopped to let me capture a photo.

Roberto drove through and around the Old town before finding our hotel. Sure glad we were not driving and having to find which narrow streets to navigate and where to park. After he dropped us off at the 11 room Paragon 700, at the top of the town, we dropped our bags and went for a walk about. Very narrow and hilly streets. The town was full of tourists shopping, eating and hanging out. After a while we had a bite to eat too and went back to the hotel to check in and cool off. There is a lovely garden in back of the hotel with a swimming pool too. Hope we have time to enjoy it. At 4pm we met our guide, Silvia. She had been with us a few days ago. Today she showed us around Ostuni. We had already walked much of the town, but with her, we saw the place in depth. We got much exercise in walking stairs and hills as well as exercise in history.

The man kneeling next to the virgin is the founder of the church. — Cathedral di Santa Maria Assunta

After our tour of Ostuni with Silvia, we stopped at a charcuterie restaurant in the Piazza della Liberta and got a bite to eat before heading for the room and bed. We are not late night people these days. Thankfully our hotel is a short walk from the center of town.

September 19, 2023

We were up for breakfast at 8:00 in the garden. Then met our new driver, Michael, who drove us to the train station, where we met Silvia and headed for Cisternino. We walked through a small park and found three gentlemen more than happy to chat with us. They were all alone in life and found pleasure in companionship with each other as well as talking to strangers. We had a a pleasant visit and then walked on into the small town with narrow streets, few people and fewer cars. There were good views from the belvedere, which was at 500 feet asl. The area produces many fruit trees including seeds, nuts, pomegranates, peaches, figs and more. We passed a carob tree and learned that any seed from the carob is the measure used for diamonds. The weight of 1 carob seed equals the weight of a 1 carat diamond. because all carob seeds weigh the same. This is how the use of the word carat for diamonds came to be. So we learned something new.

There are many stairs in the Cisternino and we took plenty of photos. Apparently there is no tax charged for exterior stairs, only interior ones. No wonder we saw so many.

St George Church in neoclassical style from the 1800.s

We drove away from Cisternino and headed for an olive masseria to taste olive oil and learn more about it. The name of the place was Antica Masseria Brancati. The elder owner met us at the entrance and introduced us to his 2000 year old trees. His great grandfather had purchased the Masseria many years ago and now he is getting ready to turn the business over to his 21 year old son. He is very proud of his work and hopes his trees will be saved from the Xyllele bacteria which travels on a bug that is slowly moving north through Puglia.

Silvia gave us a tour of the olive cellar and how the olive pressing process works. It was familiar to us, but still interesting to see how it was done so many years ago in a real live press. Today the work is done elsewhere in a sterile environment. After studying the press we went into the garden for an oil tasting and lunch. We tasted 4 different oils, with different grades and flavors. One was pressed with lemon and rosemary. They were very tasty. As was lunch. It consisted of a bottle or Rose wine and platters of appetizers followed by a pasta dish. Dessert was fresh peaches with mint and ice cream cannoli. We were stuffed, but feeling most satisfied. We drove back to Ostuni knowing we would skip dinner.

The elder olive producer and head of the business — The owner of the olive business, Corrado Brancati.

A 2000 ear ofd olive tree — The owner of the olive business, Corrado Brancati.

The Paragon 700 Hotel in Ostuni, where we are staying. After relaxing for a couple of hours we went for a walk about the city center and had a cocktail. The air was comfortable but not vey cool. We were happy to get back to the A/C in our room.

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in Adventures | Comments (1)

The east coast of Puglia from Otronto to St Maria di Leuca

September 18, 2023 – 5:53 am

September 17, 2023

This was our last day at the Masseria Trapana. We have enjoyed having several days in the quiet countryside. Today we drove back toward Otronto and south along the Adriatic coast. Our plan was to enjoy the coast line and see the beaches along the way.

A Bauxite quarry near Otronto. Reminded me of Malicoff Diggins

The route was mostly high above the sea and very rocky. Where there were housing settlements, the traffic was very congested and the beaches were not close. The countryside was so rocky that the vegetation was sparse and dry. We were disappointed in the drive, even though we did see a few rocky coves with small sandy beaches.

The high point of the drive was our lunch stop at a place called Lo Scolo in the village of Marina di Novaglie. It was a charming place overlooking the sea and a popular swimming spot with no sand, just boulders. I had local lobster and Mark had sea bream. The lobster was superb—tender and sweet. I probably will not have it again as the price, which I learned when we got the bill, was astronomical. Glad I ate it before knowing the cost.

