Siamo appena ritornati da una bellissima serata con Gianna, Santino, Paulo, Sonia, Addolorata e Lisa. La famiglia di Zio Umberto che sono molto, molto simpatica. Abbiamo visto per la prima volta la casa di Anna e Pepp, Umberto, Angiolina e Nadia! Che bella! Grande, spaziosa, e quasi nuova. Era buio sfotunamente ma speriamo ritorneremo durante il giorno Martedi per vedere il giardino e fattoria. Abbiamo visto anche la piccola macchina blu di Peppe, ....che carino....

After a tiring, full day's drive from Calabria into Puglia, we arrived at dusk in pretty Otranto. Now on the opposite side of Italy...on the heel of the boot. Yet another lovely coastal town, full of charm & history. Each one is has been quite different. White stone streets, castles, ancient churches & a torquoise harbour. The cathedral had an altar room dedicated to the 800 martyrs beheaded by the Turks and all the skulls were stacked up in glass cabinet...

Stayed in another bargain spot right in the historic centre of Lecce....known as the "Florence of the south". So excited to finally have somewhere with a little kitchen!! Felt like such a novelty. Cooked (!) tea & settled the kids for the night before I popped out to explore. Arriving on a wet Sunday afternoon, the city seemed deserted with all shop shutters down. However, at 8pm it was like stepping out onto Rundle Street (well, not quite!). Cafes, buskers...

OMG… just saw more than a dozen eruptions of Stromboli's volcano on our night boat tour!!! Incredible! Another wish-list item to tick off! It is one of the most continuously active volcanos in the world and an almost perfect cone. We had almost given up hope of seeing it as after garaging our car on mainland Sicily and catching a ferry to Lipari (the main island in the beautiful Aeolian Islands- Le Isole Eolie), we discovered we'd missed the season for volcano ...

After another magic sunrise, we had a nice relaxing beach day today. Little ones had a lovely time splashing about & Zac then fell asleep in the sun on my lap! The sun in italy is so different to Australia. You can be out in it nearly all day without sun screen & not get burnt. Normally I'd be like a tomato if I did it in Oz. We did a short boat tour of the local islands & some caves with vivid blue water.... Grotto Azzurro. We are so lucky with su...