Italy - Punta Aderci Nature Reserve

Italy didn't realize that we were trying to escape the heat this summer - so we had some really hot days. The mornings and evenings were beautiful, but we were seeking out water to help chill out the hot afternoons. We were on our way to a beach on the Adriatic Coast when Jon suggested that we drive a little bit further to a more highly rated spot. My natural instinct when my husband recommends how highly rated someplace is, is to doubt the reliability of the general public's view on things, but we took his advice and continued on to the Punta Aderci Nature Reserve. 

Yelp was right, this place was super cool. 

After parking, we hiked down, down, down a sandy stairway to get to an almost empty beach cove. Someone had assembled these log teepees which provided a tiny bit of shade, and a great place to dry your wet clothes or towels. Other than these makeshift huts, the beach was ours! 

The water was safe and calm, just a few small waves and warm enough to walk right in. It was not as crystal clear as some other beaches might be, but you could see your feet for awhile and the water was very salty, which will naturally make it a bit more cloudy. 

The real challenge was hiking back up the steep, sandy staircase to make it back to the car. It was a leg burner, but we made it up in one piece. Now lunch was on our minds. 

There is a consistency that we have come to expect in the US. During the day, assuming it's not a holiday, we expect that restaurants will be open. This is not the same for many of the other countries that I have been to, Italy being in the unreliable category. So going out to eat is often an adventure in itself; the place is closed on Tuesdays, closed from 1:30 - 5:00pm, the owners are on vacation, the list goes on. We were happy to find
Trattoria Toscana, that was open, with delicious food options for everyone in our group. Thankfully for me, they didn't skimp on the prosciutto.

We went back for some necessary afternoon naps, and called the day a success. 

Once we woke up, and of course, were hungry again, we got ready for dinner at La Fontana. This pizza restaurant is our local friend's favorite pizza in the country, so clearly it needed to be tried. Thankfully, Juliana joined us and worked double time as a translator and recommender of favorites. We settled on everyone getting their own pizza (a mistake for some) and olives, pepperoni, and eggplant veggie pizzas, each one was better than the last. They were much larger than we expected, so next visit we will know to share, but this was the kind of place I expected from small town Italy, outdoor seating, no English on the menu or from the waiter, and pizza for days. It wasn't fancy, but it was really good. 

 

Italy, the Forth Time's the Charm

 Jon and I have been talking about traveling to Italy for over 15 years. We had a plan to go with friends in 2009, riiiiiiight before we found out that we were relocating to Argentina, so our plans pivoted from "European vacation with friends" to "Get ready to move to South America". So we waited for a milestone, and decided that we would go for our 10th anniversary in 2018, riiiiiight before I was diagnosed with cancer. When we were over the peak of that mountain, we planned to go in April of 2020, all planned, booked and ready, riiiiiiight before COVID-19 shut down the world. In my mind, that was it, the world was telling us that Italy was not going to have us, look somewhere else. 

But then. Jon's parents decided to buy and renovate a home in a very sweet, very small town smack dab in the center of the country. Italy was calling us back, and now we were taking the whole crew. 

We have been master travelers, especially good at traveling with children, but we haven't exercised that muscle in a long time. So the littlest Gill has never taken such a long trip, and he had an endless stream of questions. In the end, all of the kids rocked the travel. Three hours to Newark, then another 8.5 to Rome, then a 4.5 hour drive to Pietracupa (should have been 3, but a highway shutdown caused a serious delay) and everyone was still excited and awake when we arrived!

Bienvenuti a Pietracupa

We made ourselves at home with a mixture of Gran and Poppa's hospitality and the local flavors from home businesses like the ladies who make béchamel lasagna out of their own kitchen, or the next town over who's home business fills house made ravioli, pasta and gnocchi orders via text message. 

 In this midst of our food-filled days, we got out in the mornings to jog the town. This was a rude awakening after running the flattest of flat streets of Houston, and then trying to keep speed with the extreme pitch of these cobblestone streets, and the intensity of the summer heat. My ankles were not pleased.

It didn't take long for our kids to remind us of the delicacy that Italy is known for. We enjoyed a midday snack on day 2 in the next town over, though we showed our hand at being foreigners by arriving at 3:00, which anyone in Italy will tell you is a risky move. There is an afternoon break observed by most businesses that involves a multi-hour closing in the middle of the day. Gelateria Italia happened to open at 4:00, so we needed to pass some time before the opening. No one complained, even with the heat, knowing that gelato was at the end of the rainbow. 

Gretchen popped up with "Posso provare il cioccolato" (can I try the chocolate) like a native thanks to Google translate on her phone. What an incredible tool to have! These were some happy kids with gigantic gelato cones topped with the real REAL whipped cream (Alex said: "Mom, I think the whipped cream is  different here, it's making me more full." Yes, yes it is.) The place looks, smells and tastes delicious, makes the gelato fresh everyday and became a favorite spot during our trip. The cutest detail that was consistent with most gelaterias was that their taste testing was given out in a tiny waffle cone instead of a plastic spoon. 

Everyone did well acclimating to the time change, but we had full, hot days that were active and filled with pasta and gelato, so even the best of us can't fight the urge to sleep. This little guy got up too early and then crashed mid-morning. Thankfully he had a soft place to lay his head and sleep off the time difference.