Hotel Il Grillo Pulsano

... regions around Milan and Turin. Here, the region is notably poorer with a large dependence on agriculture and the sea, and the level of unemployment is almost 20%, far greater than the other end of the country. The pace of life here is so much slower, and if anyone has ever been a little frustrated once in a while with shops being shut for the afternoon siesta, try southern Italy. Not only do shops ...

Today was a site seeing day for the four of us. We hopped the train and headed to a unique little town called Alberobello. This is the only place in Italy that has the cone shaped roofed houses made out of stone. Alberobello is a UNESCO Site and is something not to be missed. Due to train schedule constraints we didn't have much opportunity to spend time there. Only a quick look around, lunch and then headed to Lecce.

... appearance. We spent most of our days driving around and exploring. Our most exciting day was when we came across a farmer herding his cows and with sign language, invited us to see his dairy farm. We experienced the whole milking process which was fascinating and perhaps a little scary for Ethan. They offered us a glass of milk and it was amazing! Nothing like you get from the ...

Found our way across from one side of Italy to the other ok to the port of Brindisi, not top of the list for tourist destinations but handy for a ferry! On arrival we were pulled over by three police cars, yes three! I searchd for my documents awaiting the "papers please Engander" where 10 policemen jumped out and spent the next half hour taking photos! We took a cabin and arrived in Greece the ...

... the wildlife runs free. Nothing like American zoos with bulletproof glass, security systems, and bars & gates. We hear you drive through and the giraffes walk up to your car and begin to munch on your hair, hats, or anything else they can get their mouths around. Friends had their cell phone antenna torn off by a monkey. We have been advised to bring apples, carrots, & bread to toss as a peace offering and distract the animals.

... too) who have brought a Trulli house. These houses are only found in this region of Italy and are built up of cones. The idea being that they can be dismantled easily and moved when the taxman was on his way - many years ago. Nowadays, alot of them have fallen into disrepair and ex-pats amoung others are putting them back to how they originally were. We enjoyed a night of homemade and cooked pizzas ...

After not much sleep on a 10 and a half hour ferry, we arrived in Pescara at 7:30am, our first stop in Italy. Quickly passing through customs we proceeded on a five hour drive south to Brindisi, which we soon realized was not very exciting! Lonely Planet was right when they said you would only go to Brindisi to catch a ferry but being us we managed to turn it into quite a dramatic visit. Kel, with only 2 hours sleep, was quite delirious by ...

... Orchestra La Taverna del Gufo, Afel Bocoum & Alkibar from Mali, Davide van de Sfroos from the Lake Como region in the north of Italy, and the other recipients of the Premio Matteo Salvatore awards-including Marcello Baraghini, who was honored for his 35 years of publishing letteratura populare at Stampa Alternativa. The event was covered by the national service RAI Radio & TV and lots of local media, and on-stage Mark & I were very well ...

... to say I'm sorry to have caused any concern about my health in my last entry here. I had pretty much recovered from my digestive nightmares when I wrote and really didn't mean to alarm anyone. Illness happens, we go through the hard parts and then it's over, or either it lingers, but we have to get through it in any case, god willing. Rest assured I'm feeling far better now and having a natural ball in Italy all this week. Thanks for caring!

... cab driver saw us starting to walk toward the port and told us that it is not within walking distance. We only had about 15 minutes to get to the port at this point, so the driver offered to take us. We gladly accepted. The driver apparently saw our panic and did everything he could to get us to the port on time--meaning he drove like an absolute madman ...