Naples + beyond

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This is the third ‘episode’ of another of 'our' travel experiences.

The collective ‘episodes’ (this being the third) describe our journey from our arrival in London, England (from the 2nd week of May) for an extended holiday primarily in Italy. After 9 days in London, we flew to Rome to begin a short visit to that city before hiring a car and deciding to point it in the direction of Naples. If you were to read our previous 'blogs' you'll be aware we tend to take the crazy option - going where the road looks like it might go somewhere interesting / delightful / challenging / etc. That said, we do undertake research before departing Australia to give us some background options of possibilities. But, 'planning' an itinerary from an armchair is fraught with difficulties. Eventually, we'll find our way back to Rome to depart for home.





We've attached a few pics that give you a flavour of our journey, and some may 'flow over' past the dialogue. If we do this, you may need to manually go to the 'spillover' page to see them.



As always, if you want to 'see' more detail in an accompanying picture, click it to enlarge.

To Naples (Monday 30th May)...

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Mr Avis, whya you-a maka a big-ga mess-a of-a your-a office-a details-a, eh?



We'd booked an Avis car from the Australian office (the Oz website wouldn't allow us to book directly with Rome). The directions we were given were of the Avis office some 2 years earlier !!! ? After an hour of walking around with our bags, we eventually found the office; hidden in a back part of the central railway station!



An hour and a half later, we eventually got to sit in a car. It was one we didn't particularly like or want. But the aggressive lady at the garage where we had to pick up the car wasn't about to be fussed with. Whether we liked or not, we were 'allocated' a Nissan Joke. Nissan call it a Juke, but it's a joke. The design is atrocious. The engine is pathetic, the gearbox tedious, the seats are really uncomfortable and the vision forward, side and rear is pathetic. A saving grace is that the satnav seems to have a good gps link (unlike others we've used, this does not lag but is directly on target as we drive).



After converting the satnav to English, we 'locked' in Tivoli on the satnav as it's close to Rome, but far enough away to get us out of the city. After taking things slowly - which is a necessity due to the condition of the roads - we eventually got onto the 'highway'!!! To comprehend, imagine a back road in Australia where it's just possible for 2 cars to pass. Now imagine it profusely potholed and no road lane markings. Once you've imagined that, go add abundant long trucks, semi-trailers, copious cars / vans / motorbikes and you may sort of have the picture. Without a satnav it just would not be possible to know which road to take at a junctions - they all look similarly narrow.



We selected Tivoli as it has two World Heritage sties - Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este. Both were Roman 'playgrounds'. But, for some unkown reason, neither could be found on the satnav. And, neither could we get the satnav to take us to the tourist information site. Getting really frustrated, we said 'stuff it, let's not bother, we'll just go to Caserta'. Caserta is near Naples and is the location of a highly regarded Palazzo. Again, the satnav took us along what seemed like back roads. On one occasion, the satnav took us through a country village back street. That said, when on the country road the scenery was delightful, but the speed we were travelling was ultra slow. Rarely did we get to travel more than 70kph. We stopped several times to ensure the satnav would 'allow' motorway travel, but to no avail. We eventually accepted that there may not be a fast road between Tivoli and Caserta. Or, more likely we were novices at sorting out a satnav to go as we'd prefer in Italy. Later we discovered there was a faster route, so we had much to learn about 'this' satnav.



We eventually got to Caserta. But again, the satnav wouldn't accept 'Palazzo Reale'. We could see it behind streetscape buildings, but with one way streets it proved difficult to drive to it. We 'discovered' a tourist info shop who provided a map to get to the applicable car park. With the map, getting there was a breeze. But, it was now about 4pm, and were mindful we had to 'check in' to our accommodation. Our fear was that we didn't know how long it would take us to get there. Anyway, we weren't really in the frame of mind to 'enjoy' the display of past excesses so we headed off to 'enjoy' the slow crawl entry into Naples.



