Big day today touring around the Heal of Italy. I was up and off, stopping to get my coffee on the way and arriving at the meeting point, as usual, ahead of time. Here I was thinking they’d found one other person to make us a 3. I soon discovered we were 4 and I thought oh well, that’s OK too and then lo and behold we were 8!!! All in a van.
There were 4 Italians, 1 Argentinian and 2 other Aussies + me. As seems to happen with me the 2 Aussies were from Melbourne, my age and definitely the same socio-economic group. So we bonded!! I said to them I was sure it would take half and hour before we made connections with people we knew…rather discouraging them to try, but of course it happened. Anyway, I had my new BFFs for the day. The Italian group were rather sour and grumpy, something one could only ignore.
First stop Galatina to see the Basilica di Santa Caterina which is a beautiful Romanesque church with superb frescoes (by Francesco d’Arezzo). That was lovely.
Onward we then went to Gallipoli (not to be confused with the Turkey one we know so well), a lovely little town of winding streets full of shops for the tourist. We had an hour to wander around and see what we could see, even time for a cheeky coffee with my new BFFs, Faye (calls herself Sofia in Italy) and Cas.
We drove along the Ionian Coast to the very tip of the heal…a place called Santa Maria di Leuca…for the gorgeous views of the end of the heal and the place where the Ionian and Adriatic Seas meet.
We then commenced on up the Adriatic side to a place called Castro. Beautiful views along the way. I think the thing that strikes you every time about this countryside is the barren, stony land with grape vines, olive trees and cacti and cacti and cacti, all in stark contrast to the bright sparkling, iridescent blue of the Adriatic. There were people swimming all along the way, mainly perched on rocky headland, concrete platforms or stony beaches, none of which seems to matter in terms of the pleasure they get out of the sun and the sea.
We wandered around upper Castro with its castle (Aragonese) and its views, then finally, about 3pm, we went back down to the beach to a restaurant overlooking the sea to get some lunch.
Great restaurant, great seafood but fucking painful group of Italians who were stressing about whether anyone else was drinking their water and making sure the bill was split to the last glass of water. We Aussies were…’what the fuck’…we were the only ones who had wine and we tried very hard to engage the Italians to little avail. Maybe they were cross that they were stuck in the back of the van with no air!!!!
Last town after lunch was, I think, the jewel in the crown. It was Otranto. I loved it so much I want to go back there. I loved it for its cathedral with beautiful mosaics covering the floors. There was also a chapel with the walls covered on skulls and bones, the people who died taking refuge in the church when the Ottomans invaded. I also loved the Aragonese Castle but didn’t have enough time to explore it properly. I loved the terrace overlooking the sea and finally I loved the shops which were a step up from the touristy places of other towns. There was the best ceramic shop there I’ve seen but again I didn’t have the time to get anything.
Back to Lecce with plans to meet my new BFFs for an aperativo tomorrow but for tonight I bought some cheese and some prosciutto and have battened down for the night.
This time next week I’ll be home and dying to see you all but you’ll be at work!!! I think I’ll just have to swoop in on Lou and Max…!!!!