We spent a long weekend in Vieste in the Puglia region of Italy.  Vieste is one of many towns in the Gargano National Park.  It is right on the coast with beautiful sandy beaches, and its old medieval town center spills down the hillside to the sea. 

one of the beaches

the lighthouse

fishing boats in the marina

a trabocco – a traditional fishing pier which is common along the east coast of Italy, nets are hung from the pier to catch schools of fish as they swim by

The town has a population of 14,000 people, and it is relatively compact in size.  However, based on the sheer number of hotels, B&Bs, and camping resorts plus the number of restaurants and pizzerias, I imagine it gets crazy with tourists in July and August.  I’m glad we visited in May when it was relatively quiet.

one of the staircases from the lower town going up to the upper town

the original entry portal into the old town, looking back into the new town

a side street in the old town with hanging plants for decoration

a piazza in the old town with a full moon on display

And this is a monument to a sad story. Turks invaded Vieste in 1556, raped the women, took the men as slaves, and slaughtered everyone else (elderly, women, children) at this rock outcropping.

The weather was bright and sunny with a cool breeze during our trip.  We alternated between walking and walking and walking and just sitting and enjoying the views. 

snacks with a view

the sea at sunset

I would definitely go back and do it all again.

and then I loved this painting on the facade of a children’s clothing store

and this one…

On our first day in Gargano, we went into the Umbra Forest.  The forest is the last stand of native beech tree forest in Italy, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It is absolutely beautiful.  We were up in the mountains so, in addition to the shade from the trees, we were at high altitude which made for perfect hiking weather in May.

We went on two very different hikes, both on flat trails but with different scenery.

a hiking trail

We heard lots of birds.

the Larghetto in the Umbra Forest

We saw an insane amount of tadpoles in the pond.

we saw some deer

and we found this spectacular meadow with springtime wildflowers

Then we went in search of lunch and found a wonderful B&B restaurant in the middle of the forest.  This B&B would be a great place to stay for a couple of days of nature walks in the forest.  The owner gave us a tour of all of the rooms so we got a chance to scope things out for a future visit.

lunch in the forest

the menu is written on a chalk board

appetizer #1

appetizer #2

pasta with cinghiale (wild boar)

after-dinner drinks – grappa on the right, and on the left is a drink made from citrus and olive leaves

After we finished lunch at 4 pm, we scooted down to Vieste to check in at our beachside B&B for the weekend.  We finished the evening with dinner at the seafood restaurant Al Dragone in the old medieval town center of Vieste.  And of course, this dinner lasted for 3 hours and was delicious.

the napkins were embroidered with dragons

an amuse-bouche of local cheese with pickled beets and basil

raw seafood appetizer

Chad ordered branzino which came with a side of potato pie

Chad’s dessert – semi-freddo with chocolate sauce and almonds

and the sign on the ladies restroom door made me giggle

We spent a long weekend in Gargano National Park in Puglia.  Puglia is one of the three southern regions of Italy.  If you think of Italy as a boot, Puglia is the heel.  The Gargano peninsula is the spur on the back of the heel of the boot.

The Gargano peninsula is one big national park with  mountains, forests, lakes, and beaches.  There are numerous walking and hiking paths in the forest, around lakes, and along the sea, and the views are incredible. 

We drove on many winding mountain roads where the max we could drive was 25-35 miles an hour due to the curves and inclines and hairpin turns.  Apparently this was a dream for motorcycle drivers who zoomed past us and leaned into the curves.  These roads were also popular with bicyclists who have my deepest respect for going both up and down these roads.

