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Italy Puglia 2023Italy Puglia 2023
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A 11-day adventure by Jcrieff Read more
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  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 11

    Hanging out in Holland -- Airport

    March 11, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 36 °F

    I tried to sleep on the 2-1/2 flight, but no luck. Fortunately, the minute the plane took off, all the teenagers fell asleep.

    Navigating Schipol is always a challenge. It took me to figure out which way to go. I found the passport control and it said if you had more than 2 hours before your flight to wait. So I got in line a Starbucks. Ahhh... "filter" coffee that takes more than 5 minutes to drink...I've missed you! I pulled out my laptop and started to check out work emails. There were over 400! Using my hotspot, it took too long to file. So I went through all of them, deleted what I could, and responded to a few. Once my coffee was finished, I started moving to the gate.

    I noticed this morning that my passport stamp was really faint. I actually panicked at first because I couldn't find it. The passport agent was looking hard for it, and I let him know where it was. We joked about the weak Italians. He gave it a proper stamp!

    At my gate, I saw I still had 45 minutes to go before they started letting people in the gate area, so I walked back to the restaurant area. I found an Irish pub and dropped in. I should have had a Guiness, but went with a Bloody Mary. along with some "Bitter Balls," which are fritters stuffed with veggie and some sort of gravy. The funny thing is that everyone working here is Irish.

    I got to the gate early because of the SSSS. I had to go into the back where they had me take off my shoes and jacket, and then they stabbed my hands, feet, shoes, bags, and laptop. There was a small nervous moment because I had been on a farm. And I know synthetic fertilizer can set them off. It was an organic farm, thankfully!

    On the plane now, and I am almost home!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 11

    FooManChoo

    March 11, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    I am waiting to board my flight to Amsterdam and enjoying my last cornetto and espresso.

    I took a cab from the train station to the hotel. I got into the line for going to Rome, as opposed to local. After I got in the right line, I got a cab who then stopped for another couple going to the same hotel. Even with two of them, it still cost 20€.

    After checking into the hotel, I had less than 4 hours to sleep. I thought I'd already paid for the hotel, but I hadn't. If I'd known, I would have just slept at the airport...maybe. According to my Fitbit, I slept for 2 hours and 34 minutes. It is last time I can stretch out for the next 17 hours, so it was worth it.

    They told me that at 4:00am I needed to take a cab. But another couple in the lobby got a shuttle. Cab cost 30€, shuttle cost 24€. Well I had a nice driver who tolerated my Italian.

    At the airport, it took a few minutes to find my check-in counter. Most of the airport was empty, except the KLM desk. The line to check bags was long! But my Sky Priorty status came through again! I waited for about 3 minutes. Plus, since the lounge was closed (which I probably wouldn't have used), they gave me a 15€ voucher for breakfast. So I picked up an espresso, cornetto, and a water. Afterwards, I saw they sfogliatella! Next time, right?

    Now I'm on the plane. At the gateI got to listen to a couple behind me having a discussion about her ex calling her last night while they were at dinner, and she told him it was spam. She's cheating on him, for sure... The plane is full of a group of teenagers. Too early for this!

    I also got the SSSS on my ticket to PDX. Last time, it wasn't a big deal. Hopefully it won't be this time...    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 10

    Evening in Roma

    March 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    My train was about 10 minutes late. I found the luggage storage place and dropped off my bags. Walking to the restaurant, I passed the Diocletian Baths. Wow-- the energy here is so different!

    I found the restaurant where Pam said. It was a bit of a tourist trap. I had a spritz while I waited. They showed up right before 6pm. A bit older crowd than I'm used to. Also, not into the concept of, "when in Rome..." as they ordered Chianti. I ordered Carbonara and suggested we try a wine from Lazio. One of the guys, Dan, loved it.

    I wanted to go to Trevi Fountain or Piazza Navona, but the taxi service didn't work. They gave up and we went to their chichi hotel for drinks. Since they paid for dinner, I said I'd pay for drinks. Shit 120€. Oh well...

    I'm on the train to Fumicino. Will get 3 hours of sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 10

    The Last Day

    March 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    This is my last full day and I am spending most of it on a train. That's part of the experience, I guess. I am currently on the train from Bari to Rome, with about two and a half hours to go. Hopefully,
    it will work out to meet up with Pam and friends tonight.

