Travel to Italy – La Dolce Vita

Travel To Italy – Another phenomenal trip!

Are you familiar with the term La Dolce Vita? It’s an Italian phrase that translates to the sweet life. It describes a way of life characterized by enjoying life’s pleasures, indulging, and cultivating joy. The term originated from Federico Fellini’s iconic 1960 film of the same name, which depicted the luxurious and eventful lives of Rome’s aristocracy and middle class during Italy’s economic boom in the 1950s.

In this newsletter/travelogue, I am thrilled to share our adventures in Italy with you. We just returned from a jam-packed adventure that lasted 12 days. The good news is that we traveled through Italy for 12 days! The bad news is that I covered a lot of ground—maybe too much.

I will share just the highlights with you because this post will be very long if I go too deep. However, I will create a podcast episode for Travel Connections where I will dive deeper and share more personal insights.

Roma 

We began in Rome, and typically, I like to stay in Rome for one or two nights at the beginning of a trip in Italy to get acclimated, where we attempt to beat some of the jet lag.

So we stayed one night in Rome at The Tribune. We’ve stayed there many times, and it is a perfect fit for us. I like the location and the staff, and the breakfast is superb. You can walk anywhere from this particular location near the Villa Borghese, I love it.

After one night in Rome, we took a high-speed train to Bari, rented a car, and drove south through Puglia. In Puglia, you are literally in the heel of Italy’s boot, and our itinerary was ambitious. We stopped in Lecce, Alberobello, Polignano a Mare, Monopoli and Matera.

There is so much to see in Puglia, which has many charming seaside towns. Unless you have weeks to travel (which we did not), you must make some tough choices. There isn’t time to see everything. We sure wish we could have seen more.

We were spellbound. Puglia is not swarming with tourists, and for that, we rejoice! I believe it’s because it is so far away from all the major cities. However, the Italians know where it is, and they go there during the summer and on their vacations. It is absolutely stunning. The food is extraordinary. The people are lovely, and you really have a chance to slow down and enjoy “the sweet life.”

So first, I’ll begin with Lecce, and then we’ll talk about Alberobello and Matera, truly one of the most unique cities I’ve ever experienced.

Lecce

Holy cow, why have I not been here yet? Italy is such an extraordinary country, and it is just so time-consuming to see everything. However, “everything” in Italy is on my list!

Beautiful Lecce is often called the Florence of the South. I am not sure I agree because it is much smaller and there are way fewer tourists. The baroque architecture is stunning, it is super clean, and the food is some of the best in Italy. It served as our home base when we visited Polignaro a Mare and Monopoli.

Next stop, Alberobello – A fairytale village

At first glance, you might think, “Is this real?” Alberobello is famous for its trulli, small round stone buildings with conical roofs.

A trullo (trullo is singular, trulli is plural) is a round building topped with a conical roof made of limestone tiles. Trulli can be found throughout the Itrian Valley in Italy, but the densest population of trulli is in Alberobello.

Years ago, these unique houses allowed the villagers to avoid specific taxation and could be taken down quickly if necessary because of their simple construction. I think Alberobello is an excellent day trip destination, but be warned—it can get very busy at certain times. Go early in the day!

Oh my! Matera 

Matera is an ancient city that dates back thousands of years and is famous for its cave dwelling. You can explore the Sassi (the cliffside zones) as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We stayed at Sextantio, the most unique hotel we have ever stayed in. Our hotel room was inside a cave! There were all of the creature comforts like hot and cold running water and air conditioning, but the furnishings were spare, and the atmosphere evoked a time from centuries before. It was totally worth it! All dining was in the 13th Century Rock Cave church – but of course! This was indeed the most unique hotel experience of my life.

 

My beloved Tuscany!

We then made our way north and drove six and a half hours up to Tuscany to visit a favorite place called Montefollonico. As you may recall, I have traveled there often with my friends at Tuscan Women Cook. It felt so great to see the wonderful people in the village and we stayed at the lovely iCastagni.

We visited wineries and new (to us) Tuscan cities like the famous Montalcino, where Brunello is the king of wines. The countryside is so picturesque, and their Spring was so wet that everything was still green and lush. Everywhere you look is like a postcard. There is a quiet elegance in Tuscany that relaxes me and speaks to me like no other destination.

Our travel to Italy finished once again back in Roma

We finished our Italian tour in Rome. We did this on purpose because last year, while in Rome, we met a darling and talented chef named Michaela, who owns Michaela’s Home Restaurant. She creates social dinners where she cooks for her guests in her home, which is just as magical as we anticipated. She is an award-winning chef and offers Roman dishes with local ingredients. This is the best way to enjoy an authentic experience in Rome.

We dined with a fantastic family from Copenhagen, a female solo traveler from New Zealand who taught in Hong Kong, and two American families from the East Coast. We had a blast, and the food was delicious.

Although I planned a very ambitious itinerary, everything was perfect, from the uniquely designed hotels to our divine restaurant experiences. I plan to do a special episode on the Travel Connections podcast to dive deeper into this itinerary.  This speedy newsletter gives you a glimpse, but it is certainly not enough! In the meantime, here are a few links I want you to have. You can also find more photos on my Instagram – Here!

Rome

The Tribune Hotel

Michaela Home Restaurant

Lecce

Palazzo Maresgallo

Matera

Sexitantio

Montefollonico

iCastagni

 

Hope you have a great week! What are your travel plans?

 

Suzanne