After lunch we drove to the tip of Puglia and got on a small boat with 6 other people. First we motored up the east coast through the usually rough water of the Adriatic. The boatmen stopped several times at various caves to show us points of interest. After the first couple of caves, we were ready to be finished as there was nothing special to see and the caves were too shallow to enter. Eventually we turned around and headed south to the place where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet. Almost instantly the water calmed down. Turns out the Ionian See is always calmer than the Adriatic. We saw a few more caves and stopped twice to snorkel and swim. Mark and I had not intended to swim, so we watched the others.

About 5:30 we were back at the dock and on our way north by the inland route. We had a couple of mis-directions returning home but made it safely by 7:30, as it was just getting dark. We went directly to dinner, had a light meal and headed for showers and bed. We agreed that other coastline drives were far superior, such as Highway 1 in California, the Amalfi Coast in Italy and Hwy 28 and 89 around Lake Tahoe.

This was the side deck off our bathroom. It had a nice view of the countryside and was pleasant in the early morning before the heat got to it.

September 18, 2023

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 Sept-Oct: Italy/Sicily/Malta, Adventures | Comments (2)

Galatina and Gallipoli

September 16, 2023 – 8:15 am

Galatina is a small town famous for the Church of St Catherine of Alexandria. It was built in 1391 in the Romanesque and Gothic styles.

It was commissioned by a man named Romandello. He was the forth son of a local rich lord and not expected to receive any wealth from his father. So he became a crusader knight and a dignitary in the court of Naples. He married up to the countess of Lecce. Supposedly he bit off the finger of the dead St Catherine in Naples and brought it home to create a pilgrimage destination of the Church of St Catherine. He died six years after marrying the countess. She then married her husband’s enemy, the king of Naples. After 8 years, he died in battle. She returned from Naples and commissioned frescos for the church in her first husband’s name. She did not like the work and recommissioned the frescos to be painted again by different artists. The church is spectacular. All the scenes are from the Bible: the Apocalypse; Genesis; Life of Jesus; scenes from St Catherine’s life.

Raymondello, who commissioned the church to be built.

From Galantine, southwest of Lecce, we drove to Gallipoli on the Ionian Sea. There we wandered around the town and enjoyed watching the scene. Being a beach town, Everyone was casual and relaxed. Gallipoli is an island with a strong ancient defensive position that makes for a good tourist visit today.

Entrance to our suite 18 steps up once inside the door

When we have not been sightseeing we have been hanging out at Masseria Trapana, our digs for 5 nights. Today we had a day off and tomorrow we plan to drive the east coast from Otronto to Santa Maria di Leuca. I apologize again for the content mishap. Hopefully it won’t happen again.

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Masseria Trepana, our home while we visited Otronto and Lecce

September 16, 2023 – 6:38 am

September 13, 2023

Masseria Trepana is a villa near Lecce that our agent in New York, Martina, thought we would enjoy. A Masseria refers to a farm house surrounded by local orchards including oranges, persimmons, pomegranates, figs and especially, olives. We arrived at noon time after having spent the morning on a self-guided walk about Matera. Got a few more photos that we included in yesterday’s post. Massimo drove us from Matera to the villa through flat countryside full of what looked like thousands of dead olive trees. We asked about the trees and were told that many thousands of olive trees had been attacked by bugs that caused a virus and killed the trees.

I have spent many hours updating the blog and was nearly finished with our time in Otronto, and Lecce, when my computer died and I lost all the text from several days. I do not have the energy to recreate the text, but will send lots of photos to try to make up for it. Our first day at the Masseria, we went to Otronto and met our guide, Sabrina.

We carried on and visited the Church of the Martyrs, the results of Ottoman savagery in 1480 and Renaissance architecture, and a huge tiles floor inside the Church of the Martyrs, along with 72 columns in the crypt, plus a lovely frescos. The Ottomans beheaded 800 people for refusing to give up their religion. The church contains some of the skulls.

Lunch included this wine-like bottle of beer.

On to Lecce, the capital the province. Turns out Puglio is the capital of the region, not a province. We took a break after lunch and reset with Sabrina at 5pm for another walking tour. This one was of the Old City of Lecce.

This Basilica shines in the setting sun. The top is Baroque and the bottom is Romanesque.

After the tour Sabrina took us to a special restaurant in the middle of the city called Vico dei Sotterranei. We had an excellent meal, found our way back to the car and drove home.