    I took my time this morning--it was nice not to have to rush. I tried the espresso machine one more time. I lost a pod trying to figure it out, then used the last one before the water heated up. I had my last breakfast at about 8:30am. It was a lot of cheese and cold cuts! Then, back at the room, I finished packing up my suitcase. I actually still have some room. It weighs just under 40 lbs... Finally, I put the suitcase in the car and checked out.

    The drive to the airport seemed longer than I remembered. I did get turned around once on the way there and then again, trying to find the right lot. I dropped off the car and I was off to the train station. Not too long a wait for the train to "Bari Centrale", which sounds very musical if you hear it enough...

    I didn't pause much outside before heading to my platform for this train. It was on time and was pretty full when I got on. It had already stopped in Lecce and Brindisi. I am in the aisle seat, and so far, I haven't had anyone next to me. One more stop to go!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 9

    Last night at Masseria Lama San Giorgio

    March 9, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    I got back to the Masseria, and the weather was still nice out. I decided to pour myself some wine and head to the pool. I also put my story on, so I wore it at least once!

    After the sun went down, I went to my room to rest for a while before dinner. I also started to pack up some things I won't wear again this trip. And I put together for tomorrow and the way home.

    Dinner was early--I was there at 7:30pm. My table was back to the normal one. The guy next to me was watching videos of machines and then soccer, with the sound turned up. I also had a new waiter, who spoke to me in English.

    I had the antipasto, which was a ball of smoked mozzarella, wrapped in prosciutto. There was grilled zucchini and all was.on a bed of mashed potatoes with saffron. And it was topped with crispy capocollo. So good!

    For the main dish, I had gnocchi stuffed with spinach with a cheesy tomato sauce. It was good, but not as awesome as last night's pasts.

    My dessert was called "Sporcamuss". It was a lemony cream between two layers of puff pastry. The literal translation is, "dirty mouth," because the powdered sugar goes everywhere. It was great with my limoncello!

    The dining room was definitely livelier than it has been. A family who might have been Israeli was giving the waiter a run for his money. It was sometimes funny and at other times painful to watch. The woman made a big deal about being vegetarian. But then ordered fish. Turns out no red meat is vegetarian. The adult son was loud, too.

    It was time to go to bed and get a good night's rest for tomorrow!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 9

    Matera

    March 9, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    This morning at breakfast, I checked my options for getting to Rome tomorrow. I decided to take the train rather than fly for a few reasons. Flights were over $200, and 1st class train was 89€. My luggage will be very heavy and checking it would cost more. And the train schedule worked out perfectly. The plane got me to FCO at about the same time. This way, I can take my time packing up, check out at 10:30am, and comfortably get to the train on time. I will arrive in Rome at about 4:30pm. From there, I can check my bags somewhere and explore, or just go straight to the hotel. A coworker will be in Rome tomorrow, and we may try to meet up for a drink.

    Back to my day. I left around 10am. It was a little over an hour to Matera. The drive was mostly on Strada Provinciale, or SP-- "sheep poop" roads. Some were pretty narrow, and meeting a truck on the road was a bit dicey! But I have learned that driving in Italy is a dance. Everyone tries to dance to the same music. Non c'e un problema!

    I arrived in Matera a little after 11am. The next challenge was figuring out where the historic area was. A bigger challenge was finding a place to park! I parked near the castle, which surprisingly looked free. The signs mentioned ZTL. I looked it up, and it means Zona Traffico Limitato. Or, basically, parking for residents only. I went back and looked up parking lots, and found one reasonably close to Sassi, which is the old town. I finally found one and left my car there.

    At first, I didn't understand what the big deal was about this place. It seemed like just another hill town. But the dwellings are all built on top of each other in a mish-mash sort of way. It's even more of a maze than most hill towns. I wandered around for about 45 minutes, then found a place for lunch. I wasn't that hungry after last night, but I wanted to sit. I had a light-on-the-basil caprese salad and a glass of rosè. I stayed for quite a long while to enjoy the view!

    I continued to poke around and went up and down a million stairs. There was a "newer" church, from the 1600s, next to an older one that was carved out of the rock. At the overlook into a gorge, I saw that there were hiking trails to the caves on the other size. Not sure how to get over there, but it's not like I was going to hike today!