If we thought the entry to Rome was scruffy, we'd clearly not been to Naples! We'd gotten accommodation adjoining the 'old city' in the centre of town. The authorities had yet to address pre-WW2 style roads. For about 20km we averaged About 5KPH! Not the sort of entry to welcome tourists. Worse, though, is that no-one gives way. For example, even at a traffic light controlled intersection, but cars from 4 (or more) directions inch their way through. No one appears to stop at the lights during 'rush hour'. We'd thought Beijing was bad, it has nothing on Naples! In Beijing, if a vehicle gets it's nose in front, it has the road. Not so in Naples, even if you get your nose in front, the driver you succeeded against will inch around to get his/hers in front. Oddly, the locals play this 'game' without getting vocal. The only time they appear to remonstrate is if someone doesn't 'play' the game correctly (or, sometimes, when they don't get 'their' way). Guess who didn't play by 'their' rules 'their' way? FUN!!!! Not!



After what appeared an eternity of hellish driving, we eventually got to the apartment. It is located in a building at the rear of a really old church; Chiesa di Santa Caterina a Formiello. Apparently it was erected in the late 16th century, but refurbished in Baroque style in the 18th century. Anyway, the church had a large monastery at the rear which was 'taken over' by the state in the early 20th century and converted into a wool factory. Time has moved on, and the 'factory' has now been converted to apartments, art galleries, artisan workshops, etc. Like so many large buildings in the region, entry is via walled courtyard. In this case, an internal carpark! Being late in the day and after meeting the 'host', we dropped our bags and went out for a meal.

Naples (Tuesday 31st

May), the 'old' city...


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We slept in somewhat and decided we needed not to be in a car today. That restricted us to shanks pony. Given the 'old' city centre was 'next door', we headed in that direction.



Though a sea trading port for eons, we read the current streetscape of the 'old city' was largely 'established' in the 13th century. Essentially, the 'old' city hangs together along two long narrow streets. These two streets are continually dissected by laneways so narrow only an old Fiat 500 can fit. For that reason, this area is motorbike central. An oddity confronted us - because the police in Naples prefer to be in cars, those on motor bikes in these laneway areas aren't hassled by police. Accordingly, we saw all types of riders; from ancient old blokes to youngsters no older than 12!! While the laneways appear to be access for residences, it's the two streets where the 'commercial' action takes place. Traders of all sorts fill shops; cakes, fish, wine, pottery, art, you name it, it's probably sold somewhere here. Dotted along the streets are countless church's, cathedrals, and the like. Some have excavated under to find immense catacombs. We ventured into some church's, but all-too-often there was a hefty entry charge. After Rome, we weren't particularly wanting to see more 'manifestations'!



We enjoyed a great 'sandwich'; cubes of rustic bread drizzled with Olive oil, and laden with tomato's, basil, Mozzarella cheese, carrot and celery. On the 'side' was a small selection of salami's and ham. With a good beer, the warm day meant we began to really relax. As 'siesta' time affects church openings (ie. 1-4 is closed), we headed back to our digs and relaxed. At about 4 we headed out again and essentially, we just wandered about the area enjoying ourselves. As we hadn't bothered to buy anything but the basics, so we headed to a restaurant for a Neopolitan pizza and wine. We toddled 'home' and slept well.

Naples (Wednesday 1st June), Palazzo Reale & Pompeii...

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When we'd dropped into Palazzo Reale, we'd been told they don't open on a Tuesday. So, we 'left' the Palazzo for today. Planning to link a couple of places outside Naples on a car trip sounded logical. We'd been told Caserta was only half an hour away in one direction and though Pompeii was in the other, we were told that during the middle of the day the road should be 'fast'. We assumed the long journey between Caserta and Naples on Monday was due to evening peak hour traffic. Sadly, our assumption was wrong. The trip the satnav took us along took one and a half hours. We could see there were freeways, but the Nissan satnav wasn't taking us on them. Given that Caserta is north-east of Naples, we figured there may not be any freeways in that direction.



Palazzo Reale is at the same time phenomenally and disgracefully huge. Begun in the 18th century by Bourbon King Charles VII who wanted a palace that bettered Versailles, the 1200 room and 1250m facade demonstrates so well why the Italians went for a Republic in 1946. The vainglorious staircase entry rises 3 floors and is larger than the lobby of Canberra's Parliament House. How they kept it warm in winter is anyone's guess. The baroque decorated 'apartments' are also massively huge in size. In effect, this palace was a Bourbon statement to the Habsburg's. A sort of anything you can do, we can do better. In this case, we noted, size alone does not outdo quality. Sadly, and what we are finding is the typical Italian manner, the stunning interior chattels are now displayed in museums elsewhere.



