ITALY

Invited to stay with a local in Forli through the Couchsurfing site, I took that opportunity again in hopes of saving money, practicing Italian and learning the local way of life. Leaving Bari, in the South of Italy at night, I arrived the next morning in the town of  Forli in the Emilia Romagna region, wondering if the person that contacted me would be there already, and if he will be polite and well behaved. Unfortunately most of the women I wrote to through Couchsurfing never responded and it is usually men are the ones inviting me to be their guest. Not the best options, as I am not looking for romance and I do not care to put myself in situations where I have to deflect advances. To make it clear from the start, when I post my destinations on the Couchsurfing site and a man approaches me with an invitation, I always ask if he is looking for a cultural exchange or romance. I tell him that I have no interest in the second. Experience has taught me that even if the cultural exchange is the stated intent, the hope for romance usually still exists with men that invite women as guests. Making it all clear during the e-mail exchange is important, as there is no gray area. If the hope persists, I have no guilt in the matter as I did not mislead. Courageous, naive or wanting to believe in the best in people, I still choose to take the invitation if the e-mail exchange feels reassuring, but I always share with others the profile of the person I will visit and if available the address and phone number. I normally do not have to put up with much hassle during my visit. Sometimes the wrong jokes or comments are made but as I do not encourage that I am always fine in the end. Should I recommend this for young girls? Probably not, as we gain with age the confidence, experience and strength to deal with these situations. In the train station I was expected and I learned later that Nicolo chose me as his first guest because he had a Romanian girlfriend for 11 years. Although Italian, his Romanian is as good as his English. We spoke Italian mostly as he knew that I wanted to practice. He was nice and his place was clean and modern. His room was upstairs and mine by the kitchen, on the first floor. Since he was on vacation from work this month he took me around and showed me nice places. We had good conversation and I realized that his financial situation was precarious so I bought all the food and paid for the car’s gas. It made me feel better. He had no obligation to feed me or drive me around and I saved on hotel or hostel anyway. The town of Cesenatico was my favorite in the area for the picturesque fishing boat canals, sea food restaurants and cute streets. San Marino was a destination I was hoping to see while here and Nico decided to join. We took the train and the bus to get there. I will post those pictures next time. I enjoyed the location greatly.

Narrow streets with open doors peering into people’s homes, curtains waving in the mid-day breeze,  sounds of metal silverware on ceramic plates, laughing children running around, bed linen and clothes hanging to dry above the streets; women making pasta on tables in the street, sounds of motorbikes and people talking… this is my memory of the streets of Bari’s old town on a mid-summer day. I took it all in as a moment suspended in time, more real and alive that most of my regular days. I was told that this is the real life of the people in Bari, the best to be experienced in the old town, as people here are the majority, more in the middle class now but poor in the past. I enjoyed the full reality of it, feeling like an invisible stranger that just for a few minutes invaded their life and privacy. Near the old city’s entrance I indulged in a big fresh 2 Euro focaccia. It came out of the oven just a minute before, a tasty and typical food of the region. The place was recommended to me and I pass it on, as it is an inexpensive choice and a real Bari experience. Called Panificio Santa Rita the small, hot bakery has been open since 1968. It’s schedule is from 07.00-14.00 and 17.30-21.00 everyday except Thursday afternoons and Sundays. Nearby is a castle that one can visit and within walking distance is the port. The ferries go from here to Croatia, Greece and Albania, more lands to dream of, to see and explore. The famous Church of Saint Nicholas is easy to find and there is also a beautiful opera/theater. They are both free to visit and the many little streets of the old town are easy to get lost in and enjoy. The theater was closed when I tried to visit. For the castle I was too tired to bother. Entering and the Basilica San Nicola (Church of Saint Nicholas) became my place to doze off. Sitting on a bench in an underground room, it was my first time falling asleep in a church, and I did sleep well, waking up and falling back to sleep again. I must have looked like I was in deep prayer and contemplation. Sorry Saint Nicola. I know that you will understand, as you are our good and forgiving Santa Claus. No wonder this is a special place for relaxation and peace as your human remains are resting here. I feel fortunate to have the memory of my first nap in a church near you, in the very room where you are resting. Click here for more interesting information about Saint Nicholas: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/ The church became a huge pilgrimage destination for the Russian orthodox and the scene can get emotional at times as people pray and cry nearby. Another place I enjoyed a lot was the Olive Tree Hostel. The place was new, clean and quiet. Sleeping at night was good and the entire staff was fantastically friendly and informative. We had great conversations and I learned about the city, life in Southern Italy, laws on accommodating businesses, and the way business functions in Italy. Thanks to the detailed information I got from David, I found the focaccia as well as the best, and largest, gelato I ate in Italy. For just 2.50 euro I got three scoops and three flavors at Martinucci, which I highly recommend. The gelato became my lunch as I could not eat one more thing for many hours after that. I highly recommend it!      

