Francavilla al Mare - Villa Maria

We are now out of the southern food region of Puglia and into the food region of Abruzzo.

It was a relatively calm 2 hour drive reaching speeds of 130 km per hour and only traveling 180 km north on the freeway from 

Rodi Resort. 

Check out the olive grove growing on the hill over the tunnel.

Over our past trips we have decided it is better to drive on the freeways so as to get to where you want to be and then we can explore around where we are staying. 

As fun as it can be driving off the beaten tracks they can sometime be blessings … but mostly take so much more time and a few too many local challenges to say the least.

If you look at the map we are now a bit higher up than Rome.

We are staying for 3 nights at Villa Maria which was build in the late 1940’s after the war and the staff tell us it was furnished in the Liberty style!

 So not quite as fluid as Art Nouveau and not as full on triangular geometrical as Art deco.

An italian design blend of the two!

Elegant and charming touches through out the hotels restaurants and bars.

The rooms are fitted with modern luxuries, but the corridors feel more like a 1970’s hotel.

The 6 acres of gardens are a delight to wander through with huge pines and a views over the olive groves on the hill behind the hotel.

Quirky water sculptures with water coming from places I did’t think was possible!!!

The views from our balcony looking north towards the city of Pescara is a great place for our night time italian card game, Scala Quaranta.

Rodi Garganica - Our Last Dinner

 Tonight our surprise little starter was much more to our taste! So the bunnies got devoured and yes they were yummy. 

Goats cheese sandwiched in puff pastry bunnies with a dusting of burnt polenta dust.

Tonight the staff were stressed that we wanted to be sitting outside as rain was predicted!! .4 of a mm!!! 

We risked drowning and being blown up by lightning … 

us Aussies are just so brave 😂 

Oh and of course we just had to have the lobster dumpling one last time. 

Followed by a very airy white chocolate mousse with wafer origami. Fun dish, the mousse had bits of popping candy and toffee and nuts taken to the edge of darkness that add a great bitterness to the white chocolate.

So it’s a goodbye to that view as tomorrow we hit the road again.

Rodi Garganica - Beach Day 2

  Monday and day two of our beach days on the Adriatic coast.

Today we decide not to go to the busy one that the Rodi Resort has for us and we opt to drive 1 hour south around what they call the “spur” on the heal of Italy.

Thought the national park with huge trees and back to the coast where the old olive trees are everywhere. 

We find a very quiet beach location now the weekend is over, get a chair and enjoy the views over the rocky island of Scogli di Gattarella from the restaurant Lido Oleandri.

The place is deserted and we have it almost too ourselves.

White and bright with touches of timber and beige macramé hanging baskets and lights make it not too sterile for a bright beach shack resturant.

Slow cooked peppers with black olives and crusty bread a great light lunch as tonight we are back at the Rodi Resort for our last dinner.

Even thought it’s the 2nd week of June … so like back home 2 weeks before Christmas the places though the week are still very quiet so a great time to be a tourist here.

The rocky island of Scogli di Gattarella.

Rodi Garganica - Mr Bean!

 So after a hard day working on our mediterranean glows!

 We are back up the hill at the resort, dinner was fantastic last night so we are dining in house again and we are definitely having the lobster dumplings also.

The steep hill has a lot to do with dining in house option

 as I don’t really want to 

drive up the hill in the dark … 1/2 cut after diner in town!

Got to chatting with the chef last night and told him of our wonderfull experience in the past with meeting Massimo so tonight a special little starter arrived just for us.

The episode of Mr Bean “on his birthday” came straight to both our minds!

Don’t know if you know the episode, it was the one where he took himself … and teddy, to a flashy restaurant for a birthday treat and ordered the beef Tartare

 Not liking it! 🤮 he tried all manner of ways to dispose of it and at the end because it was all gone and he had a birthday card on his table they felt sad for him so they sent him another dish complementary as he must have loved it so much.

Well we were lucky … no second dish came out! 

Thank goodness!!!!!!

But I’m sorry I just don't do cat food!!! 

and Sands was not a big fan either.

All those the little bones, it is one of my worst nightmares, Sandy looked and laughed as she knew it was going to be a really challenge for me firstly to eat … or work out how to dispose of it with out offending the chef.

So in Mr 🫘 style while the waiters were busying themselves elsewhere a plan had to be hatch … not quite as elaborate as Mr 🫘 … with only a paper napkin and tight jean pockets that was not going to work either! Over the balcony was the only way … but no that could be problematic for the people downstairs!

