Today is a rest day. Oh, and, it's another totally beautiful one, weather-wise. It's the kind of day that I could easily enjoy every day of the year. Domenica, our adorable hostess, tells me that we are in "Summer" now. How lucky are we? Summer without the sweat, high heat and humidity? I will take it with a huge thank you. Joe has just entered my trullo and handed over a napkin filled with still-warm little pastries, baked by Mamma Theresa. I honestly don't know how she found the time. She's up and busy, busy from very early and never stops until evening. Her garden is enormous. Not a weed to be found. Lush and bountiful. This gal really knows how to do it.
It's not entirely easy to garner, (remember, they don't speak English) but, we do know that Domenica, our light and lively hostess, lives here in a gy-normous and beautiful villa which her husband built entirely by himself, in 2003. This morning, she graciously took me on a tour. Her husband manufactures flooring and the area underneath the house is the place where it's all done. This is their headquarters. And, what a lovely place of business it is! Naturally, she has very nice floors. But she also has large rooms and huge windows that all open up onto a wrap around veranda and total view of the beautiful valley. She did not deny it when I referred to her as a "Principessa", the Italian word for, you got it...."Princess".
Yesterday, we drove to the coast, to the city of Taranto. I wouldn't doubt that half of the imports from Southern Italy pass through this port. It was an easy drive once we hit the modern roadways and, while it was totally unfamiliar to us, we enjoyed our trip and will return. We had the most delectable seafood lunch in a small trattoria, possibly the best pasta I have ever eaten in this country or any other. Home-made rigatoni, a fresh tomato sauce with the taste of the sea, and two small whole, perfectly baked, delicate fish. I'm not sure what the fish are. The waiter selected my lunch so I did not see this on the menu. Maybe the "Speciale per giorno"?
It's back to resting. Back to realizing that we are, after all, on a vacation. We've waited a long time for these moments. I will sit back, enjoy the breeze, listen to the birds and the farm animals, visit the horse family, marvel at the beauty of the wild poppies that carpet the countryside and watch the family at work as they pass another perfectly orchestrated day in beautiful Puglia.
Little side note about the language and then I probably will leave it alone......if you are traveling, please do NOT expect everyone to speak English. We see evidence of the toll taken by the Pandemic just about everywhere, at home and here, and we have to realize that we have all lost two years of our lives. Pre-Pandemic, my Italian language capabilities were far greater than at present. Same problem applies here. Without having to speak English for the past two years, they are as rusty at it.
We were all in it together and together, we're all managing to come out of it.
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