Excellent appetizers at Vico dei Sotterranei

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Altamura and Castel del Monte

September 14, 2023 – 5:59 am

September 12, 2023

We were picked up by our driver, Massimo, and left Matera for Altamura and Castel del Monte. We rendezvoued with our guide for the day, Silvia, at the Di Gesu Bakery in Altamura . We were met by Giuseppe, the 5th generation proprietor of the business. He was quite proud of his product and walked us through the steps of making the best bread around. We had to admit that it was very tasty, soft in the middle and crispy on the outside The wood burning oven behind us in the photo is 6 meters in diameter. Quite huge. It takes 40 minutes to load the oven and the best bread is what goes in first and comes out last.

From the bakery we walked through Altamura’s Old CIty, which had been abandoned in the 600’s when Rome fell and was rejuvenated by Frederick II in 1233. We stopped at the Cathedral of the Assumption to view the intricately carved portal, a lovely sculpture of a young Joseph with Jesus and a special painting of the conversion of St Paul.

I bought a purple outfit I saw in a store window and could not resist. Then we headed for the next town, Gravina, where we stoped at the Church of Purgatory and took in the sayings on the wall. “What you are, is what I used to be.” “What you are going to be, is what I am.” Sylvia had her own saying. “The mother of the idiot is always pregnant.” Not sure what she had in mind.

The Church of Purgatory, with sayings on either side.

On that note we all had a coffee and then hit the road for my big goal for the day, the Castel del Monte an hour north of Gravina. The countryside was mostly gentle rolling hills. Very lovely even though the fields were mostly brown cut grass. Trees were very sporadic but added variety to the sameness of the undulating hills. Most of the buildings we saw along the way were abandoned farm houses. Farming and sheep raising had once been the main economy of the region. Today the economy is mostly olive oil, then olives and grapes, followed by almonds, fruit trees and then wheat–the crop we were passing through.

Mediterranean pine trees with rolling hills in background

As we approached the Castel, the conversation turned to Frederick II, who commissioned the castel in the 1240’s. He was born in 1194, became the king of Germany in 1212=]\ and Emperor of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire in 1220. He was a Christian, but was excommunicated 3 times by the pope. He died in 1250 after having been a forward thinking leader and commissioner of great works.

This structure is a perfect octagon, that took years to get perfect. there are 8 sides, 8 equally sized rooms on two floors, beautiful marble walls with corinthian columns, and bathrooms on both floors. The building sits on top of a hill with a 360 degree view of the area. It was built with great precision and has a grace about it that makes me think of it more like the Taj Mahal. We spent an hour roaming around the place and taking in the atmosphere. I was pleased to have added it to our list of sights to see. We drove back to Matera and called it a good day. Mark and I had dinner in a local underground restaurant called La Lopa and went to bed. We have not yet adjusted to the time change..

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 Sept-Oct: Italy/Sicily/Malta, Adventures | Comments (5)

2023 Sept-Oct: Italy/Sicily/Malta

September 13, 2023 – 11:36 am

We began in Puglio Province, the heel of Italy

September 10, 2023

Planning for this trip began over a year and a half ago, during the waning days of COVID confinement, when Mark and I began discussing how to spend our coming “aught” dates: his 70^th, my 80^th, and our 30^th anniversary. We agreed it would be wonderful to invite some friends to join us on a travel adventure.

We chose Sicily as a place we wanted to visit and thought others might want to visit too. We made lists of companionable people to invite. At first, we thought it would be hard to find enough couples, but in the end, I was wishing we had more rooms to share. There are several more people we would like to have included. I went online and researched places that could provide what we had in mind. Eventually I found Il Borgo, a villa on the east coast of Sicily between Catania and Syracuse. It had 12 equally nice suites, each with a private bath, set in a lovely courtyard and floral gardens. There was a pool and sauna, an olive orchard, a nearby beach and catered meals per request. On top of all that, the place came with a concierge to help us plan our daily activities.

Once we secured the place, we started asking people to join us. We agreed to pay for the accommodations but they would need to provide their own air, ground transportation and most meals. We were not sure what reception we would get, but almost everyone gave an enthusiastic yes. I guess Sicily, photos of the villa, birthdays to celebrate and plenty of lead time to make their own plans drew people to us.

A year and a half later we are finally on our way. Our personal plans have evolved to include the province of Puglia (the heel of Italy), Sicily, Malta and finally Florence. Our week at the villa in Sicily is from September 23-30. Each couple has created their own adventure. Some left home days ago, others leave during this next week. Some will arrive just in time and travel to other places after Sicily. We are having much fun following all their plans and getting excited along with them.

I had not planned to keep the blog going during this very social adventure, but several people have asked me to do it so I will try to accommodate but am making no promises.

We left home at 8am on the 10th and arrived at SFO after only 2 hours and 19 minutes with Mark at the wheel. Our friend Josh Scott accompanied us and drove away when we said good bye. I sure hope he drives slower than Mark did.

