ostuni

Ostuni, Monday, 08:15  pm

I am sitting in my favorite spot in the house: the cozy velvet green sofa. It first was a kind of grayish beige–that kind of fresh beige that becomes dirty after too many people sit on it. A very nice lady, Federica, upholstered the two comfortable seats.

Yesterday we went to an Italian movie, perfetti sconosciuti (perfect strangers), to upgrade my Italian a bit. It was hilarious: great content, sharp dialogue, perfect acting, amusing twists. It was about seven friends having a dinner party and, as a game, they decided to put all cell-phones on the table to prove they trusted one another. Many secrets rose to the surface, and the evening ended in a bitter fight. A must-see, if you ever get the chance. Also a perfect subject to discuss among friends, with a glass of wine, or Italian dinner (as we did yesterday in la Filosofia – delicious food by the way!), afterwards.

Today in the early morning, driving through rain and mist, hubbie managed to drop me on time at the airport. At 1:30 pm I landed in Brindisi, under a shiny Puglian sky. Hopeful and patient I waited in line at the car rental office. I ordered a Fiat cinque cento, as I always do but never get. I always hope for the old iconic model but usually get the renewed ugly version. This time they handed me a shiny (hurts the eyes) red Hyundai, that looked like a covered wheelchair. But once I was on the road, I was happy: on one side the glistering silver green olive trees,  on my other side ongoing hedges of oleanders (and it did manage to go much faster than a wheelchair).

Stopped at the supermarket, the Ipersimply, where “La spesa che non ti pesa”, free translation: the groceries that don’t cost too much. I go there for the simple reason that there is not a lot of choice of markets open at siesta-time. Continue Reading

Just a year ago we – my husband and I – threw ourselves in a big adventure. We bought a vacation home in the heel of Italy.

Have you ever visited this remote part in Italy? Well, I will lead you to all the small, marvelous towns of Puglia and will tell you about all of our experiences – disasters at some point – we met along the way.

At this moment we are redoing the kitchen. I didn’t really like the old one. It had solid separate cabinets, which were still kind of good, but the kitchen didn’t have any character. In December I went to check on the work twice. The old kitchen was removed, and the base and pipes for the new kitchen installed. I discussed the plan for the cabinets with the carpenter. When he’s ready to install the kitchen, by mid February, I will go back and share some pictures with you.

I am very curious to see the new tiles. I chose cement tiles in five different colors.  Most of them will be plain and mixed with five different tiles with a pattern, also with the same colors: old pink, grayish blue, beige and two shades of green. The floors and the top of the kitchen are from ‘pietra di Trani’, a natural stone that comes from a mine in a beautiful city a little bit up north in Puglia.