Workaway #4: Ostuni, Yoga Retreat, & More!

Our Italian travels are coming to a close! We’ve spent eight magical weeks in Italy and I feel bittersweet about the thought of leaving. It’s safe to say if we weren’t restricted to 90 days in Europe we would be here for a lot longer exploring other regions in Italy. Oh well, I guess this …

Workaway #3: A month in Brindisi, Puglia

I’ve been saying in past posts that we were staying/working in Brindisi but the truth is our hosts aren’t IN a city at all, and Brindisi is about 30 minutes away. Brindisi is just the closest big city, and a whole lot easier than explaining what part of the country we were in. Only recently …

Day Trip to Otranto, Puglia

You cannot go  much further south in Puglia than Otranto, which is located on the east coast. This most southern area of Puglia is referred to as the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. The old town is set next to the harbor …

Sunday Market Finds: Brindisi

The cuisine in Puglia is called peasant cooking (cucina povera). The staples are olive oil, grapes, tomatoes, eggplants, artichokes, peppers, salami, mushrooms, olives and fresh seafood. We have had some amazing food and wine, not having eaten out, but from meals cooked using the ingredients from the markets. Some may find it inconvenient that if …

Wine Tasting & Lunch in Gaugnano, Puglia

In the quiet town of Guagnano, Puglia lies Feudi di Guagnano winery and tasting room. On one of our days off, a friend of our hosts( who are originally from Manhattan,) were kind enough to take us wine tasting in this area. The tasting room is set between wine barrels, a large jenga looking wine …

By the Sea in Bari

  Bari was a stopping point between Rome and our next host in Matera. It’s one of the larger cities in the Apulia region, right beside the Adriatic sea. Within the city you find a mix of new and the old. One block is lined with designer shops and boutiques and a block later you …

When in Rome

Our flight from Amsterdam to Rome was delayed two hours and while we were waiting in line to board, a couple behind us saw the SOU Alumni sticker on my water bottle and asked if we were from Oregon. We discovered they were from Eugene and both University of Oregon graduates. They were traveling through …