In early December, we had a three day weekend and a friend asked me if I would like to go to Italy. Of course I answered, yes, I never want to miss a trip to Italy! Randy was not in Albania at the time because he was hunting back in New York. There was a 41 euro round trip flight to Bari so we booked our tickets and made some plans. Bari is a 50 minute flight from Tirana.
As we all know, Italy is in the shape of a boot. If you look at the spiked heel, that is where Puglia is located. Puglia is one of the 20 regions of Italy and is known for producing 60% of Italy’s olive oil and having the longest coastline of any of the mainland regions in Italy. From my perspective, Puglia is known for having one charming small town after another.
We spent two nights in Polignano e Mare a small, seaside town of 18,000 people. Here you can see the city by day and by night. Gorgeous!
The central piazza of Polignano e Mare looking very festive for the holidays.
It seems that every Italian city (no matter the size) has at least one gorgeous church. I never get tired of the peacefulness and tranquility that comes with visiting them.The name of this restaurant is Nobilnonna which means “noble grandmother” in Italian. Since my friend and I are both grandmothers we decided it was the perfect place to enjoy dinner.Different regions of Italy are known for different types of pasta. Puglia is known for orecchiette “little ear” pasta.
After checking out of our hotel in Polignano e Mare we drove our rental car 40 minutes away to Locorotondo, another small, charming city in Puglia.
You may or may not know that I enjoy collecting nativity sets from the various countries we visit. When we were winding our way around the narrow streets of Locorotondo, we stumbled across an artist with a very small shop that was attached to where she and her husband lived. She spoke no English but encouraged us to enter her shop, enjoy a bit of wine and a cookie. Suzyn speaks some Italian so they could communicate a bit. The artist shop was full of beautiful, beautiful art. The nativity sets I purchase are usually quite small but I absolutely fell in love with the one pictured here. You can also see the artist signing the back of the artwork for me. The whole experience is a treasured memory.
After leaving Locorotondo, we drove another 20 minutes down the road to Alberobello. This small city is known for it’s trulli, the cone topped, cylindrical houses that were originally used in farming and as homes. I visited here in the spring of 2019 and loved our overnight stay here. Unfortunately, it has become overpopulated with tourists to the point that we were walking shoulder to shoulder with people for most of our short visit. It simply was not enjoyable. I felt like the town had been overrun with tourists and had lost it’s charm.
On the 16th of December, I flew home for three weeks. I am continuing to enjoy living and teaching in Albania but at the same time, I could not wait to get home for awhile. I started my trip home by flying into Dulles in Virginia and spending two nights with Elizabeth and her family. They borrowed my car for the fall since I was not needing it. After staying with them for a short time, I drove home to Fairport.
Ella loved time in the snow!This year we made a candy church instead of a whole candy village.Bennett broke a growth plate in his foot a week before so he was in a wheelchair or on crutches for his visit.We spent an afternoon at the Strong Museum of Play.LOVE these two so very, very much!Ella (age 11) and Bennett (age 9) drove back to Fairport with me. I love any opportunity I can have to be with one or two of our grandchildren on their own, It gives me more time for conversation and really getting to know them more. They stayed with Randy and I for six days before the rest of their family came up to our home for Christmas.Christmas Eve DinnerJuliet is wearing a dress that her Mama wore as a flower girl at my sister’s wedding many years ago.Randy and Jacob lit the candles at the Christmas Eve church service and then snuffed them at the end of the service. I am so glad that Jacob could be part of this tradition that his grandaddy, mother and uncles have done many times.
This is my favorite picture from my trip home. Juliet holding a candle as we sang Silent Night.
Christmas morning wearing new Christmas pajamas and Christmas sweaters.
I do NOT enjoy listening to me laugh on this video but I did love the dancing grandchildren!
A Few years ago we bought some land about an hour and a half south of Fairport, close to the small town of Scio. Randy loves hunting and the outdoors so this gives him plenty of space to enjoy. The property had no improvements on it so we had a small pole barn built. Randy has portioned off part of the barn to make a living space. All the wood you can see here has come from trees Randy and Josh have cut down on the property and then made into lumber to enclose the space. Randy has spent hours on this project which brings him great satisfaction. As you can see, the ceiling is still a work in progress.
A walk through the woods at Scio on a rainy afternoon.
Juliet (age 6) and I went to her all time favorite restaurant for some Juliet and Nana time. Jacob (age 13) and I headed to Starbucks to share a bit of time together. Love, love these two sweethearts!!!
We went for Hot Pot and BBQ one evening which was a really different and enjoyable experience.David is training to run a marathon in Tokyo in March so he is spending lots and lots of time running to prepare for the 26 mile race.David could not come home for Christmas this year because it was his turn to spend Christmas with Kevin’s family on Long Island. We missed having time with he and Kevin but we understood. Also, David had to work for most of the holiday. I could not go back to Albania without seeing David so I took the train to Schenectady on New Year’s Day and stayed for a few days.
It was fun to see David get rid of their Christmas tree. Of course, after he threw it off the deck he went around and dragged it over to the trash can.
I like to end my blogposts with something that is happening in Albania. One of the Early Years teachers is also a yoga instructor. She teaches a class once a week for those that are interested. So glad to have the opportunity to continue my yoga practice in Albania! Our teacher sent this video to us a few weeks ago so I decided to share it here. I am in the back, on the left. :)
As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I have a week off from school coming up in February. Randy and I are headed to Finland and will be spending three nights 120 km north of the Arctic Circle in the small city of Ivalo. We are hoping to see the Northern Lights but if we can’t see them we are still looking forward to spending time in an Arctic setting.
2 thoughts on “A Weekend Trip to Puglia, Italy and Home, Sweet, Home”
As always, you’re inspiring, Sarah! Especially loved the nativity set story & cone shaped homes. Those Italian villages are so charming! Love reading your blogs & “traveling” with you. Hugs from home! 🫂
Teaching in Albania 
As always, you’re inspiring, Sarah! Especially loved the nativity set story & cone shaped homes. Those Italian villages are so charming! Love reading your blogs & “traveling” with you. Hugs from home! 🫂
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Hi Sarah,
Lovely blog as always! So glad you got to Puglia along with visiting the family at Christmas! I loved all the photos.
These are really great experiences. Thanks so much for sharing. Hope to see you in the summertime.
Love and miss you,
Pat
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