Salisano, Italy
Italy has been one of my “bucket list” destinations for many years. I watched “Under The Tuscan Sun”, then followed up by reading the entire book series (upon which the movie was loosely based), written by Frances Mayes, and I was hooked. I imagined myself sitting on a beautiful terrace overlooking a field of sunflowers while sipping local red wine. Finally one day I received a call from my sister Maureen. She and her husband Claude, now retired and world travelers, were going to be enjoying a four-month vacation in Italy, and they invited me to visit! No arm twisting needed. They were going to be there over the Christmas holidays and into March, so I booked a flight and arrived just a couple of days before December 31st. The plan was to ring in the New Year in Rome, and we did! Of course being there for just ten days meant it wasn’t possible to visit all of the places I wanted to see, but I made a valiant effort. Rome, Naples, Pompeii, and a number of small medieval towns and villages, including Salisano, where my sister and brother in-law had rented an apartment. I have many stories to tell from my dream trip, but I’ll start with this one. Join me on the winding streets of Salisano for a walking tour of the historic cobbled alleys – including animated encounters with the locals! Please excuse my poor command of the Italian language. I think I somehow managed to create a hybrid combination of English, French, Italian, and Spanish!