The strangest of coincidences, I loaded lots of books onto my kindle before we left . The majority of them were freebies from book bub. One titled Head over Heels by Chris Harrison .....mentioned Italy, so I clicked on it on the airplane and began to read. I thought it was non-fiction , about an Aussie who falls in love with an Italian. I was even more intrigued because it took place here in the heel of italy. TODAY we visited the town where the story took place, it was incredible for me . Now I find out when researching the author, that it is a true story. Have written to him and hope he replies. His sleepy beach town of Andrano was just beautiful, you can see photos on his website. Besides telling his story, he gives amusing insight into the Italian way of life as viewed from an outsider, funny and enjoyable to read. I am going to adapt his spaghettatura idea, where you gather every Sunday at someone's home, rotating both the pasta and the location.
We set out after some cornflakes and some awful coffee. This bed and breakfast supplies little espresso pots but it is just too strong and the regular coffee machine was not working .
 ....Our destination today is further south to Otranto, a city on the Adriatic side, a SCIROCCO is blowing and it is overcast. The city is perched on small hill overlooking the water, there is a wide piazza by the water, with town beaches at its foot. We walk over the Moat and into the city(I try to visualize myself in full armor, as I walk over the ancient drawbridge.) 800 Inhabitants were beheaded here by the Norman's, and we will soon see their skulls. We walk by the port, first, we meet a couple from Peschici and then we encounter the gals from Dublin (I had predicted that)
Delighted to see each other, we have lunch together by the water. They opt for pizza piled high with salad fixings, GC has calamari and I opt for chicken and potatoes(very unitalian but good) We say arriverderci, knowing we won't see them unless they come for a visit to the states(another invite set out)

We want to get into the church, it opens at three. Two Italian couples our age sit down next to us, we start to chat, the men are very, very funny, teasing their wives and us. They correct us when we tell others that the church opens at three, no, no it opens at fifteen. They explain that three can mean three in the morning, but that Italians don't make this mistake, because they use all the numbers they know EXACTLY what time one is talking about, we Americans make mistakes. We stand corrected.
The church opens, the main attraction is the floor mosaic, a tree of life that spans 178 feet long
and carpets the center aisle  with all sorts of unusual images. GC' s new pal knudges him and says, there is nothing like this in NY! We then of course see the 800 skulls and exit out.
We drive down further south to Andrano(mentioned above) and also stop at another town along the water, Castro.
At night we find a wonderful restaurant, Trattoria Storica San Carlino, close to us. They have a fixed menu for 12'euros, GC has delicious orecchiette with tomato sauce, I have mine with cream of broccoli- a large tasty portion, then he has spicy sausages and a salad, I have chicken with lemons. The house wine is red and robust and I am drinking more than my share.
We walk a bit, there is no room for gelato tonight......

A tribute to GC, he must be praised and applauded for his terrific ability to drive here. It is no easy accomplishment, you have to take in all the crazy drivers on Vespas and in cars, the ridiculous amount of roundabouts which thoroughly confuse your directions, the multitude of signs with numerous names other than where you are going and of course, a GPS which spits out five to six worded street names in rapid succession in a ridiculous accent. The man is EXTRAORDINARY, he should have been a race driver