Astonishing small towns and the city.

We spent our first night in the castle and woke up still very full from dinner last night. Mimmo, our host, made us a reservation at a traditional hotel in town. Our watier suggested a menu and we went with it. The food did not stop coming. I think the chef may have been excited to have a couple of Australians in town. We enjoyed cheeses local to Puglia, cheesy balls in a pumpkin puree, bread that melted in the mouth and some 'interesting' olives. I am not a fan of olives, but Shannon loves them. These, however, had been boiled and were served hot. Not even Shannon could muster the energy to get through them. This place is known for its meat, so the meat, we did eat. We ordered the mixed grill which came out on a sizzling grill accompanied by a plate of roast potatoes that I could have eaten all night. I always try to replicate Italian roasted potatoes at home, but they're never quite the same. This was of course accompanied by wine and our waiter brought out a series of bottled liqueurs for us to try. One just about blew our heads off, which made the waiter laugh. He also seemed happy to practice his English skills on us. We woke up this morning still full but delighted by the view from our little balcony.

We met Mimmo in the breakfast room and arranged to collect our car. As we are staying in a tiny hill town, parking is very limited. Fortunately, Mimmo has a private car park out of town on his family's property. He drives us out there and we pick the car up, then message him when we're on our way back into town and he meets us at his carpark, a great arrangement and another example of small-town Italy hospitality. We had a tour pre-booked for today, so decided to make use of Felix and visit a couple of small towns along the way. The first stop was Bitonto, a tiny little town, that was just lovely. We parked on the outskirts and wandered into the 'old town'. Being Sunday morning, there weren't many people about. Those that were on the street, were doing their washing, washing their windows or yelling out to the neighbours down the alley.

 

We wandered the back streets and paused at what seemed to be a shop front. It was tucked into a corner and the man who was sitting out the front gestured for us to go in. We could not believe our eyes. It was a tiny room that was incredibly hot, because we had quite literally walked into an oven room - 'il forno'. There was a young man making focaccia, that can hardly be described to give it justice. Flat round cakes topped with cherry tomatoes and lots and lots of oil are then placed into a round pan on the end of a very long pole. He manages about 20 of these at a time. Pulling them out of the oven, turning them over, then returning them inside until they're cooked. We were gobsmacked. We also didn't take any photos because we were so caught in the moment and somehow, it wouldn't have felt right. We did take a snap outside, however. You had to jump over the cooking instruments to get to the tiny counter where the baker's mother was selling their goods. Seeing our great interest, the lovely lady cut two big wedges of the glorious bread and gave them to us. She would not accept any money. We were so surprised and eagerly bit into our bread. It was like on focaccia I have ever eaten. Most that you find at home or even in Northern Italy is quite doughy in the middle. This was almost like it had been lightly fried because of the use of olive oil. Simply delicious!

Our second stop for the morning was Giovinazzo, a port town on the coast of the Adriatic. This medieval town was quite different from our first stop, but still, a lovely place to walk around.

The main stop of our day was in Bari, a city on the coast. We pre-booked a food walking tour, which in cities is a great idea because you can learn about culture and history at the same time. We met our guide Frederica and two other people who were joining our tour, Italians. So the tour was to be conducted in Italian and English. It wasn't ideal, as the guide had to keep switching between the two languages, but she did a good job. We strolled the streets as she pointed out interesting points and went inside the cathedral of Saint Nicholas. (the Bari locals like to think this is where Santa Claus lives, not the north pole) Our first food stop was at a tiny restaurant, which was actually a couple's home, with grills and stoves outside on the street. There is no menu, you simply walk up and sit down and she brings you whatever she has cooked that morning, amazing. We were there to watch her make 'orecchiette' or little ears, famous in the area. We then got to sample her cooking, which was of course delicious.

Our next two stops were for gelati, then wine and antipasto. We finished our tour with Frederica, walking back through town and also through part of the 'new town' to see the contrast.

 

 

 

Tonight we will have a light dinner and make a toast to us, as it is our 7th wedding anniversary!