So wrapped in 2 paper napkins stolen from under the wine bucket, tucked down discreetly beside my leg and the edge of the chair all the time hoping that the wet little suckers wont leak out of the paper napkin's before I have time to work on the next phase of the removal plan! 

Plate went back to the kitchen with the tail and some bones looking like we clearly enjoyed the dish.

Well I couldn’t hardly send the plate back too clean could I. 

As for the disposal … back to our room for a quick visit to get the plastic bag from the bin and tightly lock the cat food away so as to not be discovered by anyone🤢🤞🏼

 

Rodi Garganica - Beach Day

 Going to the seaside in Italy is big business.

From our hill top location we catch the resorts shuttle limo

 8 minutes down the steep hill to where the Resort has for us 2 chairs and an umbrella all as part of the cost of our stay.

It’s all so organised and the cheapest beers I have had all trip, 

2 Euro so $3.44 and had the local from Puglia.

With the beach hut serving lunch it can be a whole day event, but sadly for us it was only a liquid lunch and a bag of crisps as the beach bar was just soooooo Italian busy being a Sunday that to get lunch was impossible. All good we will save ourselves for dinner up the hill again tonight anyway. 

The sellers are all over the beach with hats, sunglasses, jewellery ect ect for sale, making for some 

fun banter and bartering.

So much colour and fun for kids of all ages.

The heat today even under the umbrellas was still 

super 🥵 🥵

  it bounced up off the sand so we both came way with a 

lot more Mediterranean glow.

Lecce - to Rodi Garganica

 We have now left our stunning old sumptuous room at The Historical Suites in Lecce and picked up a little car again and this time for the next 23 days.

We are driving today 380km north up the Adriatic coastline to the small art deco seaside town of Rodi Garganica where we will be staying up a steep hill at the Rodi Resort 

for the next 3 nights.

The town of Rodi Garganica in the distance with all the sailing boats moored at the old marina. 

That will be a very early morning walk to explore 

(in the cool as it is stinking hot and humid right now)

 but first I will have to drive the car to the bottom of the hill as the hill to get here is soooooooo italian steep, narrow and rough! That said it also gives us great views from our balcony over the Adriatic Sea.

Our room is coastal chic and very minimalistic. 

  It’s all so bright white that my sunnies are even struggling to cope with the glare.

With a great walk in pool purched high up again with stunning views over the Adriatic Sea.

By night time the air starts to cool and the glare is gone as the sun sets.

They have a great restaurant and the chef used to work for Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana.

If you take your memories way back to two previous Italian trips where first we dined at Massimo Osteria in Modena northern Italy and later we did a cooking class with Massimo at the slow food convention in Bra.

So as you can imagine with that training his the flavours where on point and the plating was fun.

Lobster Dumplings with teriyaki sauce and a citrus jelly. 

10pm with some colour still in the shy it’s a good night from us as tomorrow we go to the beach. 

Buona notte 💚💜

Lecce - Breakfast at The Historical Suites

 We have been enjoying our breakfasts in the old office of generations of solicitors amongst all the old legal books, now the B&B breakfast room. 

Every morning a 3 tiered platter is left for us on the table with yummy bits designed to send us with fully tummies for our day walking and exploring the old baroque city. This morning was our first Pasticciotto and it is a type of filled Italian pastry. Depending on the region, they are traditionally filled with either ricotta cheese or egg custard and ours the latter. Yummy, short buttery pastry with the firm custard, front left.

Along with crostata, a smoke and plain mozzarella ball, salami and mortadella, ect ect

So now fuelled up after breaky!  it’s out for a day exploring and firstly to orientate us with the old city we take the little train for 

a 1 hours tour from the main square just around the corner from the historical suites.

Yep, it’s little bit little!!!! 

The gates to the old city … huge and very impressive, as was most of Lecce architecture.

The vast courtyards 

The ancient Colosseum according to locals is actually bigger than the one in Rome but it is mostly still under the old city so they will never really know … doesn't look that big to me but I’m just the tourist.

Beautiful cooling fountains and gardens.

  With some amazing garden structures. 

By night the building glow … so a great way to digest those fabulous dinners is a nice long walk home.

Letting us take in all the intricate details that the lighting shows up by night.

Lecce - Restaurant Scene

 By night fall when the towns people resurface after their siestas the whole night time restaurant scene starts to kick off again.

The restaurants mostly in the cobble stone allies with awning over, the atmosphere is so Italian with music being played by walking musicians and the street sellers with the roses.

The coperto (extra $ added to the bill to sit at a table) varies from place to place and here it is the Southern Italian taralli and some breads.

A traditional way to enjoy a taralli is with a glass of wine, dip the taralli into your glass and allow it to soak up some of the liquid.