We were unlucky in that the government has funded an exterior makeover so we couldn't see the building in all it's glory. But, there was enough not covered with scaffolding for us to see / imagine the place. From the windows we could see the 'road' leading up to the palace, and on the 'other' side another road forming the spine of a park. We were told the 'entry' road is a 6 km straight line avenue. Once it would have been lines with trees, but no longer. On the reverse side the private park of immense proportions. We wondered how the huge lawns would then have been mowed. We supposed an army of scythe wielders. The park comprised two main elements; the avenue of road and water, and the grassed / treed area. Imagine a line being drawn for about 5 kilometres. For the first 2 km's, it is a wide paved avenue. This leads to a raised viewing area, and behind (or continuing on) the 'line' is a wide pond fed by a 1 kilometre waterfall. On each side of the central 'line' copiously sized grassed areas are met with tall woodlands. At the edge of the woodlands, a series of marble statues 'define' the separation.



Being behind schedule we took our leave sooner than we'd have liked, but we 'had' to get to Pompeii and we were not confident the route the satnav would take us would be swift. And, it wasn't.



Being a big tourist drawcard, and parking being at a premium anywhere in urban Italy, we were lucky to find a parking spot close by without the typical horrendous 'parking' price. We went to the tourist information and found, yes, they had a map of the ruin site (and nicely they identified the key 'sights') but then they went about hard selling guides, recordings, etc.. Grrrr. Italy taxes it's citizens relatively highly, but it appears services like tourism info, roads, etc., are getting no money. Maybe it's all going to Germany to pay off debt that the rich used to buy the luxury cars, mansions, and other fancy goods.



The logic of the Pompeii guide map was questionable. The map showed street names in Italian - eg. via Collonade - but the signs attached to the walls at street corners were different - eg. R. XV, v III. You'd think someone would have had the sense to use both names on a street map. ? Eventually, and mainly using discussions with others' equally lost, we got ourselves around. Maybe the lack of 'appropriate' signage re: maps / street names is another attempt to get visitors to spend money (on guides).



In the hot sun, and with crowds of others, we negotiated the ruins. The excavations show better than artefact museums Roman 'life' as it was some 2000 years ago. This was a walled city of some 4000 people. We're still not sure if slaves were counted, and whether they lived inside the walls. As is we all learnt at school, in 79 AD Mt Vesuvius blew it's top and spewed lava and ash all round. Pompeii's citizens died of fumes, and the ash and pumice covered the city to some 5 metres. Either the timbers within burned or decayed (we didn't get to find out which), leaving the brick and stone walls for later excavation. What is the attraction today is that the Roman householders decorated the walls and floors with various mediums; paint, plaster, marble, terrazzo and stucco. Much is still intact and offers us an insight into their way of displaying status (and wealth). We were surprised to learn that we 20th century people are significantly taller than Romans were 2000 years ago. The excavated figures are quite small. One 'example' stands in a residence and attracts much attention. As the day drew to a close, the hordes departed and we were glad to be able to view the various dwellings with minimal interruption.



Upon departure, we decided to follow the signs to 'autostrade' and despite the female voice of the satnav telling us to turn back, we paid our 2 Euro entry and breezed back to Naples in less than half an hour. That said, our departure from the freeway still left us with 3 km's to drive and that also took half an hour. Upon our return, we again went through the satnav 'menu' and tried everything we could see to enable freeway travel.



On our walk to the 'old' centre the previous day, we'd seen a chook BBQ place. We thought tonight was the night to try it out. The 'owner' had a big mechanical rotisserie for the chickens to be cooked by an open wood fire (located at the rear). As well, he had 'chips' which were small cubes of potato grilling under the chicken. Back in the apartment with a bottle of red, we had the most delicious meal.

Naples (Thursday 2nd June), the 'Amalfi' coast...

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Today, again, we awoke to the sound of birds. Not your typical thrush or blackbirds, but raucous gulls. The gull here looks like a seagull, but is about 3 or 4 times larger. The sound it makes can only be described as bizarre. Imagine a noise somewhat like a sqwarking cat coupled to a yelping dog - sort of Cockatoo-ish, but strident in a different way. Fortunately, these gulls don't congregate like Cockatoo's. nevertheless it's not the prettiest bird sound we've experienced.



