We said goodbye to the relatives with tearful embraces, boarded a ferry in Brindisi and headed to Greece.  There we were scheduled to meet up with friends from Boston.  Before entering these weeks of our trip, Annie and I were a little apprehensive about how dramatic our shift in travel style would be.  As expected going from the coast of Africa to Europe, and to emphasize the fact Roma, was shock enough to our senses and our wallets, but to add to it a vacation style travel plan was going from 0 to 100 mph on the racetrack of luxury.  Hey, you gotta roll with it, right?

Greece is in financial crisis, but their tourism industry seems to be doing alright and everything is so damn expensive...so what gives, where's all that cash going Grecia!?  We did the "Greece in a week" iterineray with JD and Jenn...Athens, Santorini, Crete, Delphi and Athens again.  Wow, that shit is beautiful and friggin' old.  On crete we walked through Knossos, center of the Minoan civilization dating back to 6000 BC or before..... yeah, that there be one of the oldest civiliations known to man. Crazy.  And yes of course there was classical period of ancient Greece, with the likes of the Acropolis' Parthenon and Delphi's Sanctuary of Apollo and Athena... gulp.  It felt like these guys were doing things before Christ was born that folks in central Africa have yet to figure out (or afford).  Hm, strange how civiliations progress at such amazingly different paces.


The week went by too quickly.  We laughed... a lot, drank, ate, played lots of cards, relaxed and just caught up on all things back home Boston. It was great and really good to see and spend time with familiar faces that we hadn't seen in a while.  Although we all agreed that it didn't feel like 8 months had gone by....

So after a short delay on their return flight (some bs about volcanic ash in the atmosphere or sumthin?!) Jenn and Johnny were off and Annie and I were headed towards Italy again. This time north, to pick up my parents for a week in northern Croatia.  We had a one night stopover in a Greek hilltown, beautiful spring meadows anchored sweeping mountains dotted with sheep (I didn't think Greece looked like this) then we got on a two night, thirty-six hour ferry ride to Trieste.  We got deck tickets which means pulling out our sleeping pads and sleeping bags and searching the ship for a quiet place to cleep.  First night OK, second night... BRUTAL (for me atleast) due to a nice mix of a gently rocking boat and two liters of squeeze bottle vino rosso.  Ugh.


It was great to see the parental units, obviously there was lots of anticipation and a tear was shed on arrival.  8 months is a long time not to see people that you love - so darn it, make it a point to visit your loved ones!  We jumped in the car and headed to our base for the week, Rovinj, Croatia, just over the Italian, then Slovenian boarder in the peninusla of Istria.  I recommend this place bar none as a week or longer destination.  Rovinj itself is a charming town, centered around an old city, which was once an island, but has now been connected.  Istria is famous seafood, wine, blue water coasts, a fairland type interior with hilltop towns scattered about and truffles.  Is this paradise?  Pretty close.  Much like our time in Greece this week was magic.  We enjoyed all that Rovinj had to offer, we spent some time inland, had to sober up at the end of the week and get stitches due to all of the laughing.  We had a great time and most importantly to me it got my folks out to see another part of the world.  My hope is that this trend for them of exploring new  continues... and that Cancun, becomes less frequented.



Our 20 European vacation came to a close at the first of May.  Our time reminded us of the great life and community we had before we left and what we'll come back to later this year.  We saw some amazing things, but most importantly we spent quality time with some of our closest people in beautiful parts of the world.

So.... I've written and rewritten this post several times, never be satisfied that the words did the experience, that we had in Puglia, justice. So if it doesn't come out properly, let it be said here... Annie and I were overwhelmed by the generosity, interest and the degree of unconditional love that the Rendinis and Caliandros showed us during the week we spent with them. We want to say thank you and my hope is that soon, we will again be in your wonderful presence.

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So from the coast of Africa, Europe ... first stop Italia. We flew in and spent a few days in one of our all-time favorite cities, Roma, then headed south, to visit "the Italian relatives". Seeing how this was THE reason that Italy was included in the itinerary, we were super excited. I mean really, how many people get to meet their mother's mother's father's brother's daughter and her family?