It was my first time through security with my pacemaker. I was pulled aside, had to take my shoes off, even though I am over 75, and received the most thorough pat down I have ever experienced. Sure hope that will not be my plight with every flight.

We flew on United from SFO to Munich, had a short lay over and continued on to Bari, the capital of Puglia Province in Italy. From there we were driven 65 kilometers southwest to Sassi di Matera, which is in the Italian province of Basilicata. Have a look at the map of Apulia, Latin for Puglia, above.

Our guide for the afternoon was Anna. She met us at our lodging in Matera, Corte Sin Pietro, and we began our walk-about. Sassi, she said, means rock or stone and Matera is built on hills made totally of rock and stones. There are 2 different Sassi neighborhoods that contain over 3,000 structures carved completely out of rock. They were occupied for millennia by troglodytes and are one of the oldest occupied towns in existence. Human remains have been found in the area from 9,000 years ago.

More recently, house fronts have been made with constructed limestone blocks with caves in back of or under the house. Today, houses are built completely of stone blocks with no attachment to caves.

The whole town is bizarre, but most interesting and appealing to wander through. Tourism has become big in the area and the town is full of restaurants and houses converted into accommodations, such as the cave-like room we are staying in, which has no windows and is below ground.

Anna lead us to interesting churches that were made at least partially in caves.

St Lucia Cave Church from 1000’s, was lived in by Benedictine nuns and had a cemetery on the roof. There was a museum attached to the church that was also interesting and unusual. The Church of St Peter Caveoso had a painted wooden ceiling from the 1700’s and a niche for St Anthony. The whole tour was very unusual and kept us both engaged.

Due to poverty, humidity, mold and sickness, the government moved the residents out of the Sassi neighborhoods into apartments in 1952. The people were healthier but missed the attachments they had to each other living in close proximity in the Sassi. Today many descendants of the Sassi residents maintain homes in the area.

At 8pm, we had dinner at a Michelin Star restaurant called Vitantonio Lombardo. It was named for the chef and was in a nearby cave. We had a delicious 5-course meal skipping the 7 and 10 course option, and that was just the right amount of food. By the time we finished, we barely made it to our room before falling asleep. It had been over 30 hours since leaving home. Very long, but satisfying day.

Waiting for dinner Inside the cave restaurant called Vitantonio Lombardo

Scenes from around Matera

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From Last February! Interesting pictures from our trip to Patagonia!! We are now on our way to Italy!

September 10, 2023 – 12:51 pm

Patagonia is spread between Argentina and Chili and is the southernmost region of South America, including Tierra del Fuego. Patagonia is famous for its variety of wildlife, unspoiled nature, and ancient Indian cultures. Archeological findings date back to 8,000 BC, from Pre-Columbian civilizations to the skilled Mapuche Indians known for their mastery in weapons making and agriculture in the 16^th century. In addition, part of the Andes, one of the longest rock formations on earth, are found here. Within the Andes is the tourist destination and trekking paradise of Torres del Paine National Park located in the Cordillera del Paine mountain chain.

Massive exposed, granite rock features, formed in the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs wandered the planet, raise among turquoise lakes, rapids, waterfalls, and flatlands. They are the remnants of the sedimentary stratum, which has been eroded away in the Torres del Paine Park. Hopefully, I will have some photos to share soon.

Meanwhile, the park was established in 1959 and is 70 miles north of Puerto Natales. At 593,000 acres it is one of the largest and most visited in Chili. In 1978, the park became a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It is known as the most beautiful park in Chili for its famous Grey Glacier, two popular treks and the most photographed attraction called the Torres del Paine, the three distinct 11,000 foot+ granite towers. The word Paine is from the Tehuelche Indian word meaning “blue”blue towers.

We arrived at Puerto Natales in a driving rain storm and zero visibility. After a lengthy arrival process we finally departed in a van with another couple and headed for Explora Lodge, an hour and a half away. The road was a mix of asphalt and gravel. Very rough and bumpy and the rain did not let up. The other couple never said a word to us and it was a very quiet rode. We could see only the scrub, brush and low tree cover near the road and the occasional lake. Eventually we passed the large and very turquoise blue Rio Paine. Very pretty even through the rain. Once we arrived ate the lodge, we were greeted by the receptionist and activities director, who walked us through the activities options for our 3 day stay. Tomorrow’s suggested options include a short hike for Mark and a horseback rode for me, followed by lunch and a break before the afternoon activity of a looping drive to see the Torres del Paine hopefully. It all depends on the weather; wind, rain and fog. The lodge is very light and airy and spread out. Our room is very close to the dining room, thankfully. We quickly unpacked and went to dinner. Finished unpacking and went to bed.