Alberobello, amore mio, my long time dream of seeing you finally turned into reality! Although much adventure and determination had to be exercised in order to get to you it was worth all the effort (see the post:”From a Farm to a Masseria: A Road Downhill” and “Masseria in Puglia: A Fortress with a Possessive Master “).  Yet, as rich adventures are great experiences that turn into major learning lessons, what is better than enriching our lives that way?! Entering Alberobello from the train station, Minerva and I first visited Trullo Sovrano, a bigger than usual trullo, now made into a museum. For an entrance fee of 1.50 Euro we viewed its cute rooms and attic, all decorated to look as though life was still going on in here in the manner it did in the old era. Hunger hit us as soon as we left the museum and we did not get far at all on empty stomachs.  Just next door we were offered to share a 15 Euro menu of regional dishes, freshly cooked from the place’s own organic garden. We could not pass by the smell and say no to the healthy options, so the tasty food came to our plates. The dishes were varied and delicious. We enjoyed our meal while admiring the garden our greens came from. Satisfied and feeling good, we later walked the streets looking for the part of town seen in pictures, for the streets with round trulli homes gathered all together like gray and white mushrooms after a rain. Like children in a fairytale land we walked through streets of small, adorable houses with conic roofs. All around us were homes and roofs made of limestone, using a drystone technique derived from prehistoric times. After hours on the streets we turned to inside stores and onto roof patios for better view. I still feel like I could have stayed longer, explored and enjoyed more and dreamed further, not eager to return from fairytale land. The pictures will tell the story of this unique place built a long time ago better than I ever could. As small as strictly necessary, the round white houses with conic roofs and windows incorporated into doors are all nestled closely together here like good, loving friends. More than anywhere around, even if the region has a lot of them scattered throughout the land, in Alberobello the trulli homes are really at home. What an enchanting place… a dream from childhood, a reality now. For more information on Alberobello and its history and building techniques, I recommend visiting the UNESCO site about Alberobello.

Sweeping the ground in the summer’s heat, already beaten by fleas and mosquitos, I decided to move on with my new adventure. If I want more farm life, I should help my dear aunt in her country. I eat and sleep there for free anyway when I visit, so I should give back a little. My problem here, at Agriturismo L’Arca, is not too much the work. I keep reminding myself what I am doing this for, and why I came to Italy this summer. The problem is that I practice more Italian in my one day off than in all six of the work days combined. The owner, Anna, is nice but exhausted by her chosen life style. I promised to help for 2-3 weeks and I will keep my promise. Yet, the fact that I do it for language practice and I do not get much of that bothers me lately, even as I work with and meet great, nice people. There are more than fourteen workaways here at any given time, so it is not a problem if I leave. She will have twenty workaways in August and it is hard to learn Italian when English is language most spoken here. A new adventure began as I decided to leave L’Arca and Calabria. My plan to find trains and buses to take me to Alberobello quickly hit roadblocks. I have dreamed of visiting Alberobello for many years now, as a beautiful picture of trulli houses enchanted me long ago. I was not going to give up, being so close. Finding out how difficult it is to reach Alberobello by train and bus from Calabria, and not finding hotels there, I looked again at alternative solutions, such as Couchsurfing and Workaway. Couchsurfing brought back one contact that answered positively, but with the issue of still having to find my way there, plus a request to get there late, and he worked was all day until after 9:30pm. The workaway site came back with a positive answer from a B&B in the area. The pictures looked good, the proximity of Alberobello was tempting and the work requested was showing 5 hours per day. One comment from a previous worker gave the impression that five days of work per week are expected. We exchanged messages and I looked up trains to Taranto, a near by city. The B&B owner did not give me an address or a phone number until I left Calabria, so I was going on total trust. My first train came 45 min late but, with a one hour connection between the next one, there was no problem. The second train amused me, as it was a short and funny looking one, of just two wagons. Having to wait two hours in the third train station and not seeing a bench, I made myself comfortable over my bag on the floor. Just as I was dozing off someone woke me up to tell me about the waiting room. A long wooden bench became my bed and my sleeping bag my cover, until a policeman woke me up again. He wanted to know where I was going. Not peaceful, these train stations in the south of Italy. The next train was the intercity and I expected a modern one for the extra money. Not meant to be! I know that they do have the fast type but… not in my stars today! Leaving Belvedere Marittimo in Calabria 45 min late, I still reached Taranto, my final train station, early. One can not go by the train schedule much in this country, it seems. I heard stories of people not making their train in Belvedere Marittimo because the train left the