Having taken several hours to exit the boat whilst trying not to scratch( we both commented that we felt we had been crawled on in the night 🤢), we found our way into Bari. We had read that it was the seedier side of Puglia but thought it was worth a quick stop. We found a coffee shop and then set off to look for the resting place of St Nicholas. It was quite a busy little place with lots of people getting in Callum’s way and the crypt was quite small and busy. But we did see it and a little of Bari. Probably wouldn’t recommend a trip there though. A little underwhelming.

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We drove south and arrived a few hours later at our Airbnb. It was 4 small studios with a pool. Luckily, we had it to ourselves for 3/4 days we were there and were only joined by some Americans for the last day or so- we did hear them talking about how many assault weapons they had which was slightly worrying. The pool was just gorgeous and the little studio just the right size.

We had had a call from Kate on Monday who had happened to find out that Ryanair flew Maastricht to Bari and so she decided that she would join/stalk us to write her paper in the sun. Callum drove back to Bari to pick her up and then we enjoyed a few days with her in her spot on the comfy seats writing about human trafficking whilst we lazed in the sun.

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We did manage a few visits out though. We had a lovely meal in Ceglie Messapica as well as a quick trip for ice cream and supplies to Ostuni, both small white towns. By Saturday, Kate had just about finished her paper so we went to Lecce in the afternoon. We were a bit disappointed in it as it wasn’t as nice as some of the other towns we had been to though we did have the best bruschetta , Hugos ( elderflower version of an Aperol spritz) and ice cream there.

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After checking out, we had a few hours before Kate’s flight and so went to the touristy Alberobello which is home to lots and lots of trulli. I loved that they had been designed so that they could pull out a keystone and the roof collapse should someone try to take taxes that were felt to be exorbitant by the baron. Sneaky!

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We needed to feed Kate before she left so we went to Polignano A Mare along with the rest of Italy. It had sounded like a good idea but it was impossible to park or even find somewhere to eat. None of us were impressed by the beach either.

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We dropped Kate and then drove across Italy to Paestum, our furthest stay south ready for some Roman and Greek ruins. My favourite!