For several days of Matt’s summer leave, we went to the Gargano Peninsula, in the Puglia region on the east coast of Italy, just a few hours from where we live.  This area, home to a large forested area called the Gargano National Park, felt rather arid, with rocky hills, olive trees everywhere, and vast stretches of blue ocean.  It was quiet, peaceful and beautiful.  We chose this area for the Park, the forest, the beach, and the possibility of hiking.  It turned out that the hiking was not well marked and harder to find than we anticipated, so we opted instead for a short woods walk and a drive around the area (winding roads up and down mountains, through tiny towns with cobblestone streets, and along vast blue sea-vistas).  We mostly hung out at our fantastic apartment (which had an epic view, two bedrooms and a little yard), wandered around in the cute friendly town of Mattinata, and relaxed at the beach.   Our family had its ups and downs as we learned more about how to vacation together successfully.  We discovered that “National Park” holds a different meaning here, that gas stations have AMAZING food, that eggplant always seems to be a winner for Matt and me, and that we can be brave enough to find what we need in Italy in all kinds of strange-feeling circumstances.