On Monday we took the train from Bari to Rome. The train trip itself was strange in that there was no space for larger bags, so we were forced to reshuffle our packing in order to jam our bags in...
Blog posts from Italy
Euro Fall 2024: a weekend in Matera
After a week in Valle d'Itria we checked out of our apartment and headed north to the very edge of Puglia and Basilicata, with Matera as our destination for two final nights in southern Italy....
Euro Fall 2024: Puglia coastal towns
Pulia is also known for its coastline, and on this trip we visited several of the sea-side towns. southern Italy map with coastal towns inset location Puglia coast towns we visited Towns we visited...
Euro Fall 2024: food in Locorotondo and wine “experiences”
Tuesday, Oct 1 Our first dinner in Locorotondo was also our best. Pavì wine restaurant is located just outside of the narrow old town, with a terrace overlooking the landscape. It was chilly though...
Euro Fall 2024: a week in Valle d’Itria
Following our week in Bari and weekend in Lecce, we next headed to the middle of Puglia, Valle d'Itria. southern Italy map with Valle d'Itria inset location Valle d'Itria towns we visited Known for...
Euro Fall 2024: Lecce food & drink
Saturday, Sept 28 Dinner at Crianza - you definitely needed reservations here! Lots of people turned away. We sat outside and enjoyed watching the streams of people, and a considerable number of...
Euro Fall 2024: a weekend in Lecce
On one of our longer drives last year we listened to a podcast about Lecce and the baroque architecture in town. As usual, it made us want to see it for ourselves, so Lecce was a natural choice for...
Euro Fall 2024: Bari food & drink
Monday, Sept 23 Our first dinner was at Ruffiano, where we had made reservations - they were busy on a Monday night, and we were seated at an outdoor table. Little did Leandra know that the...
Euro Fall 2024: taralli cooking class
I was so excited when I first spotted this airbnb experience as most of the other cooking classes I found in Puglia were on the pricey side and almost always included pasta making, which I already...
Euro Fall 2024: Bari sights
There were three main spots outside our neighborhood that we explored: Lungomare di Bari, Bari Vecchia, and Murat. Lungomare di Bari is the seaside walking area. It's hard to tell from a map just...
Euro Fall 2024: intro & flights
Our main trip for Fall 2024 saw us working for the first 1.5 weeks and then take vacation for the next 1.5 weeks. The majority of our trip was spent in southern Italy, specifically Puglia, with a...
Italy 2018: Naples Food + Drink
Pizza Pizzeria Da Attilio - When we checked into our apt we immediately asked for pizza recommendations to see if they matched up with what we had already looked up. This restaurant was close to the...
Italy 2018: Naples sights
Several times on our trip Naples reminded us of a South Asian city, with its tightly clustered buildings, a fairly dirty and chaotic streetscape, and commerce seemingly everywhere. So while you can...
Italy 2018: Rome Food + Drink
Open Baladin. We decided to try all the smoked beers! Eric got 'Jenny the Smoker' scotch ale and I had the Open Garden Smoked Ale. We decided to split the stronger Imperial Ghisa, a smoked stout...
Italy 2018: Rome sights
Wednesday Having arrived in the late afternoon, our exploration on Wednesday was limited to a walk past the Roman Forum and up to the beautifully evening-lit Coliseum. Thursday Our original plan for...
Italy 2018: Introduction
Overview As is common for us, our March 2018 return to Italy came about due to a good airfare deal. Oddly enough, it turned out to be exactly one year from our 2017 trip, though this year was...
Italy 2017: Vatican Museums
From our research we knew that the Vatican Museums were going to be an epic undertaking. To make sure to see all of the most interesting bits before our feet gave out we planned out a route in...
Italy 2017: Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and Colosseum
One ticket gets you into the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the landmark Colosseum, so we spent the better part of a day exploring the ruins. We took a (rather jarring) bus ride that dropped us off...
Our Itinerary
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London, UK (Dec)
Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)