Italy 2023 - Emilia Romagna & Puglia

For Greg, today's itinerary couldn't have started any better than it did - with sleeping in for two hours - while his bride went running. I've also been highly anticipating today, excited to do a half marathon time trial. As enchanting as it sounds, running in Italy while fueled on last night's pizza and wine, with only 8 ounces of water and two Gu's, in 82% humidity through the winds and steeply rolling hills outside of Matera - are not the best conditions to PR. Ironically Avenged Sevenfold was singing "I'm not insane" from my playlist. A beautiful start to my day on the roads outside of Matera. Just me, the huge alligator slugs, and ancient snails. I second-guessed myself completely when I rashly followed some blogger's advice to spend two nights in Matera. Months into my reservations I questioned whether or not that was the best decision - since there are so many places to see in Puglia - but decided to stick it out. I realized today why

Our day started with sunrise at 35,000 feet - on our way to Italy's heel and the region of Puglia. Situated on the east side of Italy, it is known for its whitewashed hilltop villages, long Mediterranean coastline, and a gentler pace of life without the crushing crowds. It never occurred to me to fly within Italy, until I realized that a train or car from Bologna to Bari would take all day and cost a whole lot more than our no-frills flight on Ryan Air. Having listened to the rain come down all night, it was nice to be leaving that behind and heading towards the sunshine and 20 degree warmer weather. As usual, I ignored the "Greg's Rules of Traveling" and rented a car. Helloooo… how the heck else do you get to the world's best treasures?! We drove one hour straight to the poster child of Puglia: Alberobello. If you've heard of Puglia then likely you know the town with the white conical little huts called trulli. If you haven't heard of it, th

Mostly known for its connection to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Verona is also packed with historic charm, ancient Roman ruins, a medieval fortress, piazzas and river views. We took the train there for a day trip, bought the 24-hour Verona pass, and soaked up the City of Love. Greg is always looking out for me when we travel, making sure I am aware that there are cars around me. Awww, to be in love. He is so romantic, right? "You don't want me to get smashed by a bus?""No, I want to get back," he quickly admits, directionally challenged and knowing he could be lost in Verona possibly forever without me. I guess I should be thankful that after 29 years of marriage he isn't pushing me in front of a bus! Our first stop was the massive Roman amphitheater - the Arena di Verona in the  Piazza Bra Built outside the original city walls,  the Arena di Verona  is one of the first sites you reach from the train station.  At 2,000 years old, it is one

Today was one of those days that keep us coming back to Italy for more. We took the train to Parma and went on a 34-mile bike ride through its countryside to experience its claim to fame: a tour of its DOP food products. This area of Italy is well connected by train - making it easy to catch a train to Parma. One would think. Our Italy train riding skills were a bit rusty and we failed miserably - no, pathetically is a better word - on our first attempt. We missed our train … and for no good reason. We arrived to the train station plenty on-time, with a solid 20-minute buffer. However, when our high-speed train pulled up to the platform, we just didn't get on . When it left without us we stared at each other completely dumbfounded! If there is an excuse worthy of such idiotic behavior, we would claim it was because no one got on the train . About five people went up to the train attendant and he shooed them away. I thought we were being polite Americans, waiting for him to