Wednesday June 3rd - Arrival in Puglia, Italy

We rented a BMW SUV for our four days in Puglia. Tom has experience driving in Italy, so he ended up doing all of the driving, although I was ready to step in if he got worn out. Traffic circles abound in the region and congested, small towns have a controlled chaos at each intersection. Tom's functional literacy and fluency in Italian was helpful everywhere.

Our Air BnB in Monopoli had a great eastward city and Adriatic view from the balcony (first picture below). We checked in, grabbed some groceries nearby, and headed into the main square. After finding most restaurants on the square booked up, we found a trattoria off the main drag and enjoyed our first dinner in Monopoli before retiring for the night.
 

We did three day trips in Puglia from our accommodation base in Monopoli - Lecce and Ostuni to the south, Matera to the west, and Alberobello to the southwest.

Matera's stone city at Piazza Caveso

We met at 8am and walked to a local cafe for what became our go-to Italian breakfast - croissant and cappuccino. After a quick turnaround back in our rooms, we hit the road south to Lecce at 9AM. The draw in Lecce is its Baroque architecture. We found an indoor pay parking lot on the outskirts of town and walked to Basilica di Santa Croce, which was striking, both inside and out (second and third pictures above). From there we moved on to the Piazza del Duomo, an enclosed square surrounded by baroque buildings. We went into the 17th century reconstructed Cattedrale di Lecce, which was under major refurbishment. From there we walked to the Roman amphitheater in Piazza Sant'Oronzo, a snapshot of Lecce's ancient history. We walked back to the parking lot late morning, and after some ticket confusion, we were heading northwest to Ostuni.

Ostuni is known for its gleaming white buildings and hilltop setting overlooking miles of olive groves (first picture below). We parked in an open lot at the base of the hill and walked up to the historic center. The city itself is striking, from the stone arch Arco Scoppa bridge (fourth picture above) to the gothic Santa Maria cathedral. We wandered the maze of streets and alleyways (second picture below) before settling in for a wonderful late lunch at Ostuni Bistrot Osteria, right off the square. After all the walking and heat, I found a new craving for Spritzs here. We headed back to Monopoli in the late afternoon and enjoyed wine and cheese on the balcony in the early evening. We finished the day with a good seafood dinner at Osteria Perricci, near the harbor.

Friday June 5th - Matera

After a quick breakfast of cappuccino and croissant off the square, we headed southwest to Matera. Matera is known for both its ancient and somewhat less ancient cliffside caves and rock dwellings known as Sassi, which have likely been around since the Paleolithic era. We chose the scenic route from Monopoli through small towns, which was a mistake as it took forever to navigate the small town centers. We got to Matera around noon and found a parking lot on the north side of town. We walked to the piazza, then visited the Duomo (third picture above showing the new built over the ancient building).

Heading around the outskirts on the city wall, we took in the cave homes perched all over the hills (first picture below). The walk was steep at times, but having been stairway-conditioned in Dubrovnik, it didn't seem too much. Continuing off the wall we found Piazza Caveoso (large picture top of page right) where we enjoyed a great lunch at Keiv Ristorante. We walked back up to the parking lot and headed back to Monopoli, this time on freeways which made it a much easier drive. We enjoyed some Peronis and snacks on the balcony. We got a dinner reservation at Cucina di Casa and headed out for a pre-dinner aperitif of Spritzs and charcuterie. Dinner was outstanding - our first try of "charred spicy spaghetti", which is a whole new way to prepare pasta. We accompanied that with a DOCG level bottle of a very jammy Primitivo that cut right through the spice. After dinner we walked back to our place where I processed some pictures and retired for the night.

Saturday June 6th - Alberobello and Monopoli

We hit the road west to Alberobello around 8AM. It took only 40 minutes, so we arrived and parked close to town before the crowds arrived. Alberobello is known for its "trulli" with distinctive conical shaped roofs. I had no idea ahead of time how many trulli there were. Thousands of them, making for postcard views everywhere we walked up and down the streets. Along the wider streets, the trulli were mostly shops and cafes, but in the alleys they were tiny residences (second and third pictures above). We walked to the top of town and visited the Parrocchia Sant'Antonio di Padova, which is a trulli style church (fourth picture above). Crossing the main drag, we found the best views of the town from the "garden" (large picture, top of page left). We stopped for a late breakfast of croissants and cappuccino before leaving. The service was painfully slow, but we prevailed and were back in Monopoli around noon.