Gargano has villages and towns lining the coast, starting in the north and running down the east side of the peninsula.  We stayed in the town of Vieste for the weekend.  We took a day trip to the town of Rodi Garganico for a festival.  We visited a couple of mountain towns that have significant and beautiful pilgrimage churches.  We ate amazing food.  And we bought some delicious stuff.

typical Puglia fare

Lago di Guardialfiera was formed in the 1970s when a dam was built on the Biferno river.  The lake provides water for agricultural and industrial purposes in the area.  It also contributes to the beautiful view from our bedroom balcony. 

balcony view

Today, there is a national highway with a tall bridge that goes over the lake.  The old road and bridge are down at the lake level, and this is the walking path that we took this morning.  The old bridge now has a boardwalk built on top of it, and the old road is now a gravel trail.

the new highway over the old road

the old bridge with the new pedestrian boardwalk on top

the pedestrian boardwalk with the national highway bridge to the left

the boardwalk is covered in lichen in white, gold, and grey colors

There are a variety of walking paths around the lake. 

walking on the old road at the lake – the national highway bridge is up ahead

the new highway over the old road

walking at the lake

view of the lake

the abandoned pier

The trails are particularly beautiful right now with all of the spring flowers in bloom. 

me with some native grasses

During our walk this morning, we heard a variety of frogs and birds. 

Now that the weather is nicer, we are planning to have more walks down at the lake.

lake view

When we first arrived here, I intended to have themed blog entries for specific adventures and then have an end-of-week catch-all to capture miscellaneous observations.  Well, that happened for the first 4 weeks and then end-of-week thing fell to the wayside.  So I’m going to capture a bunch of random things here, starting with today.

We’re on day 4 of rain in our little village.

rainy clouds descended on the valley

cloudy, rainy evening

Because it’s been cloudy and raining for four days with spring weather, our apartment has been cold and a little damp.  I did laundry yesterday.  The laundry didn’t dry in 24 hours and I was cold, so I turned up the thermostat and dried the clothes on the radiators.

Italian clothes dryer

Yesterday evening we went to our little bar and had a pre-dinner drink.  One of the neighbors came in with samples of freshly made cheese, and Chad and I tasted it and swooned.  Then the bartender brought out samples of two other cheeses that he gives “only to his favorite customers.”  They were also delicious.  (No photos available because we were too busy with the tasting.)  Then Chad ordered a shot of rum to go so he could use it in a recipe.  Small-town hospitality from the bartender.

rum cup

Tonight the cheese farmer rang our doorbell and delivered a fresh round of ricotta from his farm, which I am sure was just made this morning.

fresh ricotta from a neighbor – it’s missing a bite that was eaten by Chad

We went on a walk the other day, and this sweet dog went with us.  We passed him on the street while he was taking a rest, and he stood up and trotted around with us.  He was so sweet.  Cute.

a sweet walking companion

We passed a house in Guardialfiera where the street address had changed at some point.

old address and new address on a house

And there was a beautiful moonrise this evening.

Tomorrow we head to Gargano for the weekend.  If you think of Italy as a boot, Gargano is the spur.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a state/national forest and quaint villages and towns.  We’re excited to see a different part of Italy and do some hiking and eatseafoo d on the coast.

Ciao for now.  Alla prossima (until next time) and ci vediamo doppo ( see you soon).

On April 25, 1945, Allied forces liberated Italy from Mussolini’s Fascist government and the Nazis.  May 25th is now a national holiday which is celebrated with marching bands, music concerts, festivals, political rallies, and other public events around the country.  Government buildings, schools, and most businesses are closed for the day.

Chad and I had a very interesting Liberation Day holiday.  In the morning, we took a leisurely walk out of the village into the countryside.  It is spring here, and the wildflowers are in full bloom.

spring flowers

I think this is a type of thistle

a mix of tiny flowers in a variety of colors

While walking on a country road, a car stopped next to us and it was Danilo, a younger guy we met a month ago.  We chatted for a while and then he said, “I’m going to a music festival this afternoon.  Do you want to go with me?  Great!  I’ll pick you up in the piazza after lunch.” 

I was taking photos of goats when Danilo showed up

When we returned to town and were walking through the piazza, we were waved over by Vincenzo, an older gentleman whom we had met a couple of days before.  He said, “Let’s go for a tour” and ushered us into his car.  We drove a couple of blocks and stopped at his granddaughter’s house.  There were several people milling around in her yard. 

It turns out that there is a traditional bread that is made on Liberation Day, and she makes a ton of loaves and hands them out to people in the village.  Chad and I were each handed a loaf, and then we were back in the car with Vincenzo.  I honestly had no clue where we were going.

