heel to toe

Well. Have you tasted fresh mozzarella? This morning we experienced a foretaste of heaven at a cheese makers at a local farm near where we’re staying. The mozzarella was made from cows milked a few hours before and formed with love by expert cheese guys, as indicated in these photos. I never thought I’d rave about mozzarella cheese, but oh. After I died via cheese tasting three or four times there, we continued on to a cooking class at a local masseria (fortified farmhouse from the Middle Ages). There we participated in making little pasta ears and a stew of thin rolled beef. I was pretty useless with one arm but I managed a few little ears. We enjoyed the fruits of our labour and lingered (oh the lingering) over dessert and limoncello made with honey - hoe nee ya - a delightful afternoon. On to Alberobello to saunter amongst the conical stone trulli city. Mass and a late dinner at our home base. This has been our pattern for the last five days: see the beautiful sites of Puglia, have...

We are deep in Puglia. We’re staying in a town called Gioia del Colle in the heart of the region, and accessible to most of the area in an hour or so. Yesterday the highlight was Matera, the city of cave dwellings. The caves were originally inhabited around 2500 BC. Over time, fronts were added to the caves, then roofs and rooms built out in front. They’re called “sassi” - rocks. Norman Influence is prevalent here. And the food and wine is crazy good. Crazy cheap. Crazy fresh. Today, two seaside towns. Polignano and Monopoli. Greek and Norman influence here. Because of Greeks and Normans I guess.

Parking In Rome is no problem. If you can’t parallel park because the spot is too small, you just perpendicular park. And if you’re up on the curb, this is also no problem. And if you have to block someone else in, well that’s just fine. Sometimes you park your Vespa in a tidy row. Sometimes you abandon it in the middle of an intersection on a curb.

We visited Fillipo today. I love that guy. We entered Chiesa Nuova just as a small pilgrim group were beginning Mass at the side altar where he rests. So we slid in, heard Mass in German, and had lots of opportunity to pray for you all. Glorious glorious! On to St. Peter’s to go through the Holy Doors. Madness and chaos everywhere, volunteers sending us to wrong places - very Italian. Nobody really knows what’s up and then suddenly you are being led up to the Basilica, praying together in so many languages, and continue, like celebrities, to the altar over St. Peter’s bones, praying together and tingles running down your spine. God is so good.

Narrow lanes, Vespas, ruins and the Blessed Virgin Mary everywhere. First day in Rome, 19,000 steps. Ow.

The champagne is flowing and the nine hour reading stack is readied. Praying for you all.

 We've been away a couple of times in recent years since our kids have grown...but holidays, really, getaways. Not adventures. Adventures were something we did with kids. In fact, everything is an adventure with kids. Like cooking dinner for example.  And using the bathroom alone. Oh, the adventure. Or praying the rosary. I could go on but I think you get the picture. It’s a dangerous business going out your door. Or going outside your comfort zone. Kudos to parents everywhere. So what will an adventure without children like? Honestly, I don’t think anything will match the exhausting and awesome years of raising a family. This new adventure has the quality of not knowing and that is exciting, but with all the knowing of what we have back home - all the people full of life and love. That’s the real adventure. But all those years reading history together made me want to go meet it in person. Off we go then.