station early. Late would be more likely but apparently early can happen as well. Getting off the train I was not approached by anyone and I had no idea who to look for. The person should have known me by the picture on the workaway site, as well as the bags and clothing description I gave the day before. Seeing one man circling the station for the third time I introduced myself, thinking it might be the B&B owner. It was not him. A little bit embarrassing, but OK. As I was considering what to do next, one smiley guy wearing military style pants approached me. By then I had done a tour of the station but was not freaking out just yet. The smiling person was Gianfranco, the person I was waiting for. I was lucky that he did show up, especially since later that night I had bad stomach pain and a headache. I wonder if it was all the junk food I ate on the more than 8 hours journey to get here. I was like a balloon that could not pop. Did you want to know that? LOL The trip from Taranto to his B&B was about 45 minutes long and the last portion was on country roads. Narrow streets with stone walls on both sides turned left and right between olive tree farms. Trulli and regular homes marked the landscape here and there and my sense of direction got all confused. By the time we got to the destination the sun was going to sleep, yet I could see a little of the place that was going to be my new home for an unspecified time. The B&B is called Masseria Genovese and for the past 7 years Gianfranco has worked to restore it.  It was an abandoned farm house before. Five rooms are ready now and four are waiting to be completed. The walls were crumbling so the mud between the stones had to be replaced with cement, a tedious work done by African hired help. All the rooms I have seen were beautifully and tastefully remodeled and the old stones, clean now, were curving over doors with incorporated glass windows. Bolted ceilings covered both, the rooms and the bathrooms, and modern

Just last month, June 2014, I was lucky to make a new friend in Italy and to be invited to visit. Couchsurfing was my help and I got to stay just 12 km away from Napoli (Naples) in a big apartment, having my own large bedroom for four nights. The small city where the apartment was located was well connected by trains to Napoli and other beautiful places, and my new friend gave me a tour in his car on my first day. He chose to show me the towns of Ravello and Amalfi on the Amalfi Coast. Wow! Lucky me! Ravello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1997 and it is a marvelous place to visit. It’s cute central plaza has a beautiful views of the valley bellow. Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo are wonderful and they can be visited for a fee. Their beautiful gardens are a delight with the colorful flowers, luscious plants, multiple statues and the marvelous view of the sea. If no time or money ( min. 320Euro/night, up to 1,200 Euro/night) to stay in the hotel at Villa Cimbrone, one can still visit the botanical gardens for a fee (7 Euro). They are open to the public from 9 am to sunset. Villa Rufolo is home to many concerts. This summer the Ravello Music Festival 2014 is being held between the 21st of June and the 20th of September in its spectacular gardens with a magnificent view of the sea. The central plaza in Ravello is a nice place to enjoy the view of the valley below, the people walking by and the aromas of Italy. The narrow streets around it are pleasing to the eye, with its colorful small stores. From Ravello to Amalfi the trip is not long, but like on most of the Amalfi Coast, the roads are so narrow that cars have to back up to give way to buses (or sometimes even to small vehicles) coming from the other direction.  One not accustomed to Italian driving would certainly be better off in a bus. I wanted to close my eyes tightly shut a few times as other cars passed by just a split hair of a distance from ours. As Ravello is high and away from the water, Amalfi is right by it. Some of the old buildings growing right out of the rock are impressive with their structure and position. It seems that their owners are the grandmother type, as doors and windows are decorated with handmade crochet white curtains, reminding of old, partially forgotten times. In the plaza near the Cathedral of Amalfi, my new friend introduced me to the “delizie al limone“, a particular sponge cake typical to the area, filled and topped with lemon crust. The cake was a light delight, truly a pleasure for the palate. The little place we enjoyed it at was tastefully decorated with black and white pictures of old times hanging on the walls and an old cash register displayed in a glass covered wall niche. Shiny silverware was brought inside a white fabric wallet with handmade crochet at the ends, and spotless soft, fine white tablecloths covered the tables with fresh yellow roses in small vases. The obvious next place to visit was the Cathedral. My friend did not bother to climb it’s multiple steps, as he has been here several times before. I explored the inside alone and I rejoined him afterwards, right after a heavy rain passed. The Cathedral of Amalfi is a very impressive structure with its sumptuous early 18th century Baroque interior. In the Chapel of the Relics are preserved relics of Saints that were brought here with the body of St. Andrew, Jesus’s first disciple. St. Andrew’s “head and the other bones” are in the Crypt, which is located in the Cathedral, “in the heart” of Amalfi. I enjoyed visiting while the storm outside came and passed. Unfortunately for me there was no more time to stroll the streets of this famous town. Maybe some other sunny day!