We drove up, up, up the mountain, and we parked at Vincenzo’s friend’s house.  Now, it was getting close to lunch time, and I didn’t know if we were about to have lunch with his friend, but his friend wasn’t home.  Vincenzo just wanted to show us the view from the terrace.

The view – you can see Guardialfiera in the middle of the photo

With Vincenzo on the terrace

Then he asked if we like rosemary and sage, and he harvested some wild herbs out of the yard for us.

Wild rosemary blooming with purple flowers

Then we got back in the car and went up and over the mountain and then came back around and down into Guardialfiera.  We parked in front of Vincenzo’s house, and he told us to come inside.  I thought, “Okay.  Are we having lunch here?”  Nope.  He took us down into his basement and gave us a jar of dried oregano that he had prepared.  Then he asked, “Do you like wine?” and gave us a bottle of red wine from his favorite region.  And then Chad and I went home for lunch.

Gifts from Vincenzo – traditional bread, red wine, a jar of oregano, and wild rosemary and sage

Danilo met us in the piazza after lunch, and we hopped into his car and headed to the music festival in Montenegro di Bisaccia.  We parked at the edge of town and then walked down a path into the countryside. 

walking…if you squint you can see the red tent of the concession stand

I was captivated by the views of the hills and their folded textures.

the hills

view of the concert area from the other direction

The path widened out into a clearing where the music festival was happening.  Some people were standing, some were lying on blankets, some were having picnics.  We each had a glass of wine and listened to music.

The path ended at a grotto with a religious shrine inside.

entrance to the grotto

the shrine

We left the festival and returned to Guardialfiera and had an aperitivo at the bar before going our separate ways for dinner.  All in all, it was a spontaneous and fun day.  And I will leave you with some more photos of spring flowers.

spring flowers

a flowering succulent

this is wild rapini greens

more spring flowers

more flowers

a flowering tree

and wild grasses…

We had a fun weekend exploring new areas of Molise and Abruzzo. 

On Friday, we went to the town of Guglionesi.  We knew nothing about the town; we had only seen signs from the highway pointing “turn here for Guglionesi.”  Before hopping into the car, Chad did some research and found a caseificio outside of the town that had great reviews.  A caseficio is a local cheese factory, so of course we went there.  This one was on a farm, and it had a little sales counter for the public.  We bought – wait for it – 1.5 kilograms of fresh ricotta in a bowl and (I think) a 2.0 kilogram wheel of aged pecorino.  We thought we would share cheese with our new friends in Guardialfiera, but so far we have been little piggies.

cheese displayed on the counter for us

freshly made cheese behind the sales counter

After buying the equivalent of 7.7 pounds of cheese, we went into Guglionesi to walk around and explore. 

view from Guglionesi looking down into the valley – note the snowy mountains in the distance

walking through a small street in Guglionesi

the corner of this little building with all of its plants was cool

I liked the arch at the end of this pedestrian street

I saw this turtle pile in a fountain and thought it was a sculpture – nope!

On Saturday we went to Fossacesia to meet Chad’s cousin Alice.  We first stopped at the greenhouse where she works.  It is a huge wholesale facility that grows only cactus and other succulents.  It was so cool! 

beautiful cactus flowers

Then we went down to the marina for lunch.  We went to a quick-service seafood joint, kind of like a cafeteria.  There is a small storefront where you walk up to the counter, look at the display cases, and order what looks good.  We sat at a table out on the sidewalk, and the food was delicious.

seafood salad, stewed squid, fish croquetas, and other delicious bites – not pictured is the calamari

After that, we drove to Vasto just down the coast to see the town and get a gelato.  Vasto was on my list of places to visit, so that was fun.  We walked around the old part of the town, taking in the views of the Adriatic Sea. 

view of the coast and the sea from the old town in Vasto

We also saw lots of old buildings.  (I’m showing them here in approximate order of construction since I don’t know the actual dates.)

perhaps this was a defense tower since it’s on top of the hill

old Romanesque or Medieval church courtyard walls (with Chad and Alice in the photo)

a Renaissance church

looks like a Renaissance palazzo (mansion) to me!

