May, 2011: Catching up on the week

Fri., May 13th- We get up each day around 10 or 11 a.m. Because our room is dark and conducive to slumber. We had another big, late lunch. I joined a group going to the supermarket for TP and H2O. We had to place our purses into a locker and could retrieve them when ready to pay.

We napped prior to the wedding renewal service.

Shortly before seven, we drove Ty and Jennifer L. To the old church. It was built around 1050 AD.

The 92 yr. Old Monsignor spoke no English. John's niece Lucy, played guitar and sang a song that had Roy chuckling. Fortunately, it had "halleleuah" in the chorus so the Monsignor thought it was a religious hymn.

Paul sat behind Diane and John and translated. It was very moving.

Back at the villa, there was a three piece band. then the huge banquet. More food!

May, 2011: Italy-Food...food...food

Mon., May 9th
Our day started with espresso and fresh pastry. Roy and went for a long walk on the Via Appian.

Then it was time for a late lunch prepared by Paul and Nicola.

We finished the feast and everyone adjourned for naps.

Roy and I took a quick motor tour of Terlizzi. It looks like a good place to explore. The shops are closed from 1-5 p.m. After we retuned, it was rest time. When we joined the group again, it was raining and much cooler outside.

Some went out for pizza, one group went to a restaurant for gluten-free pasta. Not wanting to eat too much, we drove to town to join a group who found a nice restaurant. Little did we know what an adventure it would be!

I think our dinner began shortly after 9 p.m. We weren't sure what we were ordering as our waitress didn't speak any English. We finally gave up trying to translate the menu and managed to communicate to her that we'd let her decide what we should eat. How many courses did we have? I think I recall eight. Outstanding meal!!!! We closed the restaurant at 12:15 a.m.

May, 2011: Italy: Arrived at Villa Capelli

Thank heavens that Jennifer, our daughter, plugged the coordinates for Villa Cappelli into our Garmin GPS! Our brains were so fuzzy after the overnight flight that we never would have been able to navigate from the Bari Airport to Terlizzi without the electronic aid.

After greeting everyone, we went to rest before dinner. That was a big mistake! Once my head hit the pillow, I didn't want to get up. Roy decided to join me and we turned out our lights. Diane attempted to wake us around 8 p.m. for dinner, but I mumbled something about wanting to sleep.

A few minutes later, hunger motivated me to stumble out of bed and try to wake Roy. By this time, he was sound asleep and food didn't interest him as much as his pillow. I joined the group over at the main house for dinner which Paul had prepared.

While the meal is a blur, I remember enjoying it and the house red wine.

May, 2011: Arrived in Italy

The United Airlines overnight flight was so long, even in Business Class.

During the night, the cabin was very warm and folks were tossing their blankets everywhere. By morning, I peeked out the window just as we passed over the French Alps. There was heavy cloud coverage but the white peaks poked through.

Italian Customs was almost a "non-event" and we were waved through quickly.

We had a 5 hours to kill at the Rome Airport. We walked outside from one terminal to the next and enjoyed some fresh air. We found some plastic chairs, propped our feet up on our suitcases and let time pass.

Soon, we found Jennifer Lebin and we all checked our bags, and boarded the Alitalia flight to Bari. I was surprised as we flew east to see mountains and windmills below. I don't know what I expected, but it was an interesting flight.