Cisternino, Italy

Today did not go exactly as planned (bound to happen at least once on the trip!), but it was still a lovely day despite some travel woes. The kids woke up a bit late and decided to go for a swim rather than eat breakfast. I wanted to go back to Ostuni to explore more as we didn't have enough time the night before, so we headed back to explore (error number one - hungry kids). Error number two - we didn't anticipate how crowded it would be during the day, and after a harrowing drive through the dreaded "centro" (error number three) we finally parked and walked in and got promptly lost. It was hot and crowded and touristy and perhaps one of those cities best left for evenings, but we finally found a place and begged them for a bit of food (no food until 12, but they got us a nutella croissant from a nearby bakery for which we were eternally grateful) and we all felt a bit better afterwards. We walked around for a bit then then decided to call it quits and headed back to the car for our next stop - Grotiglie the ceramic center of Puglia. We finally arrived after driving through some really strange, abandoned towns (so much is abandoned in Puglia!). We parked and the kids had a great time checking out the different shops and they got some gifts for their teachers. Unfortunately we were late arriving and in a short while it was siesta time and most of the shops closed. We decided to leave and head to nearby Ceglie Messapica for lunch as we were all hungry. We parked easily and walked into the charming town, but everything had JUST closed for lunch (of course). Lucikly one restarualnt was open so we had some cheese and meats (and well-deserved wine) in a lovely courtyard before heading back to the villa to meet up with Rin and Damien for a swim. Yesterday, I had made some quick changes to our dinner plans and we all headed out at 7:00 to a winery in Locortondo for dinner. At first we were a little skeptical, but it turned out to be one of THE most magical nights. Frank, the chef, was such a character and cooked diner for us in the trullo and it was unbelivable - so much food and we tried three of the wines which were delcious. At 8:00 a babysitter came and made jewelry with the girls and they were happy too. It was SUCH an amazing and special evening and one we will never forget (and a lovely end to a rather average day!).Read more