A small slice of the Adriatico (guest blogger Kim)

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. 

A "small" selection of Eataly's Formaggio

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. 

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

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!”

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