There is a fantastic travel tool that you might already have: Microsoft OneNote. This multi-functional software has helped me keep track of all the research for this trip, down to every detail. The structure is simple: Create a notebook (called "Italy Trip" or whatever). Open tabs (called sections) titled for each part of your trip (Rome, Florence, etc.), add other sections to keep track of travel reservations, hotel reservations, etc. You can clip and paste on the fly as you do your research on the Web... URLs, photos, bits of text, just about anything you can see on your screen.
In fact, a great ability is to use the print-screen key on your keyboard to print a web page or photo that typically can't easily be copied... then paste it from the buffer (control-v on Windows PCs) into an image editor (I use Photoshop) to crop out unnecessary items, and then to paste the image into. This is an excellent way to capture an copy-protected image of something you want to reference later on. As long as you can see it on your screen, print-screen will print it to the copy buffer. You can then add pages to each section, although since the section spaces are truly virtual (without boundaries) I haven't found a need for that. Everything gets pasted onto one page and I just zoom in and out or scroll around. Every time I come across a travel tip, an interesting site to visit, contact information for a B&B or hotel--whatever--I cut and paste it into OneNote. Items also retain their URLs. Just a click takes you back to the site where you originally found the information--an incredibly useful feature! OneNote also auto-saves. Just quit and leave the program whenever you want and everything will be there the next time around. You will never lose your notes. After gathering info on different regions we were planning on visiting, it was an easy task to gather my wife Lisa and son Lucas around the computer and fine tune our plans. The really great thing is nowadays, OneNote is free for download and syncs to all your devices! --Jerry Finzi After Molfetta, we will take the high speed train from Bari to spend four final days roaming around Rome (bad pun) before heading home. We dread the tourist trappings but of course realize the need to see the Roman Forum, St. Peters Basilica, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Sigh... we hate long lines and crowds so we booked a "private tour" of the Vatican Museum. We'll let you know how that went.
The ultimate goal for this Voyage is to learn about the part of Italy where my father, Saverio (Sal) was born--Puglia (in Italian, Apulia). When Dad was still with us, we always talked about going to his hometown together. We never made that trip. Even though he left as a boy of 4 years old, he always remembered the white houses, the harbor full of fishing boats and the smell of the sea. My dream is to bless myself in the waters he played in as a child.
The town of Molfetta is my personal reason for going to Puglia but there is so much more here... 2000 year-old olive trees, caves, grottoes, seafood, the world's best bread and "Land of Oz" Trullo pointy-roofed houses. We are looking forward to spending some time in a Trullo B&B near Alberobello (a town with hundreds of Trulli) and in an apartment in the historic center of Molfetta overlooking the harbor. Just before we cross the border of Basilicata into Puglia, we will stay in a cave hotel in the Sassi town of Matera, a World Heritage site known for its cave dwellings carved into the rocks that the town sits upon. People have been living in caves here since paleolithic times, and in the 1950s much of the population was relocated because of the poor living conditions, but nowadays many have been converted to B&Bs and chic hotels.
Our next step of our voyage will take us into relatively unknown territory--unknown to most Americans, that is. Basilicata is a rugged, natural area of Italy with its own versions of Macchu Picchu-like villages--Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa--up among the cliffs and clouds. We will stay overnight in a hotel which looks out over the village of Castellmezzano and then explore this rugged area as we head further south.
After Tuscany, we will take a train to Naples, pick up our second rental car and drive to Sorrento and then the Amalfi Coast Road where we will stay in a villa hanging on a cliff over the sea. I am looking forward to the drive along the curvy scenic roads of this region, the cliff-hugging towns, where Odysseus came upon the Sirens and where giant lemons grow.
First we will explore the southern part of Tuscany... The plan is to fly into Rome and take a train to Chiusi and pick up our rental car, then drive to our home base, an agriturismo named Cosona just outside of the lovely hilltown, Pienza. That will surely be a very long travel day--literally, planes, trains and an automobile.
Next will be another agriturismo with a view of the "Little Manhattan"--San Gimignano with its ancient towers. Next we will explore the northern part of Tuscany, including Florence, Pisa and perhaps Vinci. Jerry's Dad was a sweetheart. He had a lot of Italy in him. Always eating sandwiches "deconstructed" style... bread in one hand, meat and cheese in the other. He was frugal, loved gardening, grew his own tomatoes. A real Italian. I'm only half Italian... maybe this trip will add a bit more on my Italian side. --Lisa F.
Then it's onto northern Tuscany to explore San Gimignano, Florence, and our boy Lucas's request, Pisa. Then we will head south by train to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast to drive the world's most crazy and scenic road, hugging the cliffs above the Adriatic Sea.
After that we'll drive further south through Basilicata and visit in Italy's own version of Machu Picchu--Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano--where people still live in homes built into-and under the towering pinnacles of the rugged mountains. We might even see a ghost town or two along the way. Next it will be a stay in a cave hotel in the Sassi town of Matera, and entire town where people have been living in cave homes for thousands of years. After that, we will sleep under the pointed roof of our own Trullo villa as we move into in Puglia. One could think these pointy stone cottages are straight out of the Land of Oz. Then the most important part of the trip: To pay homage to Dad and walk the streets, smell the air and taste the food of Molfetta, his birthplace. He will be with us. Then we will ditch our rental car and take the train back to Rome several days to soak in its history, the architecture, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peters, the museums and of course, the food. Stay tuned. I will be blogging along with my wife Lisa and son Lucas. We will describe not only the trip, but the planning leading up to it all. Of course, my Father will always be a part of this. After all, in finding ourselves in Italy we will also be finding Dad again--and what made him so simple and dolce. He was one of the sweetest men I've ever known... --Jerry Finzi |
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