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- Jul 17, 2023, 6:34 PM
- ☀️ 34 °C
- Altitude: 562 m
ItalySicilyRagusa36°54’28” N 14°43’12” E
Sicily > Puglia
![](http://d2k8htqlk8yn1a.cloudfront.net/img/flags-png/it.png)
Our first major hiccup of the trip provided an interesting couple of days!
Woke up on Monday morning to information from our airbnb host that there had been an overnight fire at Catania airport and they were closed for a couple of days… we were due to fly out of there on Tuesday afternoon. Had to figure out a plan B and C, especially after not hearing any updates from our airline 😠
📍 Had a lunch break on Monday and headed to a set of local shops for some retail therapy 🛍️ Rach and I treated ourselves to some new clothes and the boys were happy coming across a cafe that did pizza and beer 🍕 🍺
📍 We woke up Tuesday morning to find out that our flight had been moved 4 hours west to another airport, still with no specific instructions from the airline as per refunds/transport to other airport etc
We made the call to leave early and drive to Catania airport anyway as we had to drop off our car. Airline staff were there and pretty much told us they weren’t offering any services to get to the other airport and it would’ve been cutting it fine if we drove there anyway… so we made the call to drive all the way to Bari, our next destination 🚘
📍 This trip included a ferry ⛴️ across from Messina to Calabria, as well as stretches of beautiful Italian coastline, so we quickly found the silver lining of our predicament! Parts of the long drive went quick due to a couple of crime podcasts. Rach and I had a few naps on the way 🤣
📍 Our lunch stop was in gorgeous Pizzo - a very cute coastal town in Calabria with a beautiful beach and mountain views
📍 We got in to Bari around 6pm for the next hire car and then kept driving to Monopoli, where we will be staying for the next week. Quick dinner in town at a super cool restaurant called Cime di Tapas - they had the best sangria and ginger ale. Food was great!
Got back to our air bnb late, which is a “Trullo” house which is a dry stone hut with a circular pointy roof. It’s about 10 minutes into the hills behind Monopoli main town. Super cute!
Super long day and we were all exhausted but happy we made it to the Puglia region… the situation could have been a lot worse in the end! 😴Read more
Traveler Glad you are all okay good job team. We have been seeing the heat waves and fires in Europe. It looks very scary. Stay safe xx
Traveler Glad to know it all turned out ok for you all. Take care.xx
Traveler
Very picturesque