After all of this old architecture, we glanced into a shop window and saw some Givenchy eyeglasses frames that brought us spinning back into the 21st century.

these babies only cost 458 euros

Then we found a gelateria that was open during the lunch hour when so many businesses are closed, and I ate the best strawberry gelato of my life.  We laughed and talked about all sorts of things, and then we took this fun photo.

Chad, Alice, Juli

On Sunday, it was raining all day and Chad and I were tired of being in the car, so we just chilled out in the apartment reading books, watching Netflix, and hanging out together. 

in Guardialfiera, rain clouds over the valley

And Chad just made cannelloni with his homemade pasta plus ricotta from our Guglionesi adventure.

Chad’s homemade cannelloni

I took a break from writing the blog for a few days, because my brain was fried from so much writing and scheming about blog topics.  Now I’m back at it!

On Monday we went back to Chad’s ancestral village of Monteferrante to have lunch with more relatives. Before lunch, Chad and I went for a little stroll through the village.

view from the village

strolling in the streets

I really like this set of steps that go up and up

We had met most of the family during previous trips to Italy, so it was so nice to see everyone again.  Plus, it was nice to finally meet Bruno since we missed him on previous visits.

The family (left to right) – Silvana, Simone, Greta, me, Vincenzo, Chad, Angela, Cristian, Argentina, Bruno

Of course, the food was amazing.  As we waited for everyone to arrive, we had some salty snacks and an aperitivo.  For me, I drank a Campari spritz cocktail with Campari and prosecco.  Then, once the rest of the family arrived, we settled in for a delicious, long lunch.

Argentina’s parents have a farm, so a lot of the food came from there.  We started with cured meats/salumi, cheeses and olives.  Best prosciutto of my life.  Then lasagna with homemade pasta, which is my favorite pasta dish.  Then pallotte which looks like a meatball but is made with bread crumbs and cheese and egg and is served with tomato sauce.  I remember the first time Chad and I had pallotte; we had stopped at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere and weren’t sure what to order for lunch.  The waiter said, “I’ll just bring you some things.”  When we were served the pallotte, we thought, “Oh, meatballs.”  Then we took a bite and said, “What in the world is this delicious food?” and I’ve been in love ever since.

appetizer course

lasagna

Anyway, I digress.  During lunch on Monday, after pallotte, we had pork cutlets with stewed onions.  Then some salad.  Then fresh pineapple slices.  Then vanilla cake with strawberries and cream.  Then after-dinner digestive drinks.  Then coffee.  And I feel like I’m forgetting something from the menu.  Plus, the food was so delicious that I forgot to take photos along the way, but I’ll share the photos that I have.

Strawberry cake!

After all of this eating, we went for a leisurely stroll through the village and greeted the neighbors.  At the end of the afternoon, we stopped back at the house for some orange Fanta.  Then Argentina was kind enough to send us home with leftovers of lasagna and cake. 

Before we left the village, we stopped at a public fountain to fill up some jugs with water.  Monteferrante is known for having great water.  In fact, people come from other towns to get water from the many public fountains. 

A public fountain in Monteferrante

So, with our jugs full of water and our hearts full of great memories, we headed home.  And then the next day we ate cake for breakfast and lasagna for lunch. 

Our water jugs from Monteferrante

Today we drove to Saepinum, about an hour away from Guardialfiera.  Saepinum was an ancient Roman provincial village.  However, it was a bit of a backwater place, so after the Roman Empire fell, the town just slogged along until it was sacked by the Saracens in the 9th century.  (Although Wikipedia says that the town was abandoned in the 4th century, so I’m not sure how the Saracens could sack a town that was already abandoned.)

an entry portal to the old Roman town

another entry portal

and just for giggles, here’s another arch

If you go onto Google Maps and click on the Layers button in the bottom left corner of Google Maps, you get a satellite view of Saepinum which is very interesting:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Saepinum+Archaeological+Area/@41.4333579,14.6164463,65m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x133a6cf0a8c39547:0x65ce81df8918699e!8m2!3d41.432263!4d14.6167185!16s%2Fg%2F1td0k89j

You can see the old walls around the town, the foundations of houses, and entry gates of the town.  The town had some main streets, a couple of temples, a grocery market, some shops, a public bath, an amphitheater, a public fountain, and a water mill for grinding corn and other grains.

walking around the walls outside of the village

columns from the old temple

What is most interesting about this place is that, because it was an out-of-the-way backwater place, it was never demolished or paved over or buried like other sites around Italy.  It has been left largely undisturbed as an entire village. 

