Time warped

So. Puglia. There is something I am learning about going off the beaten tourist path, which is this: There is a reason things are on that path and a reason things are slightly off it. Puglia, while nice enough, is not Tuscany or Rome or Umbria or Cinque Terre. It is a relatively poor region, and though has a nice coast line, the landscape is not particularly dramatic, nor are the towns we saw. BUT: I loved the medieval city of Lecce, where we spent our first day. I thought the Baroque architecture was interesting, fun and over-the-top, with cupids, flowers, dancing saints, etc., like buildings turned into giant tacky wedding cakes. Gallipoli, where Millicent and I stayed for several days, was a bit of a disappointment. I'd heard that it was beautiful, very Greek, with windy streets and flowers. It did have some of that (the white and blue architecture, the windy streets, the flowers growing from window gardens), but it wasn't especially beautiful or natural--more a port town than a place brimming with natural beauty. I did enjoy strolling the streets and seeing the old ladies and men sitting in their doorways, looking at the beat up fishing boats, seeing the fishermen working their trade, and sampling the fruits of their labor--we had some terrific (and some mediocre seafood) and lots of orichette and broccoli rabe, which the region is known for. Also some terrific wine--Primitivos and Salente Salice's, which I hadn't heard of or drank--delicious. Millicent also braved the Italian autostrada and we drove along the coast of both the Adriatic and Ionion seas, stopping in a town called Galatina, which has a cathedral with incredible frescos, and Otranto, another seaside town with a castle and a cathedral with an incredible 12th century mosaic of King Arthur. Basically, each little town had maybe one cool thing to see--you had to settle for the "subtler" pleasures, shall we say (like no other American tourists!).

Of course, as it always does, travel has its challenges. Before Millie arrived, she sent me her itinerary, and based on that, I booked the train tickets, the hotel, etc., etc. She was to arrive on Saturday and leave the following Sunday. Except once she got here, somehow we got it into our heads that she was leaving Saturday, and as a result, some very confusing things happened. For instance, we initially thought we'd have 4 days to explore Puglia (which we actually did) but behaved as if we had 3 days. So when we checked out of the hotel in Gallipoli, they were like: Oh, you're checking out a day early? I was like, NO, of course, sure I was right. (No one spoke English, which made things more confusing). Then, we got to the train station in Lecce, with plenty of time to spare, got on the train, and their were people in our seats. Finally, they looked at our tickets and said: Domani! Domani! These tickets are for tomorrow! So we ran off the train to see if we could switch the tickets (and I left my laptop on the train, which Millicent had to run back and get). So, we bought new tickets, then got back on the train (we'd had to upgrade to first class, the only seats available) and there were STILL people in our seats! Turns out the guy at the station had given me incorrect tickets, despite what I had asked for. So we found empty seats, then, when the conductor came, I tried to explain what happened, and thought he said we had to make up the difference, and that it would cost us 80 Euro. So we tried to argue (in Italian) and I was saying: No e justo! (It's unjust! Funny the words you use when you have such a limited vocabulary. I have to talk in the present tense and tend to use very formal words--I'm sure I sound like an oddball). Then, after 15 minutes of back and forth, turns out he had said 8 Euro. So we'd been arguing over the equivalent of 10 dollars. Anyway, we paid the difference, got new seats, but of course, I felt confused and upset about how I'd made all these mistakes and misbooked all these things. Then, we got home, and Millicent looked at her itinerary, and it turned out that she was leaving Sunday, not Saturday, and that we WERE supposed to stay in Gallipoli an extra day, we WERE supposed to take the train domani, etc., etc. In any case, she got an extra day in Rome, I got to come home and get to work and settle back in after all this traveling, but it was kind of an absurdist adventure.
Tonight, we are meeting a few of Diana's friends for dinner in one of their apartments--looking forward to it.
Buona serrata!
Paola