So, a little background. My mother, uncle, cousin and their significant others tracked down our distance relatives from southern Italy a few years ago and actually visited them as part of a trip to Italy in 2008. They only stayed two days, but created a lifetime of memories with the Caliandros and Rendinis in that short period of time. We had heard so much about their visit, from the welcome at the train station, the garden walks in the country, to all of the historical towns, and the banquet held in their honor with over 50 guests...overly gracious hosts, overly moved travelers, to the point of tears. It was amazing to listen to the stories, so we wanted to deliver a thank you to the family in person and spend some time with these obviously amazing souls.

We weren't prepared for the experience to come - not even close. From Roma we took an overnight half bus, half train ride down to Ostuni (Puglia, the heal of the "boot" if you will) 15 minutes drive from Casalini - home of my great grandfather's relatives. We were met first by Maria Caliandro and her husband Giuseppe. I met eyes with Maria, we recognized each other... she let out a short gasp, then began the run/brisk walk towards each other, ya know like movie stuff ... a few kisses, a few ciaos, a few hugs, lots of smiles and lots of cryptic Italian... ok, out to the parking lot, where we were greeted by more people (Leonardo, Mariantonietta a.k.a. Mari), a few more ciaos, kisses, hugs, and smiles later we were off to Nino and Dora Rendini's (Mari's parents) cafe/bar, located in a campground on the Adriatic. Guess what ensued? Ciaos, kisses, hugs and smiles. This type of behavior didn't end... for 7 straight days. Annie and I felt like diplomats, ambassadors, being treated to every important luxury afforded in Puglia. We visited every single local town - Ostuni, Cisternino, Alberbello and others further a field - Matera, Otranto, Santa Maria de Leuca (sourthern most point of Italy), we visited farms, churches and castles, we walked the country gardens, groves and vineyards of the families, visited a famous local cave, and we even went on a car safari, to the metro zoo, and saw a dolphin show (all done at a local amusement park). WWhewff... aren't you whipped just reading that?!



However, for us the most enjoyable part of the entire time was mealtime - we sat down together, always being served homemade, traditional food, with loads of local products always on the table (I mean stuff made by them like olive oil, wine, limoncello!) and it all just kept coming (don't ask me to count the courses we ate over the week)... and of course it was all accompanied by broken English, even worse Italian and lots of hand waving. So, Annie and I know exactly how our elder generation felt... and we are so so lucky to have these relatives in our lives. It was also very special to be able to celebrate Mari's brithday with her and members of Dora's family...even taking part in making part of the meal - the pizza! So fun... Nino's got quite a knack for the food stuffs.... Bravo!

So the story must go on... Vermont folks are chomping at the bit to get back over to Casalini to help with the olive and grape harvest, Casalini folks would love to get to America....and they would be hosted like the Kings and Queens that they are. I know that the hosts in Vermont would at least try their best to come within shoutin' distance providing the hospitality shown to them while in Italy.

Hospitality means different things to different people. It could mean anything from answering someones question, to letting someone use your phone, to hosting a dinner for twenty, to any number of other things. In Italy, when you are the host, hospitality is taken very very seriously and I really cannot imagine anyone taking it more seriously than our relatives in Casalini. There was never a question... Annie and I were going to be treated very well, special, because we were guests and that's hospitality. A new standard, that I'd like to live up to.

So it's difficult to put into words for me. From my parent's visit in 2008, I had heard so many things about the "italian relatives", but could all of these glowing blah blahs be true? Hells yeah! And more, beyond your wildest dreams....really...

I'm also so thankful to the crew that made the trip over in 2008. It is hard to believe, but if they had not broken ground with the family in Casalini back then, who knows if the relationship would exist now and if Annie and I would have made the trip. Boy are we lucky.

Grazie mille to the Familia di Casalini! See...still working on the Italian...