From the various (available) literature we'd come to want to drive the Amalfi coast road. We'd read it was a gloriously scenic drive. Using Google maps, we ascertained the nearest entry to an 'autostrade' (motorway) and configured the satnav to get us there. Once on the motorway, we turned the satnav off and enjoyed a quiet motorway drive. Unlike our previous foray onto Neopolitan roads, the roads to the motorway (and beyond) were devoid of the pandemonium of cars. On one hand, we rejoiced at the absence of roadspace 'competition', on the other we wondered why. As it transpired, 2nd June is Republic Day; 60 years prior, Italians voted to end its monarchy. But, we weren't about to complain. The motorway (like most) is elevated over the flatish landscape and via tunnels when there just isn't enough land to build a motorway. We should also say that the drive from Naples is largely over flat land. A bit after Pompeii, there is a huge 'blocking' mountain. The mountain sides are extremely sheer. We assume that until bulldozers, access to places like Sorrento (and beyond) was by boat. Any linking road would have been very narrow. Hence, the tunnels.



After a dream run (for our experience of Italian roads), we stopped on the side of the road for a piccy. Our experience of Italian roads is that one cannot park on freeways, but no Italian driver appears to take any notice. If they want to stop, park, whatever, they will. So, we did! In the warm morning light, the Gulf of Naples lay before us. We could see the intense apartment development along the entire coastline. Our freeway 'run' had enabled us to avoid that urban intensity. From the view we saw, close to the coast Mt Vesuvius dominated the coastline. It is said that if Mt Vesuvius 'exploded', some 3 million residents would be affected. Great urban planning - not! While we lament 'our' Nanny State regulatory structure, before us we could see the reality of the implications from a lack of regulation on 'situating' urban development.



Heading towards Sorrento, from the glimpses we saw as we passed breaks in the high stone walls we noted that if we could get 'higher' on the mountain we'd get a better view. Seeing a local road turnoff seeming to rise quickly, we decided to be adventurous. Up we drove till we 'got' the piccies we'd imagined. Using our satnav, we explored the screen to determine whether to continue of this local road or give it a miss. We (foolishly) decided to head onwards. Up we went, with the road getting narrower as we ventured forward. Eventually the road so narrowed we were forced to fold our side mirrors in to avoid car damage. on some bends we had to jig-saw back and forward just to get around. Gee, this Nissan is hopeless on these tracks!!! Eventually we were confronted with a track that was narrower than the car! It took us 10 minutes of back-forth to turn the car around to head back to another route. Eventually, we got to a 'no return' position. It was either drive forward with grass etc., scraping the sides or reverse (not a realistic option). After an hour of creeping along we eventually got to Arola, wherein the road became sufficiently wide to get out of 1st gear and descend into Sorrento. A satnav may well show a road, but they fail to illustrate the road conditions!



Our 'foray' had avoided the centre of Sorrento (a high rise tourist conglomeration). And, the motorway ended at Sorrento. Now back on the main drag, we joined the 'caterpillar'. We got to call the long line-up of cars all crawling along at the slow speed (or otherwise) of the lead car a 'caterpillar'. The roads became two lane and narrow. and the line of cars meant trying to pass was pointless as there were many more cars ahead doing the same thing. We headed up over the pass to start this motor-parade on the 'other' side of the range. Fortunately, the landscape was less urban and so became a bit more picturesque; olive groves hewn into the tree covered steepish hillsides. Shortly, we got a glimpse of the ocean again. The road became a bit narrower and parking was rarely possible. Where ever there was a parking spot for 2 cars, one space would be filled with a juice vendor offering fresh lemon &/or orange. In this section, we could see just a steep escarpment with a road hewn into the side. In some instances, only half the road was hewn into the cliff. Extending out were arched structures driven into the rock below. We didn't want to think whether these 'platform' extensions had a current certificate of worthiness!



The road continued in this fashion till we came around a bend and there was Positano rising up from the ocean towards the mountain summit. This is mountain goat stuff! Apparently, Positano is the most desirable seaside location on this stretch. having not one but two beaches; albeit with very dark grey sand. Tourist 'mecca's' such as these are not 'our' thing so we continued on without stopping. Next was Amalfi (town). Again, another tourist mecca with ageing buildings, faded paint and garish neon signs advertising whatever. Move on, nothing here...



