We take a 5 hour train from Rimini to Bari and meet up with our pals, Rav and James. Another short train journey to Polignano A Mare where we start our Puglia adventure. We are staying in an apartment with a balcony overlooking Piazzo San Benedeto and once settled we take a walk around this very cute old town. The famously “instagrammed” beach, Lama Monachile, is just a few minutes walk and it is very picturesque.
We have a tasty first meal of fresh fish and some local wine – we are off to a good start!
The scenery looking out along the coastline is beautiful as we take a walk after dinner.
And there are so many narrow streets to explore….
Next morning we set off to explore some more.
We see the statue of Domenico Modugno (who’s he you say!!), well he is the original singer and writer of the song Volare which is actually called “Nel blu, dipinto di blu”. It was a Eurovision winner before Dean Martin made it a worldwide hit. You can hear it sang everywhere we go!
We walk for about an hour to San Vito which has a harbour dominated by the 10th-century Benedictine Abbey of San Vito. Beautiful!
In the afternoon we take a short train journey to Monopoli. It’s a beautiful walled city looking out to the Adriatic Sea.
We check out the Basilica Cattedralle which is very impressive.
We walk the periphery of the town and through the beautiful streets and alleys. It really is a beautiful romantic town.
We decide it’s aperitivo o’clock and settle in a cafe for limoncello spritz – delicious!
We have a beautiful meal at Sangi Vanni Osteria and realise we were lucky to get a table as a significant queue has formed to the point where we have spectators while we eat!! The orecchiette and fried fish is delish and we taxi home (there may have been a few too many spritzes had!!).
Next morning we hit Lama Monachile beach for a “swim”…. but it’s hardly apt to call it a beach – while the water looks fabulous, it’s a nightmare to get in with the stones – you definitely need water shoes. The water does feel lovely and the views are nice… it’s not easy though!
In the afternoon we go to Bari. We head straight for Via dell’Arco to see the nonnas (grannies!) making handmade Orecchiette, which is the iconic cup-shaped pasta native to Puglia.
We have our first focaccia at Nonna Lina’s Traditional Food Wine and I have a Braciola meat ragu.
We explore Bari and see the Norman castle and a number of churches.
In the piazza St Nicola we visit the Basilica Pontificia Saint Nicola where there are relics of St Nicholas (yes Santa Claus)!! Apparently the relics make up more than half of the skeletal remains and there is also a jar with the saints manna… now if you follow my blogs you know I love a relic and there are so many here in Italy but this is a first for me to see actual manna!!! This manna is actually the most famous and documented example, which is said to have flowed from his remains since he was buried. [for those not in the know, which I’m guessing is most of you, “Manna of a Saint” (also known as the Oil of Saints) is a mysterious clear or amber coloured liquid believed to exude from the relics, tombs or icons or certain Christian saints… mad!]😱
We walk around the town and down to the harbour seeing more churches and piazzas. We walk for nearly an hour in blistering heat to the suburbs (the real Bari!!) to pick up a car and then head back to Polignano A Mare for dinner. We eat at Quadrifuglio and get to try the Spaghetti All’Assassinass. This is burnt spaghetti with Stracciatella cheese on top – it’s a first for me and it is fabulous.
The drinks are particularly good too!
Another walk around this charming town before a digestif on the balcony to finish off the night.
Next morning we walk to the train station where we’ve parked the car, as Polignano old town is a designated pedestrian zone. We drive to Altamura, the city of bread! We visit Forno Santa Caterina, a 700 year old bakery and get some bread and focaccia to take back to the house.
We have some local pastries at Caffe Svevo – very brazenly named as you’ll see from the photo!!
We visit the church of St Nicolai di Greci and find St Beatrice. Relics and skeletons abound in this region.
From here we drive just fifteen minutes or so and we arrive at Gravina in Puglia. This is an historic town know for its dramatic cliffs, ancient cave dwellings, and Romanesque architecture. We Walk to the Ponte Viadotto or Aquaduct bridge, for a view over the ravine.
From the other side of the bridge there is a great look back to the town built into the cliff edge.
We visit San Basilio Rock Church and then find a spot for lunch in a square by the cathedral. Every town seems to have a cathedral. I have a delicious bruschetta minus the tomatoes … doh!
Gravina feels like the poor man’s Matera and as it’s only another 20 minutes or so away, we make the decision to go there. It was a question mark as I’ve been before but I’m very happy to go back and I’m pretty sure it will be a highlight of the trip for the others.
There’s a lot of walking to do and lots of viewpoints of this unusual city where the cliff homes, “the sassi” were lived in by the poor for years.
We cover both sides – the more built up with hotels and restaurants and the quieter side where there are still parts cordoned off and inaccessible. I even find the hotel that I stayed in around 20 years ago!! We drive to the other side of the gorge to Murgia National Park, to get a full view back to the Sassi. It’s tricky enough to capture it in a photo but we try…
For our last night we dine on the terrace with the bread and some goodies we’ve picked up from the local supermarket. It’s delicious and the setting couldn’t be better.
odohertyelaine 