Carol and Kim's Excellente Adventure - Ostuni and Lecce

Terry spent the day in that time-honoured cruising pastime of ‘waiting for a bloke with a new part’, this time for our temperamental bow-thruster, so Kim and I set off for a day out in Lecce, the capital of the Puglia region. After purchasing our tickets in flawless Italian, we downed a wake-up cappuccino then hopped trustingly aboard the 10.17 leaving from Platform 3 for Lecce. Or so we thought. About 20 minutes into a pleasant journey through aged olive groves, the conductor arrived to inspect our tickets. “No Lecce,” he informed us with a theatrical look of dismay, “This tren to Bari!” Well we didn’t want to go to Bari, having just gone to all the trouble of sailing from there to Brindisi, so we hopped off at Ostuni, the next town, to make our way back. Small problem, the station-mistress told us with a tragic look not unlike the conductor’s, “Next tren 14.00” – about two and a half hours! She consoled us with a suggestion: “Look Ostuni (expressive gesture) Very nice!” So we decided to look Ostuni. We became aware of another small problem as we left the station and spied the sparkling white town of Ostuni atop a distant hill. The station was in a fairly deserted industrial area a long way from the town, but we happily encountered a friendly African trolley guy outside a supermarket who told us where to wait for a bus. Then he called the bus, which arrived minutes later “special for you!” The bus driver was another delightful friendly Italian who was very concerned for our welfare and gave us repeated, increasingly loud instructions on how to get around town and to catch the return bus.

Ostuni in the distance

Ostuni was a delightful surprise. It is a very old town with some fine buildings and a beautiful sunlit piazza. We naturally gravitated to “Kim’s Ristorante” where we enjoyed an excellent lunch of pasta, prosciutto and the awesome local cheese, “burrata” which is like “mozzarella on the outside, stracchiatelli on the inside”. A magnificent building of the type where you imagine Mussolini waving from the balcony towered over the square, and well-dressed folk with bundles of important papers kept arriving and leaving – clearly a place of civic authority. We had a bit of a wander but decided eventually to call a taxi back to the station. Antonio arrived in his black Mercedes and we enjoyed the scenic views back down the hill – troubled by the niggling thought that our bus driver was probably cruising the streets of Ostuni looking for us still…

So, back on the tren to Brinsisi, then on to Lecce. Kim had a bit of a kip while I chatted to a Pakistani-Italian jeweller called Mario/Muhammed, who suggested a few places of interest in Lecce (including, of course, his shop). The old town of Lecce was quite attractive, though it was the depths of siesta-time and not a lot was happening anywhere. We eventually found our way to the famous Baroque cathedrale, taking directions from several people, including a tribe of kids who took great delight in escorting us personally to the site. The cathedrale is the very definition of Baroque, with all sorts of bizarre creatures cavorting alongside solemn popes, saints and archbishops around its facade. Grimaldi described it as a “lunatic stonemason having a nightmare” – harsh, but you can see what he means! A quick prayer, a look around the creepy crypt and we were back on the street seeking directions to the stazione. “Dritto, dritto, dritto to arco, then poco, poco destra to semaphora, sinistra to stazione” accompanied by flamboyant gestures and mimes. Yep, we’ve got it, grazie!

Playing statues in the courtyard

Weird mummy figures appeal to the Madonna in the crypt...

Amazingly, the railway station eventually appeared in front of us and after several double checks, we boarded the tren back to Brindisi. When the conductor appeared, we looked smugly sympathetic as one poor guy discovered that he was on the wrong tren – he wanted to go to Bari! A rather tedious wait at the grotty bus station for the Number 5 to the Marina, a hair-raising ride back and we were ‘home’ in time for Aperols and a great meal at the marina restaurant.

Dritto, dritto...

Sometimes the best days happen quite by accident! Thanks, Kim, for being such wonderful company and remember that your Common Sense T shirt entitles you to come aboard any time, anywhere.