Staying Salty On The Road

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We have spent the last 36 hours exploring Amsterdam. What an incredible city. The canals are queen here and we have let ourselves get lost. What a pleasure! The diversity is noticeable and happiness seems to reign. And did I mention the diversity in cuisine is remarkable, especially after just visiting in Italy. 38,000 steps in 36 hours and we’ve barely scratched the surface.

The transportation system was extremely user friendly. First up was the tram. Tap your card getting on and tap it getting off. Ed was still on top of his game making sure we were heading in the right direction. I always appreciate his shepherding as I tend to get engrossed in my surroundings and overlook the small details like where to disembark.

We visited the Van Gogh Museum yesterday morning. We used Get Your Guide and booked a one hour tour which was filled with the tragic history of this artistic genius. After the tour we wandered the halls and took in the beauty of his works. It was very busy in spite of timed entries for all.

As a struggling artist Van Gogh often used both sides of his canvasses. These two paintings are on the same canvass. The still life was painted during his Dutch period, the self portrait during his years in France.

In the afternoon we took a semiprivate canal cruise on the Sophia, a boat built in 1919. She was a beauty!

Our Captain’s name was Fokko, pronounced like… you guessed it😂! He was a Dutchman with a wonderful sense of humor and a wealth of knowledge.

Ed’s sister just happened to be in Amsterdam on the same day so she joined us on the canal cruise. It’s alway a great day when we get to spend time with Marrian 🤗

Ed and I in front of the houseboat where Rebecca (think Ted Lasso) met her soulmate. Gezellig!!

If you are in Amsterdam be sure to look up Bow’s Journey. The entire cruise was terrific and much better than the larger tour boats.

Those of you who know me know that I have to mention the FOOD! It has been so delicious and I believe you could find any type cuisine you desire in this city! The first night we walked to Joordan district and enjoyed tapas (sorry, we were too travel weary to take pictures)

The next day we woke up refreshed and ready to explore.

We enjoyed a light breakfast of yoghurt in the park.

We enjoyed an amazing lunch at a small Nepalese restaurant called Bhatti Pasal on Voetboogstraat.

Nepali street style wok noodles with crispy fried chicken.

Our post cruise dinner was at an Indonesian restaurant named Long Pura. We enjoyed a communal rice table. 😋

And to end the night a Stroopwafle is a must!

No report of Amsterdam would be complete without a mention of the bicycles. They really are everywhere and you must use great caution when walking the streets. It is a bit of sensory overload!

This afternoon we board the Magnificent 4 for a four night bike and barge journey through the Dutch countryside. Stay tuned!

One last day in Apulia, bellisima!

We did not feel like venturing far from the Masseria on our last full day so we chose to stay closer to our home away from home.

A local bar where we enjoyed a cappuccino and a croissant.😋

Being beach people at heart, we decided to explore the local coastal town of Torre Santa Sabina. The water was beautiful but still a little too chilly for swimming.

In the evening we wandered into the old section of Ostuni. It is a good thing we hadn’t visited earlier. It was charming and there was lots of shopping 🤗

For our last night we dined at another Michelin recommended restaurant, Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale. It was a quaint establishment, with the wife as the chef and the husband as the waiter. It was a fabulous way to end our trip.

Magical Ostuni

Apulia in April… Perfecto!

We have loved our week here at Masseria Annabella. April has been a wonderful time to visit Apulia with lush green landscapes, delightful temperates, and low crowds. This was the first house we reserved through the home exchange proton as Third Home and it has been a great experience!

The Masseria was beautiful and had many comfortable place to gather.

We enjoyed preparing light meals at the house many evenings after nice lunches out during the day. We even introduced Dorothy and Steve to the delicacy of gas station sandwiches in Italy!

Let’s Cook Apulian!!

One of our favorite things to do when visiting another country is to take a cooking class. We feel it is an excellent way to interact with local folks and learn more about their culture. Today’s was extra special as it was held in the home of a local family. We cooked with Agnes who translated for Angela, her mother, who is the primary cook of the family. It was like being invited as a special guest into their home. It was all hands on deck for the preparation of a delicious Apulian meal.

Some of these orecchiette pasta looked perfect… it wasn’t formed by any of us!

The batter was a simple combination of 00 flour, rice flour and sparkling water.

Handmade Orecchiette with pumpkin sauce and capocollo crisps.

Even Cosmo, the father, joined us for a delicious mid day meal.

The home and the property were charming and very functional. We so appreciated their hospitality.

