Heading Down the Heel

Friday, September 13, 2013
Andria, Puglia, Italy
Sad departure at breakfast, we will miss our wonderful hosts and staff, and the people we have met in the last week. It has been wonderful, beyond our expectations. And of course when, you are younger you just exit thinking I may get back but now the exit is a bit more melancholy because chances are we won't return. This area is great but you must be able to maneuver the roads, they are narrow and forever winding, there is no local transport. GianCarlo does a great, great job but truth be told it frightens me a bit.

One last visit to Dr . Patrizia, aka my new facebook friend, she gives us some medical supplies and instructs GC on what to do, we must also stop at the pharmacy for one more topical, they are sorry to see me go for sure. 

We make our way over the Gargano Peninsula and head south to Lecce, hoping to make one stop along the way.......
 The stop is near a small citta , Andria. We arrive and sit to a lunch of pasta , GC' s is pasta arrabiata mine is with artichoke cream. Next to us is an older couple from Rome and we pass the time chatting with them and our adorable waitress ALessia(of course, we invite her to America.)

We drive west to a remote location to view the Castel del Monte an UNESCO heritage sight. It is a huge modern looking original structure perched high on a hill in the middle of nowhere. Shades of DaVinci code as it has eight sides, eight rooms, eight portals etc. No one knows what King Frederick built it for, a mystery. It appears as if a building of modern design was just dropped off on a hill for decoration ....., centuries before it's design would have evolved. Time machine wonder, perhaps.

A long, sometimes scenic drive of three hours along the coast, passing Bari and Brindisi. We arrive just as the sky darkens but with specific directions from our new host Roberto we find our b and b right inside the historical zone, La Bella Lecce. Room is like a cave with rough walls and high ceilings. Right outside are the small, narrow streets each one exhibiting a surprise, flowers, a small shrine, a little balcony....delightful. We walk on the busy Viale Libertini, it's Friday night and the city is buzzing, street vendors, performers, and a collection of unique characters with their dogs in tow and of course, the cutest collection of smiling babies. We opt for a slice of pizza, followed by a gelato. We will explore domani.
 
 

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