Italia

I'm in Italy now, and it was a bit of an exciting adventure.

I needed to get to Dubrovnik to take the 7 am ferry, so that necessitated and night in a hotel. A pool was on the wish list and proximity to the port. I was pretty excited to see google maps telling me it was '330 m to the destination  - first walk 60 m and then take the steps'. So the 330 was a complete staircase, completely up and completely took all my willpower to get to the top, remembering that this is not just my legs that need to get to the top, but my legs and my suitcase. I met an older man coming down, he asked where I was going and rolled his eyes in sympathy. Never mind. I rinsed the sweat from my brow and my clothes, and found the pool. 





The ferry was great - 7 hours from Croatia to Bari, Puglia. Relaxing, played cards, chatted. At the back of my mind of course was the article I saw on instagram which confirmed that trains were on strike. I needed a train to get to Ostuni for my first night's accommodation. 


Through the old town from the port, up the pedestrian shopping strip to the train station - definitely no trains. Maybe a bus? So navigated my way to the bus station - no, no buses going to Ostuni. Two options, either stay the night in Bari (already paid for accommodation in Ostuni - and miss my cycle tour) or take a taxi. Negotiated a price, cheaper (but not much) than a night in a hotel in Bari, and now happily in my apartment in Ostuni.

Ostuni, The White City. Stunningly beautiful. Little bars, little alleyways designed to dilute /reduce the funnelling wind. Lovely little shops. Slippery paths (!).

I guess it's the thick walls, the stone stairs etc but even in bars with music, it is quiet. Voices are just murmurs. My apartment was near a popular bar but inside I couldn't hear a thing.




















Happy with this place - didn't manage to make it last time, so glad that I did,


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back in monopoli

Image
 We stayed here last year and I really enjoyed it, smallish old town, good food, bars, meandering little streets and walkways, surprising things behind big doors. I still like it, totally worth a visit. The weather was cooler again this morning, cool enough to send me back into my room to grab a long sleeved shirt, and even then I felt I needed to shelter from the wind.  Basilica Concattedrale di Maria Santissima della Madia is the name of this beautiful church but there are 18 others to choose from, including one which has depictions of death on the door, mummified administrators in the crypt and is a place to go and pray for those in limbo - it's a purgatory church. Today there were three weddings at the Basilica and honestly, we need to up our game in terms of wedding clothes. The prize went to the couple who both were a deep purple - his suit and her dress. Men were mostly in sneakers with their Italian suits, and it was all sparkle and gold for shoes for the women. It was...
Read more

Ferries

Image
 I've been relying on sea transport a bit - and foolish me, I referred to the passenger boat from Bol (Brac) to Makarska as a 'ferry'. It seems our English language isn't as exact as it could be, so please don't make the same error as I did. Ferry = able to take passengers and cars. The other boat I have been using is a katamaran (which it is) but is different from a ferry (trajekt) because it does not take cars. So. It is a great service though, I took it again today from Makarska to Dubrovnik. I switched on to roaming on my phone so that I could orient myself when I disembarked from the katamaran and see how far away the hotel was from the port - I have martyr tendencies and like to walk rather than take a taxi where possible. Google maps very nicely said 'walk 60 ms and take the stairs, your destination is in 350 m'. Which is a clear instruction to walk, not to find a taxi and ride 350 m. What I didn't realise was that it was stair after stair after s...
Read more

Gotta keep up with me

Image
 And.. on the move again.  Another day of travelling yesterday.  Walk to the Ostuni bus stop - bus to the Ostuni train station - train to Lecce - caffe lecesse & pasticotto while I wile away an hour - train to Gallipoli which is (not in Turkey) on the west coast of Puglia. (Sorry, i have to keep pointing that out, soooo many people presume it is the one associated with ANZAC etc). I'm in the old town in the most beautiful apartment - beautifully decorated, spacious, terasa and mezzanine bedroom. Loving it. There is even a well in the portico before ascending the stairs to the apartments. B & B Corte Kampanes if you are ever over in this part of the woods.  The old town is joined to the new part by a bridge, and was a fortified city in its time. Surrounded by little fishing boats, streets with ochre coloured buildings. Washing hanging out windows, vintage vespas, beautiful linen shops.. what more could I want. Of course the menus are full of seafood dishes, wh...
Read more