Grazie mille for a fantastic experience!🫶🏼

Alberobello, the epicenter of Trulli, but 2 hours is enough

Yesterday we got an early start and drove to Alberobello. It is a fairytale like village of Trulli. Unfortunately, it has become very tourist driven with lots shops peddling the same souvenirs. We are still glad we visited and we were thankful to have arrived by 9:00 AM when the streets were quiet and charming. Even though the village has become commercialized, it is still worth a visit. We did download an audio guide through Gulliverway before arriving. It was quite informative and we were glad to have not paid for an expensive guide.

Amid the amazing architecture meant to avoid taxation because the trulli were not considered permanent structures.

We were glad to arrived early and practically had the village to ourselves.

Overlooking the Aia Picolla side of the village. It really is something out of a movie set!

Then it was off to an educational experience on the nuances quality olive oil. We now know how to determine if an olive oil is rancid and how to read labels to find high quality oil with strong Phenols.

There are over 600 trees on his land that are over 1,200 years old!

Whew, another busy day today starting with a cheese making tour, then on to Polignano a Mare for a cruise along the Adriatic Coast, then down to Monopoli for a lovely dinner in the Piazza.

The cheese making crew is decked out and ready to work!

Our own little mozzarella knots!

Our absolutely delicious lunch of all the products made at the Masseria. This was a quality tour of the Masseria Fragnite. We highly recommend it and be sure to arrive hungry!

We rode along the Adriatic coast exploring caves and the beautiful water of the sea.

No cruise is complete without prosecco.

Our handsome Captain!

Monopoli was stunning at the golden hour.

We ended the day with a nice lunch in the Piazza.

Matera

We spent the day touring the ancient city of Matera with our guide, Giorgio, arranged through Tours by Locals. Matera is the third longest occupied city in the world, housing civilization for 9000 years. All the dwellings are carved into the limestone ravine. Up until the mid 20th century there was no plumbing or electricity. Dorothy and I both agreed that we would not have done well living in such conditions.

Above the Sassi (cave dwelling community). All these structures are caves carved into the limestone with facades.

Matera has been designated a UNESCO site, not because of its age, but because of its incredible cistern system.

A small enclave which made up a community.

When I commented that this area reminded me of Bethlehem, Georgio informed us that this area was used as a setting for the movie “The Passion”.

Cow femurs holding up the drainage gutters.

Frescos inside one of the cave churches.

Dorothy drinking wine in front of the Church of Purgatory 😂

After climbing down into the sassi and back out again we earned an Aperitif!

Biking through the Trulli… Amazing

A favolosa day cycling through Valle d Istria.

Our first full day at our Masseria was exactly that, very full!

We started with an al fresco breakfast on our terrace.

Next up was an unexpected stop by the polizia to check our documents. Fortunately, Ed had his international driver’s license and our passports and Dorothy and Steve had photos of their passports! This is our 5th trip to Italy and our first encounter with a polizia stop. The moral of the story is, yes, carry your documents when touring!

Vito, the owner of Nature Bikes Cisternino, was so helpful and the bikes were in great condition. He escorted us on the first 5K to get us going in the right direction and make sure we knew how to operate the e-bikes. He also assigned me my Italian name, Robeeaan! I loved it😍

Next up was a favoloso day of riding through the Itria Valley. The first stop was a stunning view of the Adriatic Sea.

It has been unusually rainy here in Apulia but we had a picture perfect day and the wildflowers were an added bonus.

A deserted trullo that we could peek into. The trulli were originally constructed as field huts or homes for the laborers. They are iconic to the Istria region. Many have now been renovated into high end holiday homes and Inns.

The trulli were everywhere and the scenery was stunning. It was such a fun day. I love experiencing the countryside from the saddle of bicycle.

After a nice dinner at Cantinone Coppularossa we enjoyed a much appreciated Limoncello and biscotti. Now it’s time to go to bed. Buonasera.

On to the second leg of our European Triangle Tour… Apulia, Italy 🇮🇹 ❣️

The itinerary for this trip was influenced by the homes we were able to reserve through the home exchange program called Third Home. It is our first time trying the home exchange concept and it has taken us on quite an adventure. We arrived to the Bridinsi airport yesterday evening and our friends, Dorothy and Steve who had arrived earlier in the day, were there to pick us up. We then drove to the beautiful town of Lecce. It was an adventure finding the parking garage and then our accommodations for the night but what is the point of traveling if not for the adventure! We all loved Lecce. It has a beautiful baroque old city center. I know we are tourists, but it sure was nice to visit a city in Italy that was not overrun with throngs of tourists.

The Dimora San Giuseppe was a small boutique hotel located adjacent to a vibrant pedestrian street lined with restaurants and taverns. We grabbed a light bite to eat and celebrated being together again with spritz’s and wine. Then it was off to bed after a long day of travel.