I was excited and a little anxious as I
left to meet Carol and Terry on board Common
Sense. I had had an amazing stopover in Dubai staying with lovely Lisa and
her boys – what a fantastic city! A night in Rome was noisy and a good
introduction to life in Italy.
Carol and Terry met me at the station in
Bari and we took the bus (first of many!) back to the marina. After settling
into my cabin, we went off exploring in this interesting port city. In the
first few days I must say “Eataly” with its astonishing array of Italian
products, the old guys playing poker at improvised tables all along the
waterfront and my first swim in the Adriatic would be highlights. I was
immediately reminded that the Italian people are friendly, warm, laid back and
very expressive.
They don’t mind squalor, cigarettes and dog-poo infested
environs as long as they can eat good food and laugh a lot! Carol and I took a
trip to Polignano where we enjoyed a superb four course meal, then spent a
couple of days recovering from it.
We also took a tour to see the fascinating ‘cave city’ of Matera, once the ‘shame of Italy’ for its terrible poverty and mortality rates, now a site for tourism and movie sets. Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ was filmed there, and a Ninja movie was in progress while we visited.
Next up was Alberobello,
with its cute conical stone houses known as tulli.
Apparently these were constructed so as to be easily dismantled when the taxman
came to visit. “House? What house? This is just a field of rocks!”
A "small" selection of Eataly's Formaggio
Domenico Modugo - born and lived in Polignano, writer and singer of "Volare"
We also took a tour to see the fascinating ‘cave city’ of Matera, once the ‘shame of Italy’ for its terrible poverty and mortality rates, now a site for tourism and movie sets. Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ was filmed there, and a Ninja movie was in progress while we visited.
The oldest, continually inhabited town in Europe
Gianluca and Kim in Alberobello
Trulli
We motored to Monopoli (wind on the nose - what Terry calls a #$%# Noserly) a
walled town of many churches and a central cathedral. In the café in the piazza
I was introduced to my new favourite drink – Aperol Spritz – and enjoyed one or
two each evening from then on. We got lost in the narrow, winding streets,
finding all sorts of interesting things but not the cathedral we were looking
for! We swam in a lovely little bay and watched a local guy clean his daily
catch of about two dozen octopus. More good food – seafood, pasta, gelato,
cornettos, cheese, bread …
The inside harbour of Monopoli
The back streets of Monopoli
We headed off to Brindisi, unfortunately in
rain and quite a heavy swell – still no real sailing. There is a good sheltered
marina here where I enjoyed my Aperol each evening and a swim every morning. We
dinghied into town for a wander and some shopping, and Carol and I took the
train to the regional capital of Lecce – with and accidental side trip to Otuni
[see the next blog for this story].
The evening's aperitif - Aperol Spritz
All in all, an amazing holiday. I feel very
relaxed and would certainly join you again aboard the good ship Common Sense. Fantastico! Arrivederci Italia and grazie Carol and Terry!
Polignano dessert
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