Feeling peckish, we stopped further along at Minora - less touristy and slightly off the road. We were in luck as a rain squall hit as we devoured our pasta. We returned to the car, but though the sun had re-emerged, the cold wind dissuaded us from walking along the sea front. We continued along till we came to the end of the coast road and entered the freeway to return to Naples.



Whether the traffic on the coast road was excessive due to a public holiday or about normal we'll never know. But, it was so prolific that we averaged just 9 kph along the 30 km stretch of road. Frequently, the caterpillar line stopped to enable a car or bus to get around a car that someone parked and 'left there'. Rarely did we get out of first gear. Judy said the view 'down' was largely obstructed by the 1 metre concrete block wall. Bruce couldn't 'view' the scenery as the traffic mess necessitated constant attention. So, was the Amalfi drive worth the trip. A resounding NO!

Naples (Friday 3rd June), the 'other' coast...

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We took a deeper look at the 'tourist attractions' listed in both Lonely Planet and from the local tourist office. Seems like there are only 2 options; churches or museums. The description of the museums was that they are filled with ancient Roman artefacts. We have had our 'fill' of ancient Rome, and the couple of churches we'd viewed suggested those in Rome were more appealing. So, what options could we 'explore'. We reviewed Googlemaps and noted the nearby coastline of the Tyrrhenian Sea appeared to have several 'greenspaces'. The route there (by car) traversed the Bay of Naples waterfront and the more affluent Naples suburbs. Good enough for us.



Before starting out, we had another go at the satnav. In the end, we reset the unit to 'factory settings' and amended for English and set the 'route option' to fastest. As it transpired, this worked as for the rest of the day the satnav took freeway options. Humorously, we had to 'set' the waterfront as a destination rather than a stop on the journey to the west coast. In the end, we didn't mind as we 'flew' around this maniacal city.



The Bay of Naples waterfront is a wide pedestrianised boulevard. Much of the area has been transformed with pop-up bistro's etc. When we say 'pop-up', we mean they are temporary pre-fabricated structures. Doubtless they would withstand winter gales, so it appears these 'intrusions' are for summer. Possibly because of these food outlets, the promenade is quite littered with all sorts of rubbish. There is no beach along the bay, only huge marble rocks placed as a breakwater. The wealthier suburbs were still high-rise, but with larger sized units. Most were set in gardens, and some appeared to have underground carparks.



The west coast was also an eye opener for us. The beaches are often wide and sandy (but with a dark coloured sand). What struck us was that developers had bought up the pre-existing farmland and fenced off the lots to both deny 'public' access and so provide beach 'experiences' for all who could pay the entry tariff. We found an abandoned lot and did what any Australian would do - park and go walk the beach. We noted the more expensive one's had mini theme parks, the less expensive entry places were but parking lots, a bit of shade, showers, etc., but they also had much rubbish on the sandy beach in front. The rubbish was not only people's litter, but also flotsam driven in by winter storms.



We went looking for the 'greenspaces' and found they were fenced with no apparent entry place. We assumed they must have been flora/fauna reserves. But, further on we came across a declared reserve (the sign clearly indicated this). To us, the area seemed more a training ground for budding motorbike riders than a fauna/flora reserve. On our way back to Naples on the elevated motorway, we could see one of the fenced 'greenspaces'. It was a lake area with some reedy habitat on one side and wealthier housing fronting the other. There were little sailing boats and other craft on the water. We couldn't make out whether this was a holiday resort place or a gated community. Mmmm. So much for Naples!

Saturday 4th June; south and east...

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Today we left Naples. It wasn't hard to say 'goodbye', we were not enamoured by this crazy, dirty, place. Heading south along the motorway all was good until we came to near Salerno. The motorway became constricted. But then, the steep hillside overlooking Salerno didn't give much scope for a wide road, and as Salerno is a major centre, by-passing it would be uneconomic. But, as we headed further south, that was the only 'constriction'.



