It is hard to believe that
it will be nearly 18 months, to the day, when we leave for Italy,
again. Our love of this Mediterranean
Eden-and the need to explore its riches further-is pulling us back for another
adventure! We have modified this one, yet again, to maximize side trips. While
we continue to utilize agriturismos and Airbnb apartments, we are also staying
at some conventional B&B's as well as a few hotels. We are revisiting some
spots where we felt more time was needed and others that are simply a short
stop between destinations. For those of you new to our blogging, a brief
tutorial on agriturismos. They are working farms that, also, are country
B&B's and apartments. In order to qualify as an agriturismo, the farms must
make more income from the farm than from being a guest house. Most of them make
wine and olive oil. While many others grow wheat-gotta have the pasta! It is a
very cool way for the government to preserve the family farm!
There are a couple of significant differences on this trip
versus our last trips. The first is that
we will travel to the former eastern bloc countries of Slovenia and Croatia,
both of which were a part of Yugoslavia during their communist era. We will be staying in Slovenia's capital,
Ljubljana(lyoob-lyee-AH-nah), since it is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from Venice. Our
destination in Croatia is about another 2 1/2 hour drive from there. During the
height of the Roman Empire most of the cities on the Adriatic were built and
occupied by Roman legions. One such
Croatian city that we will visit, Pula, comes replete with a very well
preserved Roman arena. Later, in the
14th thru the 18th centuries, the Republic of Venice ruled much of the Adriatic
coast. Lucky for us that both countries speak Italian-not that we are any more
fluent than before, but maybe a few words will help! It certainly seems to be
easier to understand than their native languages!!
Of course, we will be seeing our friends in Piemonte! We are
arriving in Alba in time for the Tartuffo Bianco Festa (alba white truffle
festival) and for the Piacere Barbaresco Sagra (we like Barbaresco wine
festival). Renato will be pouring his Barbaresco there. On our first trip, we
were there for these same festivals and what a blast! We will be in Barbaresco,
Barolo and for the first time, Alto Piemonte. I have tastings set up with wineries and the
names of many restaurants! We will be
staying in our favorite agriturismo, Cosona, in Tuscano. Despite the many
lovely settings we stay in, this one just feels like home!! We have our
mercato(market), macellaio(butcher), lavenderia(cleaners), wineries and
creameries. Cosona is, also, a pretty central location for visiting Siena, and
many of the enchanting hill towns built by the ancient Etruscans-Orvietto,
Volterra, Montalcino and Montepulciano.
The second significant difference from our other trips, is
that we will travel further into Italia Sud(southern Italy) than before. We
will be visiting the Sorrento area, stopping in route in Civitavecchia to explore some very
important Etruscan ruins. While in Sorrento, we will drive down the Amalfi
coast to Positano. Sorrento will also be our hub for visiting Pompeii and
Herculaneum. Lastly, prior to flying
back home, we will explore the ancient Roman port of Ostia Antica(ancient
Ostia).
We have been studying and reading, and planning. Cannot wait
to get on that plane! Hello Venezia!!
