Puglia

Jan 14

After the time in Calabria we drove across the peninsula to the heel of the boot to explore this side. It wasn’t in our original plans, but after watching some videos about visiting this part of Italy, we were sold. It looked completely different than Calabria!

Altamura

It was a long driving day from our place in Sant’Illario over to the neighboring province of Puglia. We only made pit stops at the handy roadside autogrills for gas, snacks and toilets. Except for one planned stop: the town of Altamura. Armed with more information from watching that YouTube show Pasta Grammar we planned to stop in the town with reputedly the best bread in all of Southern Italy. Bob and I are such bread lovers, we couldn’t resist that!

Our only regret was that we didn’t buy twice as much bread as we did!

***Here’s our route. From the bottom of the toe of the boot up and over to the heel.***

Not far after we were on the road, a remnant of an old castle hugging the side of the road.

The terrain changed dramatically as we moved out of Calabria into Puglia.

We made a very quick dash through some streets of this beautiful town to get to the bakery.

The entrance courtyard to Forno Santa Chiara.

Sure wish we had time to relax and have lunch here!

The "forno".

The also make amazing calzone and focaccia.

The wood that keeps the fires burning constantly.

Racks of the delicious wares.

Shaped oddly, but oh boy, the texture and taste!

We'd brought along that fresh pressed olive oil, which we enjoyed with tomatoes and the bread.

Bari

We spent six nights in the capital city. After two weeks of navigating those twisty, turny mountainous roads, we felt relief when our drive into the city, and the car rental, was quick and easy. We got a cab to our apartment, and were happy to be on foot again!

No agenda for the first day or two. Settle in, and begin exploring the city.

Bari is famous for handmade "orrecchiete"— tiny ear-shaped pasta.

A huge tourist attraction— nonnas make and sell them on the street.

Our first lunch out. A salad with burrata, pears and walnuts.

And octopus. Plus, the delicious focaccia for the table!

A university nearby was graduating students that day. We saw many graduates with laurel leaf crowns!

The main shopping district had many beautiful buildings.

Elegant 19th century storefronts.

Café companion!

In the streets of the old town.

These fruit stands are always so colorful.

Such narrow old streets.

Field trip of students posing in front of the Basilica of St. Nicholas.

Yes, that St. Nicholas. A saint shared with Western Christians and Eastern Orthodox.

Originally built 11-12 centuries, another from Norman times.

Continually restored and maintained, of course.

It's an important pilgrimage place for both Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

The crypt is more Eastern Orthodox in design.

Details of Romanesque capitals of the columns in the crypt.

An alabaster window.

This bit of floor dates way far back.

In the streets of the very old city— little shrines often dot corners.

21st century Halloween decorations coexist with the old traditions.

Looks like locals hanging for drinks and chat.

The restaurant we chose for lunch.

We sat in the courtyard, which had a medieval feel.

Just another Norman fortress!

Still life with barbed wire.

Cute mural spelling out school—Scuola.

Fun murals on walls near the sea.

Beautiful day on the Adriatic sea.

Sure, I'd leave my beer bottles here, too, right?

Christmas decorations were already making their appearance!

Mostly pedestrian shopping area.

These are so cute! I'd like one.

Café breakfast before departing.

Must be a church, but looks like and official building.

Signs on lamppost bases in the pedestrian area.

Alberobello

One of the main reasons I decided to come to this region, and this specific town, was because of all the travel videos I saw while researching this trip. Puglia has become a big tourist draw, and seeing stories about this town would certainly do it. Alberobello is famous for the unique style of buildings called Trulli, or Trullo, singular. Their cone-shaped slate roofs are certainly a style of building I’d never seen before. We knew it would be a very crowded place, especially after we saw a feature on CBS Sunday Morning! Fortunately we were there in mid-October, and it was a cloudy day. Maybe the crowds would be a bit less—?

From Bari, we figured out the bus that we could go on. Not much specific info was available on it, but we followed the leads we learned, to a bus stop on a random city street, and found hand-written notes taped to signposts saying make sure to purchase your bus ticket ahead of time at the tobacco shop across the street! Okay, that’s odd. But that’s what we did. The next morning, we got there well ahead of the published departure time. Many other people were there too, so we knew it was the right place. But the time came and went, and lots of buses came and went that weren’t the ones. The huge group milled around, questioned, and almost gave up, until more than an hour after we thought we’d be leaving, the right bus finally came along!

Monopoli

We took an excursion on a coastal train to see this lovely seaside town. We knew it’s a popular summer beach destination, but it’s obviously a tourist draw all year round. Plenty of people were out enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon. We had no expectation except to explore, and we were pleasantly surprised to come upon a world-class multi-venue art exhibition!