spring??

went for a walk in nature this weekend. ahhh.

mike, me, and roma in fast forward!

so, after getting up at 4am at k & h's place, we got on a 6-hour train from Lecce to Rome. we arrived in rome in the rainy afternoon for a short romantic visit. we took a cab to a hotel recommended by kevin and got a room with a huge balcony. it was in villa borghese, a part of rome reminicent of central park of nyc. there was a gigantic park close by, we walked around it in the hail for a bit. we walked in the rain, mike found a very bright umbrella and he finally got his carbonara that night. we walked to a restuarnt close to our hotel, and we crashed early that night. the next day, we basically did Rome in a few hours. we started on foot and just kept going. we saw the Spanish Steps, the Trivi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Imperial Forums, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Campidoglio...and i talked mike into going to see a Chagall exibit in this amazing museum that overlooked the Forum and the Spanish Steps. we ate our last gelato and our last italian piece of pizza before we caught a bus and a train to the airport. we had a long layover in amsterdam again. mike could tell you how comfortable it is sleeping at 3am on a cold airport floor...

rome was interesting, the contrast between really really really old and the modern, blending together. after being where we were, rome felt a bit like disney land. so many tourists at each stop. but it was great to see. even if it was real quick. it was nice to run around the city with m. we had a blast. it was the perfect last day of a perfect trip. allora...

our hotel, see the first balcony? that was were we were for one whole day!

mike on the spanish steps





the forum


the old and the new combined

mike's shot of the sky, and michalengo's horse

last day in giurdignano, before rome

we stayed in town again. another chill day. i jumped in the pool for a minute. the San Guioseppe festival was starting. people from all over southern italy travel to giurdignano to celebrate. one of the main activities on this day was going to people's homes, where they set up their dining room with food, tons of food, and candles, and tables to appreciate St. Joseph. we didn't get the exact details of it all, but we walked around and were invited into some homes to view their tables. one neighbor handed us bags packed with food. mike and kevin ate horse...yes, horse sandwiches. we played lots of backgammon games next to the fire. and at night, we walked around during the festival. the town square was all lite up and there were people all over. we had to get up at 4am to catch a train in lecce to rome.

saturday in giurdignano

mike and kevin started the day by jumping in the pool. it was freezing. kevin successfully canon-balled and splashed me so much i had to change my clothes. awesome. we chilled in town all day. we rode bikes through the olive tree groves. it was so beautiful, just amazing and peaceful. vibrant colors all around us. we stopped at the grocery store starving and made a huge lunch. later on, we went to a pizza birthday party. the family built a room separate from the house that had a brick oven. i can't even tell you how many pieces of pizza i ate.


mike starting doing a little city planning




the backyard

another day on the coast of italy

on this day, we stopped in Otranto for a bit. (when you pronounce it, put the emphasis on the 'O' - so, OOOtranto). this is the town just a few miles away from k & h's town. its right on the ocean and still protected by the remains of the castle walls. it reminded me of jamestown a tiny bit. we ate some more doughy, cheesy goodness. then hit the road. we traveled over to Gallipoli, a lovely little island town, on the other side of the heel of the boot. we got there during nap time, so while nothing was open for awhile, we just walked around the town and looked at the water. we tried to find a fountain. but found an open bar/cafe instead. beer then cafe, another beer then more cafe.

then we arrived at the open fish market, just as the guys were carrying buckets of seafood off of their boats. the fish were all moving a bit too much for me so i watched from a distance. it was so great to see though, they just live off the sea and land. whatever is there, that is what you eat. its a shame i don't like seafood...

kevin led yet another excellent italian meal. we ate until we couldn't really move. then we all went to beerbonti. it only took an hour for kevin to be on the microphone and mike to find a guitar on stage.


the mod squad in front of a really old church


the castle in Oootranto



awww, we're so cute, aren't we? (kevin, look, those green bottles.)

day three - coastal tour

the sun was shining. we all jumped into the tiny car with a huge picnic packed and headed for the coast and to the tip of Southern Italy, St. Maria di Leucca. it was the best day - well, one of them. we just kept seeing beautiful and interesting things so we stopped and explored the whole way. we found a cave (grotto zinzulusa). there were shrimp from the dinosaur age, with no eyes. or something like that. we made it all the way to the tip, basically, Africa was below us. we made it just in time for a picnic at sunset. it was the best picnic. just sitting on the rocks and looking out at the two seas, just taking it all in. later on, we had pizza night out in Giudignano.
comè se dicè...what a day...




it was sunny in our eyes, but i love our faces in this shot.



from inside the cave



our picnic above Africa just before sunset



feeling blissful

day two italia 3.14.07

allora, after a long day in amsterdam, we caught a flight to rome and a midnight train to lecce. i woke up some time in the early morning, maybe 5 or 6 am (we didn't have watches) and began to fall in love with the landscape out the window. green, mountains, valleys, flowers, grape vines, lemon trees, orange trees, and ahhh, the olive trees.

we made it to lecce at 9am and hoped that kevin and holly got the message. i heard a car "beep beep beep" and our southern italy adventure began. since we were now on italian time, we began right away. first up: lecce and all of its fine, old spots. and the bird that said "ciao."

later, we made it to giudignano (i still can't pronounce it right). we had a dinner party with giorgio and mariegracie. kevin did it up salento style - the amazing food, the many many courses, and the eating til 1am. then we ate cake made by giorgio's mom.






our first glimpe at the turquoise sea

32 x 2

a temporary break from the Italia bloggin' for a moment - m. and i went to ithaca for the weekend to celebrate his b-day. m. showed me some memory lane hot spots. we took seneca for some major waterfall swimming. and m. took me wine tasting, my first time, and a lovely picnic up on a hill...life's getaways...