Just a handful of photos from a very special trip to Brindisi.
Located in Apulia (which is the heel of boot-shaped Italy), Brindisi is an important port city on the Adriatic Coast. It is also my boyfriend's hometown and where his sweet family still resides. So yes as one can assume by that, this was a very special homecoming trip indeed.
In the spirit of documenting the significant moments of my personal life online (mostly for selfish reasons as it keeps my memory fresh), I will summarize the series of events that transpired. It had a bit of rocky start due to a cancelled flight to Seattle, which left Mario and I stranded at the SAN airport. But 8+ hours later, we got placed onto a direct flight to London Heathrow which would still allow us to make our connecting flights to Italy (Milan --> Brindisi). So, we boarded that British Airways flight with tired eyes and arrived in London the next day. Our bags, on the other hand, did not. But alas, we had an itinerary we needed to follow and finally made it Mario's parents' home after nearly 24 hours of travel. Needless to say, we slept well that evening... Only after partaking in a delicious midnight spread of mozzarella, prosciutto and red wine - #priorities.
We took it really easy the next couple of days leading up to NYE. Honestly, that week between Christmas and New Year's is a strange period as is and should be spent exactly like this in my opinion. Made a couple of stops to Zara to rebuild our wardrobes since we would be baggage-less for those first few days. Then as we were promised, we got the update that our bags arrived! So before our drive to Ostuni (check out that blogpost here), we picked up our suitcases from the airport.
It was the day after that I started feeling sick. It started with a slight fever and what felt like just a consequence of being ill-prepared for a windy, winter evening in Ostuni. But as we would later find out, it was COVID. Yep, it got both me and Mario. And also apparently everyone during that period, except fortunately not Mario's family (or mine back home). So after two VERY (allegedly) positive COVID tests, our 10 day Italian quarantine began. I like to believe it was the universe wanting more time for Mario and I to be together. Being in a long-distance relationship can be so tough. But when it's with the love of your life, you make it work and cherish the moments when we can be together.
After updating work and my 'Close Friends' list, I received an influx of messages along the lines of: "there could be worse places to quarantine," "at least you're there with your Mario," and "hope you both feel better soon." And honestly, even though my COVID symptoms left me feeling quite literally horrible at times, my heart was so full with the love and well wishes we received over this period. Seriously, of all places to get stranded, I was fortunate to be at home with my boyfriend and his family. The universe was really looking out for us.
It was a very special trip indeed - full of beautiful memories, lots of laughs, and tearful "see you later's". But I'll remember it for the rest of my life.
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