Blogs from Monopoli, Apulia, Italy, Europe

When I first stumbled across Monopoli as somewhere we might visit, all I could think of was Mayfair, and Go Directly to Jail - Do Not Pass Go - Do Not Collect £200 Salary. I thought I’d just about got past that when Emma rang up last night and asked us where we were. When we told her we were in Monopoli she started laughing and assumed we’d just made the name up. Our beloved daughter is probably not a world authority on Mediterranean coastal travel destinations. Still, it does nevertheless seem that this part of Italy is not all that well known internationally relative to other seaside destinations around the Med. Apparently something like 75% of the tourists on Spain’s Costa del Sol are international, but that number would struggle to get to 20% here. ... read more

We head out on a critical early morning mission. We‘d like to have at least some idea what we’re ordering at dinner tonight before it lands on the table so we’re in urgent need of some more reading glasses. We left home with five pairs, and we’re now down to one … that’s assuming we don’t count the pair that’s only got one arm. We know where another pair is; they’re not very far from our apartment, and if we wander a few metres down the alleyway we can even see them. Unfortunately seeing them and being able to touch them are, in this case, two very different things. As I think I might have mentioned earlier, they fell off Issy’s face through a grate in a gutter as she was trying to pay the taxi ... read more

Today we’ve got a six hour train ride south along what looks like about 80% of the length of Italy’s Adriatic Coast to the town of Monopoli in Puglia. We thought the 50,000 odd sunlounges along the 15 kms of Rimini’s beach was a lot, but it looks like that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Today’s trip’s a bit over 500 kms, and we’re hugging the coast for most of the first half. It’s virtually all sandy beaches, and while the concentration of beach furniture mightn't be quite in the same league as it was in Rimini, it’s still substantial. I can’t help myself from doing the maths. Even if the concentration’s only say twenty percent of that in Rimini, that’s still another around 150,000 sunlounges on top of the 50,000 in Rimini, so 200,000 ... read more

Moving on from Lucca we stopped somewhere with pool in Borgo a Mozzano. It took us a while to find anyone but we eventually did and after showing us to our room she promptly advised us she is always around to help and we would find her in reception - not totally convinced! However it was a lovely place and just what we needed to relax for an evening before heading into Siena. Siena is a fabulous place to visit, the Duomo in particular is spectacular. Inside they have statues by Donatello and Michelangelo and I am looking forward to finding the rest of the ninja turtles as we go round! We went to the Piazzo Campo and managed to find a balcony for a drink overlooking the piazza before wandering the streets and hitting the ... read more