HIKING & SLOW FOOD IN ITALY

Cheese, Fruit, Wine and Bread

I am often reluctant to blog about vacations.  I don't want folks to see these as anything more than sharing my experience.   I think there can always be a danger of flaunting a trip that I realize most folks don't experience in their own lives.  In Italy, we went to two regions in the far south known as Basilicata and Pulia.  Both regions are not that well known to travelers and not well traveled.  The reason we chose to go there was that it is off the beaten path and things tend to move a bit slower.  Our guide on this day was Michele Cappiello a native of the area and a great guide!  He does these sorts of customized trips and we were lucky to have him as our leader.  So on this day we walked around the hills of Matera.  Matera is a great village.  The one way you might know it is that parts of  the move Passion of the Christ were filmed there. The landscape is somewhat stark as you can see, but there were all sorts of wild flowers coming into plume and since many of the trees, including the olive trees, are evergreen, it felt like spring. The weather was mild, but not warm and perfect for hiking.  Since it was mid-March the sun is also not as strong as its going to be in 12 weeks at the height of the summer. The day was memorable for its beauty, relaxing lunch and lessons on the history of the region.  Looking out at snow flurries today here in Boston, I would like to be back there right now.  If you want to check out more about the region go here http://www.walkbasilicata.it/ 

Cows Enjoy A Morning Walk

The Caves of Matera