snippets

An interesting floral arrangement, one of two outside the basilica in Bari.  Wedding decorations were being set up as we watched. This was gypsophilla and small roses in a cane basket. 

 More of the interesting sculptures in the museum in the Svevo castle (Norman-Swabian) in Bari.

Our hotel near Ostuni, an oasis which felt as though it was in the middle of nowhere. We were surrounded by huge gated walls and acres of olive trees.  It didn't seem to be "Italy", more like some hacienda far from civilisation.  I'll definitely go back there again.  

 

Some of the wares in a shop in Alberobello... I didn't see the "no photos" sign until I had taken this shot.  Oops!

Our wait for the guide to show us around the sassi at Matera was made quite pleasant as we watched a bridal party being photographed.   The guide had to collect his daughter from school and deliver her home before he could come to us.  The horses were quite splendid, with glossy black coats, long tails and manes, and white feathers in their bridles.  I would have loved to photograph from better angles, but... I am sure you can work it out from this. 

Today I am grateful for tall company. 

a good choice

On the recommendation of a friend from Bari we next visited Polignano a Mare, a small town along the coast.  It was well worth the stop, (and the home made gelato in the air-conditioned shop was a bonus!)

We wandered through beautiful white streets and houses, and gazed down at the bathers below.

 A lookout over the sea had us marvelling at the balcony... or rather the drop from it into the sea.  (Look carefully at where the archway meets the rock in the photo below). A high diving competition takes place in this town every year.  That must be absolutely spectacular.

 Another claim to fame is that Polignano a Mare is the birthplace of the singer Domenico Modugno (of "Volare" fame) and this statue was a refreshing sight after too many churches and saints and too much history for a bear of little brain.  So, the next time you are listening to Nel blu dipinto di blu  spare a thought for the young lad from this pretty seaside town and enjoy the wonderful statue.

Today I am also grateful for helpful friends.  

lazy lazy lazy is good!

Today I am being so lazy that the mosquitoes have been having a picnic as I rested.  Apparently my shoulders are delectable and that is with liberal squirts of the insect repellent!

*****

I have neglected this blog, and am way way behind with promised photos. But while these are fresh in my mind, come take a look at Bari, the port town in Apulia or Puglia, down in the heel of the boot.

The first two photos are of the Basilica di San Nicola, the church dedicated to St Nicholas, our "Father Christmas". If you read his history, the poor man was in bits and pieces all over the place.

The next two photos give a tiny glimpse of the Norman castle in Bari. We were lucky enough to be there on an open day and were able to stroll through looking at wonderful carvings and relics until our parking metre expired.

Today I am grateful for new friends in interesting places. 

on the run

I've been rather distracted.  No excuses... but here they are anyway.

Kiwis, Italians, Kiwis.

Luckily I have the best PA in the world, so I am still (I think) relatively sane.

I have been looking back to posts relating to a visitor who was here over three years ago.  Wonderful memories, and wonderful presents and futures.

Happiness is...

Recently I have been to Bari, Ostuni, Alberobello, Martina Franca and the valley of the trulli, Matera with the sassi, Maiori, Positano, Erculano, and home again.  Over 1200 kilometres in a few days.  I've been to the church dedicated to St Nicholas, and the house of a washerwoman who bleached clothes with urine.  I've eaten fine chocolate and chewed on melted cheese and car-warmed bread.

I continue to shake my head in disbelief as I review my wonderfully full and exciting days.

Today I am grateful for hugs and smiles.  

inspirational

I love my rich and varied life, and when I watch an inspirational video such as this one, "The Life of an Artist", I am inspired to love it even more!  If you have a spare 8 minutes, artist or not, invest it in watching this short video.

I have a few more chores to do and things to sort and maybe I can be back in the next few days with some photos from the last few - very rewarding - days.

Passion for what you do is what makes life worth living.

Today I am grateful for my patient little dogs. 

busy times

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. So much to say, so little time to process the ideas.

I am just in from cleaning the area where Zacchi and Pickle sleep. Unfortunately it is below my neighbour's kitchen window and there is a supply of cigarette butts, lemon halves and a bit of other rubbish that comes my way far too regularly.  I went out to attack the mess, pulling on rubber gloves as I exited the door. Two little doggies fled... Zacchi down into the garden, and Pickle into Zacchi's open and easily accessible house.  As I reached for the second glove Piccolina did a very swift shift into her own house, thinking that she couldn't be seen or reached behind her curtain.

Their reaction was so predictable I was almost waiting for it, but this time they had nothing to fear.  It was not bathtime, treatment time, look for ticks time... not even brush time.  Just cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

When guests come I have the slightly embarassing task of explaining that the buckets of wine bottles down below are not actually my weekly output, but a collection of bottles left by visitors happy to find a perfectly acceptable quality wine at less than 2 euros a bottle. I am saving these to build a wall around my property.  Not a glass one like these in this link, but simply to recycle the bottles inside a cement and wire casing to add some bulk to what would otherwise be a terribly expensive project.

While it is frustrating not being able to develop this place at the speed I would like, I do like having the time to reflect on all the options available to me.

My wall would be "faced" with split stone up near the house, more or less matching my wonderful folly, my steps down into the garden. Further down the terraces can simply have concrete and the occasional rock showing, as I will plant more ficchi d'India there for extra security and lots of fruit. (prickly pear).

I feel the urge to write a serious post on some of the issues I have been reading about and posting on FB.  Maybe that will come later, for now I have more domestic things to attend to.  This post is simply to check in, and I wanted to save the link to the recycled housing, particularly as it mentions the wonderful public loo in Kawakawa, New Zealand, designed by Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. That's always a compulsory stop for me, whether mother nature decrees it or not!


Today I am grateful for "greenies".

it's raining again...

It's raining again, but so far there is no water in the cantina.  I really think it only happens when there are rivers running past the door, and so far (it's midnight and I am just home, glass slippers intact) it is merely wet, not a raging torrent, outside my door.  But if it pours, seeps and leaks, guess who will be back at the Comune tomorrow?

I am just home from a rather international birthday party.  I enjoyed it, and even followed conversations that seemed to be faster than I have ever heard before.  But I did take time out from concentrating on the language, and focused on those wonderful shoes. If only I too could wear spindly heels 8 inches high, covered in sparkles or spangles, on elegant limbs clad in sexy clothing.  But I respect my spine far too much, so it is clod-hoppers for me.  Sigh...

I also learned that the glamorous women there like to shop in London for brands that you can't get in Italy... I guess I just missed out on the shopping genes (and jeans) and have to accept that I am who I am, and comfort suits me best.  Sigh again...

Redbands and swanni, anyone?

Today I am grateful for an invitation.