The changes to the satnav have worked, we zoomed south along the best motorway we've experienced so far in Italy. We'd read about Puglia and booked accommodation for a couple of nights at Locorotondo. But, we'd also read about the coastline at Sapri and Maratea and the fact that the drive there goes through a national park. We were hooked, so we headed south on the great motorway to Calabria. On our journey, we left the flat plains interrupted by volcano's that the Naples area to a broad valley with rising mountains on each side. Over time, we tracked up a mountain range into wonderful greenery. It was there we left the motorway to head west to the Tyrrhenian Sea coast. The road was narrow and windy, but tracked through the national park. After all the craziness that was Naples, even in a travelling car this vista was like a breath of fresh air. As we got closer to the coast, the road backtracked so many times we lost count. After travelling on the goat track for a while, we eventually arrived in Maratea and found ourselves in the Centro Storica (the old centre). We had to park to enter (most such places are pedestrianised) and as we walked in the balmy sun, we were greeted not with 'old' Roman type buildings, but a delightful village with most buildings being a century or two old. Our visit also coincided with lunchtime so we found a great little eatery and enjoyed rustic local fare with a delightful ale. After the chaos of the urban, this IS living. ?



The drive to Locorotondo was some distance and so was going to take time. Thus, we headed off. We'd read the coastline road between Agropoli and Poala was a delight. We were only able to experience a small part. But, whet we did see made our journey along the Amalfi coast pale into insignificance. It's not a better copy, being quite different. The lack of cars on the very narrow road meant glimpses of scenery could be taken easily. And, the picturesque coves and little villages dotted along are beautiful. At Castrocucco we turned inland towards the 'other' side of the Italian peninsular.



Though a long drive, we did want to visit Matera as we'd read it is one of the world's oldest towns and comprises Sassi dwellings. The satnav was set to 'fastest' and with no way of knowing what roads we'd drive we were a little surprised not to follow motorways. We figured that these backroads would be faster than the motorway that would take us miles out of the way. Or, there's no motorway on this route. We later looked at Googlemaps and no, these appears not to be a motorway across this part of Italy. Anyway, we were 'taken' over miles of backroads, and through an ever changing topography. At first, we drove higher and higher up into a mountain. The scenery and buildings reminded us of the mountainous regions of southern France. This was still in the Calabria province. We then descended into a fertile and green valley. We had now entered Basilicata province. After a while we were seeing rolling plains with grain crops under harvest. Up a range we again went, and over the other side the landscape was quite different. It was quite barren, but still under agriculture. Over time the greyish tan coloured earths became even more barren with only goat herds visible. Looking at the facilities on offer in the couple of villages were entered, maybe the Basilicata province has few means to address income.



What was surprising us were the number of towns perched on the top of the highest hill. Some were on the edge of a sheer escarpment. Maybe there was a reason to start these towns in such difficult to access places, but to continue to develop them when there were more amenable locations appeared odd. We don't think we saw a town that wasn't perched high on the tallest hill.



Eventually we arrived at Matera. Mmmm, we know what they meant by 'oldest town'. The streets are a schemozzle. We found the tourist info place and got a map to enter the enclosed Sassi area. Sassi is the name given dwellings (still) used by Troglydite people who lived in the ravine that forms one side if the town. These people were/are cave dwellers. Over time, the people have adopted rock hewing to cut blocks (similar in size to our Besser Blocks) from the local limestone to build larger (and perhaps more habitable) additions to their caves. We'd read that Mel Gibson's 'Passion of Christ' was largely filmed here. We were told that during the 19th and 20th centuries, the cave dwellers became a marginalised community with much poverty. Two decades ago the government stepped in and forcibly removed many to resettle them elsewhere. Since, the area has become a tourist 'attraction'. We were split between on the one hand a destruction of such an age-old indigenous community (for their best interests) and the goggle-box scene it has now become.