    I finally started making my way out and stopped for a gelato--mandarin with basil and lemon. I ate that while I was walking to the parking garage. It only cost 4.50€, which was a deal!

    I tried to drive to the overlook on the other side of the gorge. I got to the top, but it seemed like I had to walk quite a way to the overlook. Pass.

    It took about an hour to get back here. I stopped for gas at the station close to the Masseria. That will be fine for tomorrow. 57€! I guess that's pretty good for 3 days of driving.

    I'm now relaxing by the pool, watching the sunset. I've got 3 hours until dinner!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 8

    I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing!

    March 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Dinner was great last night but very filling. I will start with the rest of my day to that point. The drive home was uneventful,--I think I only got turned around once going through Putignano or Turi. The towns always mess me up!

    I arrived back at the masseria at about 4;30pm. I had bought a bottle of wine in Alberobello and went to the reception to get a corkscrew. She asked if I wanted a glass, but there were glasses yesterday. Of course there weren't any when I got to the room. So I walked back and she gave me two.

    I enjoy some of the wine on the back patio of my room. I think it's for smokers, but it was a nice respite. It started to get cold, so I went back inside and watched an episode of The Mentalist in Italian.

    I walked to the restaurant at 7:30pm. There was a beautiful full moon which pictures didn't do justice to. In the restaurant, I sat at my table #21, and looked at the menu. Apparently it changes every day. Today I ordered Carbonara alla Masseria, which had delicious mushrooms in some sort of cream sauce. For my secondi, I had a veal steak, topped with ground pistachios. I ate about 3/4 of this enormous steak. Dessert was tiramisu. I was SO full!

    I waddled home and promptly fell asleep!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 8

    Alberobello--The Village of my Dreams

    March 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    I tried to name this Alberobello--The Village of my Puglian Dreams, but apparently, there is a character limit. This was the one place I wanted to see when I was planning a trip to Puglia. Originally, I planned to stay here, but realized that it would be better to day trip since a car would have been a pain.

    I parked at the first lot that seemed close. There was a closer one I saw as I was walking in. At first, I thought that there were only a few trulli, but as I got closer...wow.

    It was 1 pm, and I was a bit hungry. Since I was driving, I figured I should have my lunch with wine early. (Lunch without is for barbarians) I found a place on a piazza just outside of the trulli zone and had a salad with burrata and capocollo. And wine.

    After lunch, I began exploring. The historic area is up a hill, and all the houses are trulli. Some have symbols painted on them. I stopped to look at a sign with descriptions and was roped into a jewelry shop. All good. I now have a pendant with the symbol for Mercury, which rules Gemini. A nice souvenir from this trip.

    My time was almost up at the parking lot, so I walked back and moved my car to the closer one. Another 2€ for an hour was worth it. A car in front of a shop made me stop and this place looked like the real deal. It was for tourists, but the owner didn't mess around. It was a food museum, or exhibit, but there were signs all over--No Foto. 🚫 . I bought some olive oil for me, a bottle of limoncello for Kristen, some pepper oil for Tram, and a pistachio spread for Karen. Then I asked if I could take a photo. No problem! The entire transition was in Italian.

    Sadly, it was time to go. Plus, I had a big bag of food to carry! I got back to the car and headed home.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly Puglia 2023
    Day 8

    Monopoli

    March 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    After a delicious breakfast of cold cuts and cheese...FINALLY! I packed up to go to Monopoli and Alberobello. It was sunny and almost warm today. It took about 45 minutes to get there, and the drive was beautiful.

    I tried to find a place to park near the centro, and almost ended up in it. Bad idea. Finally, I found a spot on a square just outside the historic area.

    It was busier than the other seaside towns I've visited, but still pretty quiet. I walked around aimlessly for about an hour. There was a castle, lots of fishermen, and whitewashed buildings everywhere. I stopped at a place and bought some "fritto misto", which turned out to be arancini. I also got some sort of panini. Both for later, but don't think the arancini will last long!

    After about 2 hours I decided it was time to leave. Next stop--Alberobello.

    (Spoiler alert...the arancini barely made it out of Monopoli)    Read more

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