I love all of the spring flowers growing around the foundations of this old house

an old Roman mosaic

after the Roman times, people scavanged building materials to build new structures, so you can see things like this this…

When you go to Rome, you see the ancient Roman buildings or foundations but you look down onto them because the city has been built up and on top of the old history.  With Saepinum, you are literally walking on the old streets, through the old arches, and among the old foundations of buildings.

a road in Saepinum

the foundations of old Roman houses – I haven’t figured out if these are just stone foundations and the wooden walls are gone, or if there were stone walls on top

Most of Saepinum is original, but there are exceptions.  At the Roman amphitheater, there are some medieval houses that were built on top of the theater seating.  (The original theater could seat 3,000 people, so you just see a fraction of the seating here.)  

the Saepinum amphitheater – this was just escavated in the 1970s, the houses that you see are “new” and were built in the medieval times

Apparently, this village was mostly abandoned, but now people have started moving back to restore old houses and reinvigorate old farms.  We heard lots of chickens.  We saw a couple of residents.  We saw some big white dogs that looked like polar bears.  And we saw a surprising number of tourists, considering it was a cloudy, rainy Sunday morning in April in rural Molise Italy.

curious cows

And I was obsessed with the patterns of lichen while we were there.

lichen on tree bark

lichen and moss on rocks

On the way home, we took the scenic route through the mountains.  I’m not sure if this was on purpose or if we accidentally took a detour.  In any case, it was a beautiful drive.  And then we were on the verge of being hangry so we found a restaurant in the middle of nowhere to eat some lunch and had a two-hour lunch, because, well, Italy.

our appetizer at lunch today – this was just our appetizer! but so delicious. and then we had pasta…

This was another quiet week for us. 

Our Canadian friends went out of town for a few days, so Chad satisfied his gardening side by watering their flowers and vegetable garden during their absence.

The weather continues to be unpredictable.  The weather app says it will rain, and then it doesn’t.  But if it rains as predicted, it’s a drizzle until it isn’t.  Then there’s the wind that blows through.  We’ve decided to stop planning around the weather.  For example, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, but we’ve planned various tourist trips – some with inside destinations and some with outside destinations – and we’ll just see where the day takes us. 

Yesterday, during our passeggiata (our evening stroll), an acquaintance was sitting on a bench with some people and shouted to us, “Come over!”  So we went over and sat for a while to chat.  During the conversation, Chad asked where to buy good, local olive oil, and everyone said, “I make my own.”  “I make my own.”  “We make homemade olive oil with no additives or impurities.”  The lady sitting next to me on the bench said, “When you are making your passeggiata tomorrow, stop by my house and I will give you some of my olive oil.”

Well, we made our passeggiata this afternoon, and this lady was standing in her window looking out on the street.  She waved at us to wait for her, and then she came down with a bottle of olive oil for us.  So thoughtful!  She advised us to eat it with bread and tomatoes.  She also told us her name is MariaConcetta.  We took the bottle of oil home and then went back for our passeggiata.  When we passed by her house, she was in the window again, so we all waved at each other.

homemade olive oil

It’s not always easy for me here with the language.  Sometimes I think I understand 80% of what I’m hearing and then I think I only understand 25%.  It’s frustrating.  But at least I can accomplish the basic things like buying some bread or paying for our beers at the bar or understanding when someone makes a scherzo (a joke). 

And as time goes on, things progress.  We continue to see familiar faces, even more so as the weather gets nicer and more people are out in the streets.  And the more we see familiar faces, the friendlier they are.  There is the guy who looks like Chad’s great-uncle Adolfo.  There is the guy who owns the turkey that we can hear from our apartment.  There is the guy from the town council.  The grocer and his wife always say hi and smile at us.  And the butcher’s wife always gives us a warm welcome when we pass her on the sidewalk.  We feel very welcomed here.