Continuing on, we drove into the Puglia province and made our way to Locorotondo. What a town!!! All the buildings are white. We noted that as we headed east, white is a popular colour for buildings. It was sort of 'natural' or white, and occasionally colours. On the west side, it was grey (concrete) and varying shades of colour; some newly painted and some quite tired, some muted in tone, some bright. But, here in front of looking at the village of Locorotondo on a small hill, EVERY building is white. And, in the late afternoon sun the town shone like a beacon. Not that we knew it till later, we were looking at the 'low rise' old town. The 'new' addition of 3 and 4 story apartment blocks was tucked in behind. Apparently, the 'old town' is in the top 10 Italian 'prettiest towns' list (we haven't seem the list, but that's what the towns' tourist office claims). Another thing we didn't know when booking is that the 'old town' is totally pedestrianised - meaning we had to find a park at the perimeter and walk to our digs. Once in and settled in our little apartment with an amazing view over the countryside, we went 'out' for a meal. Here, pizza and pasta isn't 'everywhere. Instead restaurants offered 'real' Italian dishes of meat and vegetables. YEEEES!!!!!! The food was brilliant (as was the wine). We slept well.

Sunday 5th June; Trulli and...

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We awoke to the sounds of church bells. We don't know whether the 'old' Locorotondo is any different to other small villages in rural Italy, but does this place have churches. And, don't the churches in Locorotondo 'advertise' their bells on a Sunday! Not that we minded. it was a pleasant change to our past routine. We reflected that yesterday, we appeared to turn a corner. From the urban and grittiness of Rome and (especially) Naples, we were now in 'laid back' country - and we were liking it.



One of the reason's we'd booked at Locorotondo is that it was on a Lonely Planet self drive tour list to get a 'taste' of the south of Italy. The book stated Locorotondo was the centre of Trulli (stone roofed buildings). That it is, but it is not only Trulli have stone roofs, nearly all buildings appear to have a stone roof. Trulli are round stone walled buildings with a conical stone wall roof. The 'stone' on the roof is local sandstone. Given the plentiful supply of stone in the local ploughed fields, we assume locals of past times used what was available (and a partially solved a problem for their ploughing burdens). The 'process' of cladding a roof with limestone is referred to in this region as 'cummerse'. The more substantial dwellings have gable 'cummerse' roof's, while the smaller (and often pastoral) dwellings have a conical roof. Some Trulli are roughly made, while others demonstrate great craftsmen skill. From our apartment window, all types of Trulli were evident across the landscape.



As we headed out of the apartment, Judy noticed a different pigeon nesting aside a higher window. The previous night it was a white one, today it was a dark grey one. We knew some birds shared egg warming, but didn't know pigeons were among the group sharing responsibilities. After we left, we realised the mud map of places to visit and things to do was sitting on the table in the apartment. We knew we planned to head around Locorotondo to look at the local landscape, but after that we couldn't remember if it was this or that. Oh, well, age wearies us all. We pottered along without entering anything into the satnav - just 'being in the moment'. The backroads took us past countless Olive groves, and many orchards; grape, stonefruit, figs and apples to name but a few. After some time (and a bite to eat) we looked at Googlemaps and realised we weren't far from Bari; one of the places on our 'list'. Bari is on the coast overlooking the Adriatic. We entered it into the satnav and headed east. We were quite surprised at Bari. The entry is typical city, but along the foreshore the delightful city buildings front a boulevard and pleasant crescent bay. We read Bari is prosperous, and the buildings reflected that view. We headed for Bari Vecchia (old city centre) and parked the car. We've learned that most olde centres are pedestrianised. Bari Vecchia was no exception. In fact, it lay behind defensive walls. What a clean, pleasant area. Wonderful smooth limestone paving made for a pleasant stroll. We headed towards the 'reason' for the (original) city, a Norman Castle. After returning via the local cathedral (impressive), we headed back to Locorotondo.



We'd enjoyed the meal out the night before, and another place was said to be highly regarded so we again splurged. We ordered the 'chef's special antipasta' and what a treat. Rather than an antipata as we know it in Oz, this was like a degustation of local specialties. There were 6 separate 'plates', each based on the local rustic specialty of wild greens as the base. Having also almost consumed a delicious bottle of red, we looked at each other and decided to skip primo (first plate, usually pasta) and secondo (mains) and head straight for desert. Pannacotta and wild berry compote ended a wonderful day.

Reflections...

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We have written enough regarding what we thought of Naples. Perhaps the negativity ought be countenanced by our great onwards experiences. Clearly, Naples is not representative of the beautiful Italy we have (since) experienced.



We'd 'dropped' into northern Italy a few years ago when wandering around Austria. Then, our experiences were similar to what we've experienced since Naples. For us, that is enough to confirm our upcoming journey will be as expected.

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