My only day off each week as a farmer has to be enjoyed to the maximum. Last week I had a fantastic time in Maratea and I was fortunate to meet people who gave me rides everywhere I wanted to go to. This week I chose a closer destination to Belvedere Marittimo (where the farm is). Half an hour away by train is the town of Praia a Mare, a popular beach resort. Walking a short distance from the train station, through the main street downtown took me up to the Madonna della Grotta ( The Lady of the Cave). Set into a natural cave divided into three openings, this church is worth visiting for its uniqueness, as well as for the view of the city from above. From 12000 BC until the Roman period the cave was inhabited, and its name came later from an interesting legend. The legend said that a Turkish boat with a Christian captain reached Dino Island nearby and it stopped there as if by magic. The sailors became scared and, believing that it was a spell, blamed the wooden statue of the Virgin Mary in the captain’s cabin. They asked him to get rid of it. In an effort to save the statue from being thrown into the sea he sat it on a stone at the cave’s entrance. Since then the cave took it’s name. When I reached the entrance, there were a few pigeons flying around and I only saw one white dove with them. They sat on a rock in the cave and did not move anymore. I stopped and mentally asked for the single dove to fly for my picture but it did not seem to want to move. I asked for it to be a sign and I clicked the camera button on the I-Phone. It takes a little time from the actual click until the camera takes the picture, so I was amazed when the white dove flew by just then. In that moment I thought I may have had an angel or angels watching over me. What a pleasant and comforting feeling! With a spring in my step and a light soul I walked inside the cave, through its three beautiful openings set as church. I am glad I did not miss walking up here and happy for the great experience and feeling! Walking down the steps later I eventually reached the long beach of Praia a Mare and walked to Dino Island. The water was clear and the island has two caves that can be entered from the sea level. There are a few options for reaching the island: to rent a kayak or a pedalo by hour or for 5 Euro to take a 45 min. boat ride around the island in boat with a captain, or even to swim to it. The ride on the boat for 5 Euro might be nice for the view and for taking pictures but it will not take you into the caves or let you swim there, and it will not give you the time you want for enjoying it. Also, swimming to the island will probably not take you all the way to the caves, especially the second (the furthest but the best one) but might work if you have someone with you to watch your stuff while away. Yet, if your want pictures and chose to swim you need a water proof camera. Not a good option for me. The kayak and pedalo seemed to be the best options for me but as I wanted to get out and swim, I chose the second. I was told it would be hard to go with it alone but I found that to be wrong. I had no trouble pedaling and I loved the experience. I took it as fast or as slow as I liked and I stopped for a swim when I felt like it. Rent is by hour and the prices vary from lido to lido so my recommendation would be to check prices in a few places. My pedalo could have carried 4 people, with 2 people pedaling. The price was 20 Euro per hour in one place and 10 Euro just the next door. The kayak was 6 per hour in the first place I checked and 10 in the other. Everyone adjusts their prices at will and on the spot so I will not recommend a specific place, as they can change anytime. The first hour is charged in full and anything after is prorated. This is how I was told it works. Yet, as I arrived after 75 minutes they only charged me for an hour. I think they liked that I was trying to speak Italian and that I was talking a lot. Sometimes being friendly helps. The first cave is called Grotta del Leone and it is deep and dark further in. I ventured as far as I could with my wide pedaling vehicle. I took a bath and learned to drive the thing through the rocks and the dark openings, wondering at some point what makes me do the scary things I do at times, alone. The second cave is called Grotta Azzurra. The water here is refreshing and clear blue. You can see and swim with the fish, and the opening above seems to be home for some flying bats that did not bother me at all. I almost missed this cave entirely as I did not know how far to go for it. It is at the other tip of the island, at the farthest point from the beach, but truly worth the trip there. The pedaling experience was a pleasure and having the whole vehicle to myself was a real treat. I could stop and take sun on the back whenever I liked. I could go in the caves as far as I wanted to, and I could stay there for as long as