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 February: Chili/Argentina/Uruguay | Comments (0)

Between Uruguay and Italy was…Cuba….

September 9, 2023 – 5:48 pm

It has been several months since we last posted from Uruguay and much has happened to us, both emotionally and physically. In late May we made a one week trip to Cuba with friends from Classical Tahoe, a classical and jazz performance organization in North Lake Tahoe. Here are some shots of our activities from the first 2 days we were there.

We also walked around Havana, attended two dance performances and went on a classical car “drive-about” the city.

The dance performances I got to experience

On May 27th, about 9:30 the morning of the third day, the left side of my body collapsed and went numb. Fortunately, we were in our hotel room and had already had breakfast. Mark called the hotel nurse, who took my blood pressure. It was 180 over 90. She called for emergency services and in short order, I was in an ambulance with flashing lights and sirens blaring and headed for what we thought was the hospital. Instead, we arrived at a clinic where I spent 4 hours before the staff told us they could not help me and that I should go to the hospital. Back in the same ambulance with the same drivers, I finally ended up in the stroke ICU ward on the 8th floor of a 25 story converted bank building.

As it was a Saturday, there were few medical services and no English speaking MDs or staff available. I spent the weekend mostly sleeping as I was not allowed out of bed. The nurses were on 12 hour shifts and I experienced a few of them. The Sunday evening nurse was a young man, who invited his lady friend to stay overnight. The two of them spent the night together in the bed next to mine. By morning, she was gone. This seemed unusual, but this was Cuba, not the US.

The orchestra performance Mark attended with the Classical Tahoe group.

Meanwhile, Mark managed to attend the farewell musical performance at my insistence and did his best to figure out how to get me home, but it wasn’t until Monday morning that the hospital staff got into gear and an English speaking doctor showed up, he was from Honduras. He immediately ordered an MRI and concluded that I should get to California as soon as possible. Mark then arranged for me to be taken back to our hotel, where I stayed in bed until the next morning when we began the journey home. Mark secured front row seats to Miami and first class tickets from Miami to SFO, but we had to wait in the Turkish Airport Lounge for 5 hours between flights. The lounge was completely packed, but we managed to get seats while we waited. Halfway to SFO we learned there was a strong tail wind and that we would arrive early. So, when we landed, we grabbed our bags, which had not been checked, and headed for the Uber pick-up site. By then I had given up the wheelchair and was walking with Mark. In an hour and a half, the Uber driver delivered us to our car at the SAC airport before the flight from SFO departed. All we wanted to do was get home and into bed, but our doctor friend, Scott Kellermann, had insisted we go directly to Mercy Hospital so we did. The ER was full of people when we arrived but we managed to get seen after half an hour.

Once in the system, there was no stopping the process. As there was no bed for me, I was kept in a small ER space and moved from one test to another throughout the night. After 12 hours I was finally delivered to a very nice private room and several doctors came in to tell us what had happened to me. Very high blood pressure, a stroke for sure and A-Fib too. I was put on lots of meds, stayed one more night in the Mercy San Juan Hospital and finally Mark took me home. After many days of rest and more doctor appointments, I began to feel better. Then Dr Ryan Smith , my Cardiologist, insisted I get a pacemaker to keep my heart beating at a minimum of 60 beats per minute. For many years my heart rate had been between 39 and 43 and Dr Smith had wanted me to get a pacemaker for several years. At his insistence, Dr O’Neil at Mercy General did the pacemaker implant surgery on July 31 and I spent another 2 nights in that hospital. Having spent 6 nights in three different hospitals I am determined to recovery and stay away from hospitals.

It is a good thing that we are retired or there would not be enough time to recover, plan adventures and actually travel. We have been planning a trip to Sicily for almost 2 years and at last we are about to embark on the journey, which has expanded to include Puglia (the heel of Italy), Malta and Florence. The next post will be from or about Italy, depending on when I have the time and energy to write.

Italy, Sicily and Malta–September-October, 2023

Pugia or Apulia Province is the heel of Italy

September 10, 2023

We left home at 8am and arrived at SFO after only 2 hours and 19 minutes with Mark at the wheel. Our friend Josh Scott accompanied us and drove away when we said good bye. Sure hope he drives slower that Mark did.

Today we fly on United from SFO to Munich, have a short lay over and fly on to Bari, the capital of Pugia Province in Italy. From there we will be driven about 2 hours to Matera. We are in for a very long haul.

By adventureswithjulia | Posted in 2023 May-Cuba | Comments (2)

Adventures with Julia