Day 41 (Polignano a Mare)

Today is 65 and mostly sunny. Lori found us another nice place but it is hard to tell what beauty is around us because we are secluded. We are about a 5 min walk to the Adriatic, which we may do later. We had a slight change of plans and have decided to drive into town. We may try and hit Monopoli this afternoon.

Breakfast was pretty good with quite a few options and a menu that you could order from. All included with our stay. They had about 5 different cakes to choose from and a banana juice drink which I have not seen before. I feel that the cake may be transforming me to an unrecognizable state. I will have to weigh acceptance or taste as my options. I am leaning towards the flavor side.

We drove into town and had to find parking. You have to be careful in Italy because you can easily turn down the wrong street or park in the wrong spot. White lined spots are free, blue is paid parking and yellow is usually handicap. Polignano is like a walled city and is right on the sea. Again, beautiful views, swimming in the bay, and restaurants on the cliffs. It is Sunday and there are tons of people down here. We think they are visiting the many churches in the area.

We decided that we would hit a few more spots on the list today and headed for Monopoli which is another 15 min south. There are more people here than in the previous town. We drove around for at least 30 min before we decided to move on. Then as we were about 3 blocks into our exit a parking space opened up right next to old town. We thought it was too good to be true and hope that our car is there when we return.

Monopoli is much smaller than the previous town but has many pretty views of the sea with scenic alleyways. It is also cleaner with less litter and less graffiti. One thing that I have noticed is that the Italian walled cities have more balconies than the Croatian ones. I’m not sure that I would venture out onto one because of the sea air but they give the city character. It gives Lori lots of opportunities to take pictures of laundry hanging in the alleyways . She is fascinated by it where I am afraid that I will witness a stain that may affect my next meal.

Alberobello is our next stop. It is an area with a bunch of Trulli’s. These are small stone huts that remind me of a hobbit village. They do not use any mortar to construct them and they are protected as historical sights. They were initially used as peasant and animal homes but now they are occupied by locals and shop owners. The whole village is built on a hill with several main streets to wander around on. They are pretty steep but well worth the walk. Lots of souvenirs and trinkets.

Afterwards we returned to our villa and picked up our dirty laundry which was pretty much everything that we brought. Usually we just wash our stuff in the sink or tub and then hang them but every so often a good washing machine is best. We went to the local laundry mat which was about 5 min away. This was a really cool laundry mat. You don’t need soap, the machines are ready to go. You just put your clothes in and go to the kiosk, choose your machine, pay via cash, and push start. Soap is added automatically. It is the same with the dryer. Simply put the wet clothes in, pick your dryer and pay and in 30 minutes it is ready to fold. Brainless just like I like it.

We returned to the villa and repacked our clean clothes and went to dinner. It is 9pm so we went with Cesar salads and still water. You have to specify still water or they will assume that you want carbonated water. It only takes one time to know what to order next time!

Tomorrow we are checking out and heading west to Matera, and then to a few more little towns before we check it to our next hotel in Ostuni.