The Italian coast of Amalfi (Costiera Amalfitana) is a high point of attraction for foreign tourists as well as Italians, and the pictures and paintings of this area are some of the most attractive and idealized all over the world. The coast starts just South of Napoli (Naples), on the Sorrentine Peninsula, and extends from Positano to Vietri sul Mare. With colorful buildings topping each other in precarious positions over high rocks by the Tyrrhenian Sea, this area is not to be missed when visiting Italy. Wavy and narrow roads pass between old stores selling colorful souvenirs and restaurants tempting us with their tasty, fresh and aromatic foods. Bakeries and gelaterias (gelato shops)…. older people on benches watching others go by… the colors and flavors of Italy. After visiting Ravello and Amalfi for one day with a friend, I decided to see more of the area and moved from Napoli to a hostel in Salerno. Set in an old building with an interesting history, the hostel Ave Gratia Plena is in a good central location at great price with nice, friendly personnel, yet it is a noisy building. With doors that can wake bears out of  hibernation as they open and close all night long, this hostel is not a place one can really sleep in. My stay here was going to possibly be extended but after one night, mostly awake, and a few walks through a town that did not impress me much, I decided to move on to the next adventure. The best part of my stay in Salerno was getting out of the city, to the Amalfi Coast. Before noon I took a city bus for 1.30 Euro to Vietri Sul Mare. A better option would have been the SITA bus, which goes all the way to Amalfi for a better price. I took SITA back from Cetara, 5km further than Vietri sul Mare, and the price was just 1.10 Euro. Located high above the sea, Vietri Sul Mare has a great view of the coast and a pretty downtown area lined with colorful ceramic shops. The town is well known for its artistic ceramics and a big orange and green tile and glass building, a huge ceramic factory, welcomes you to town when coming in from Salerno. The next town from Vietri sul Mare is Cetara. The road between the two goes slowly downhill for about 5 km, the perfect connection between a high and a low point on this marvelous coast. I walked along this narrow road alone, jumping on the waist high cement wall when a car approached too closely. Often stopping for pictures and enjoying the view, the walk downhill in the sun was pleasant. I reached the small town of Cetara blessed with a farmer’s tan and I enjoyed the small beach extending right from the main street downtown. The water was great and I fell asleep on the beach in an effort to correct my style of tan. A day worth living!

High above the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the narrow coast of Basilicata, sits the old and charming town of Maratea. Its narrow streets weave up and down the mountain and the main central piazza is picture perfect from every angle.  The colorful tile stores are set in old buildings with rustic rooms and ceilings and one can find restaurants and hotels in the same style. A local told me that the city became known in NY for a picture exposition (or advertisement?) in the Central Station. This same person said that the area is known as the town with 44 churches and foreigners come here to get married in this beautiful Italian setting. A tall white  statue of Christ, made of pure Carrara marble, sits on top of Mount San Biagio, 6-7km above town. It is also called Christ the Redeemer, or the Christ of Maratea and its shape can be seen from far away and far bellow. In front of the statue is the basilica of Saint Blaise and the view of the coast from this point is priceless and hard to part ways with. If you arrive to Maratea with the train, a hike or drive of 1-2 km  will take you to the old town center, a place not to be missed. If you choose the beaches instead, you will have a few choices and the road from the station is all downhill. The train station has a big map of the area, the beaches and the caves right in front of the exit . The SITA bus station is also nearby and you can check the schedule in the station and maybe take the bus. If you prefer to plan ahead, click here to this link for the bus schedule. I was fortunate on my walks, as I always found people who gave me a ride to every place I asked for directions to (stores and gas stations). I might not have made it to the statue and the church above, if not for one kind local that offered to be my tour guide. Thank you Mimo.