We planned to do our Monopoli sightseeing that afternoon, but churches were closed so the sights turned out to be street scenes and harbor views. We had an excellent pizza lunch at Pizzaria Quadrifoglio. On our way walking along the harbor, we stopped by the iconic CarloQuinto ristorante to see if they could squeeze us in for dinner, even though their website showed them booked up for days. The personal touch worked and we scored a 7PM reservation. Back at the Air BnB we spent the rest of the afternoon on the balcony finishing our wine and cheese. At 6:30 we headed to CarloQuinto where we enjoyed a great meal at an outside table along the ancient wall. The people watching as 7PM turned to 9PM reflected the haggard tourists giving way to the well dressed couples on dates. We finished the day packing, backing up photos, and getting ready for our morning train to Rome.

Sunday June 7th - Monopoli to Rome

We had an 8:40AM train from Bari to Rome, and some concern about the car rental return at the train station, so we hit the road around 6:30AM. There was some confusion in downtown Bari, which was very dumpy, but we found our way and dropped off the car before 8AM. We had our breakfast croissants and cappuccinos at the train station. The train from Bari to Rome takes 5 hours, so I used the time for some picture processing and journaling. We arrived at Rome's Termini train station at 1:30PM where we said our goodbyes, Tom heading for a meeting near the airport with a friend and me checking into the Una hotel near the station.

The Una had been comped for my two night stay by Hyatt after they screwed up my original reservation. At check in I choose to upgrade for 30€ per night to the penthouse with a balcony and free minibar. Although I have been to Rome several times before, I decided to spend a pleasant afternoon walking the "tourist circuit" one more time. I headed north to the Hard Rock Cafe where I ate a late lunch, then west to the Spanish Steps, south to the Trevi fountain (which was completely packed) and then southeast to the Colosseum. I spent the evening on my balcony journaling, sipping wine, and snacking.

Monday June 8th - Orvieto day trip from Rome

I woke around 8AM and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. It was nice to be in a full-service hotel again after 9 nights in an apartment and an Air BnB. I had planned and bought train tickets ahead of time for a day trip to Orvieto. Orvieto is one of many hill towns in the Umbria region of central Italy, about 90 minutes north of Rome by train. It punches above its weight in sites, photo ops, and restaurants. I arrived at Orvieto's train station around noon. I walked across the parking lot to the funicular and bus that whisked me up to the old town. The Duomo was impressive both inside and out (first two puctures above). Rick Steve's self-guided Duomo walk was very helpful to understand the massive amount of art on the walls and the sculptures (third picture above) throughout the aisles.

From the Duomo piazza, I walked all through the town (fourth picture above), again following Rick Steve's suggestions. The fortress was bland, except for the views into and out of the town. I stopped for a late lunch at Bartolomei Oleoteca & Cucina, which I had highlighted ahead of time after researching reviews. An oleoteca is a place dedicated to extra virgin olive oil. Their bruschetta starter brought that home. The primi truffle umbricelli was world class delicious. I coupled that with two glasses of Orvieto Classico Superiore white wine. Mid-afternoon I walked about a mile down to the funicular, since it seemed the bus from the piazza would never show up. The view from the funicular station across the valley was great. I took the 3:27PM train back to Rome, arriving around 5PM. I walked to the Mercado food market at Termini station and got some street food to eat for dinner with wine on my balcony.

Tuesday June 9th - Rome to London

I caught the 7AM Leonardo express train from Termini to Rome's FCO airport, which was quick and efficient. Clearing the EU's EES was slow, since half of the machines were down or not doing the checks correctly. 40 minutes later I was in the British Air Lounge relaxing before my flight to London. After a delay because of LHR air traffic, I landed in London around 2PM. The Sofitel at LHR didn't have my room ready, so I had to cool my heels in the lobby for an hour. After a quick turnaround, I headed into London on the Elizabeth Line train with enough time for dinner at Ben's Traditional Fish and Chips in the West End. I had tickets for Beetlejuice, the Musical at 7:30. Afterward, I took the Elizabeth Line back to Heathrow, arriving around midnight. It felt safe on the train, even late at night. I returned home LHR to LAX on Wednesday the 10th.

Some final thoughts: This was a 16 day trip that included four countries and five hotels / apartments. Half of the trip was solo and the other half was with my brother-in-law, Tom. As a very seasoned traveler, Tom was a joy to travel with. Two heads and two sets of eyes came in handy everywhere. The trip was very worthwhile, but also exhausting. I walked 5 to 10 miles everyday and climbed an uncountable number of steep stairs. Travel is worth it to me, but I understand why people shy away. It gives me perspective, as well as an opportunity to see remarkably beautiful sights first hand.