Viva l'Italia! (Part 2 - Calabria and Puglia)

Ok ya'll, I'm back for part two of our phenomenal vacay in Italy that was totes amazballs and fun for everyone. Today I'll be covering the second part of our trip, in the regions of Calabria (the toe of Italy, if you subscribe to the whole Italy-looks-like-a-boot thing) and Puglia (the heel of Italy, see previous parenthetical [and Puglia is not pronounced "POO-glee-ah," but something closer to "Poolya"--I think we americans actually call the region Apulia]). This post still covers cities where I lived/visited when I lived in Italy ten years ago; starting next time, we'll get into unknown territory. So, without further ado, our first city was Reggio di Calabria...*

Il Monumento ai Caduti (Monument to the Fallen), seen from the Lungo Mare (street that runs along the sea).

#nofilter

So Reggio is a city on a big hill, and apparently since I was last in Italy they decided to build a giant set of covered escalators from the beach to the top of the hill. I can't tell you how much sweat this would have saved me when I lived there...walking up Reggio's hill when it is 100 degrees F and a billion percent humidity makes for one sweaty Christopher.

We saw a castle.

This is that castle.

The aforementioned string of escalators in all their glory (they are the five or six tube-y things).

The door to the palazzo I lived in 10 years ago.

Some friends from 10 years ago who own a little shop that sells arancini, panzerotti, and all sorts of deliciousness. Also pictured: my giant gut. I blame Italian food.

From Reggio Calabria we journeyed through the cities of Cosenza (also in Calabria), and then Taranto (in the Puglia region now)...

We took trains.

Something new (wasn't in Cosenza when I was there ten years ago, anyway).

Something old (what we affectionately termed the "Darth Vader Helmet" when I lived in Cosenza).

Something borrowed (Rachel borrowed her sister's backpack for our trip. We took backpacks and it was awesome and made us feel very cool in an REI, granola-y kind of way.).

And something...bold? Blue? I don't even know. This was the view from our balcony at our hotel in Taranto.

Next stop: Brindisi, the gateway to Greece!

Like a boss.

Il Monumento al Marinaio d'Italia (the monument to Italian sailors).

Brindisi in the background.

Stairs to the top of the Monumento al Marinaio.

Brindisi and surrounding harbor, as seen from the top of the Monumento.

Weird angle.

It was cool to walk where I walked ten years ago, see the sights I saw. This fountain = nostalgia.

Brindisi's Duomo (Cathedral/main Church).

And the final stop on our tour of southern Italy was, last but not least (well maybe the least now that I think about it), Bari...

Sometimes I think sittin' on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game
Everyone's a winner, we're making our fame
Bonafide hustler making my name
(MIA, anyone...?)

Yet another castle. And, surprise, it was awesome.

Cool architectural things?

Castle again. That grass used to be a moat.

Aaaand that's all for now, folks. Stay tuned: next time, we're going to Rome!




* Previous disclaimer applies: I take no responsibility for the artistry or lack thereof of these photos; they were all taken with my iPhone, and all filters are strictly ironic.