Carpe Diem - Ostello della Gioventu Brindisi

... and provide the right balance of daily nutritional value. <br><br>Salento is home for so many different legume courses... just think of "ciceri e tria" (homemade pasta "sagne-tria", chickpeas "ceci", pieces of fried toast, extravirgin olive oil),or "cecamariti e muersi" (pea soup, turnips, garlic, small pieces of fried toast, extravirgin olive oil), "fave e cicorie selvatiche" (beans, wild chicory, extravirgin olive ...

Destination 399<br><br>[Arrival from Ferry]<br><br>After a night with more than just a fiew hours of sleep on the ferry from Greece, I arrived early in the morning around 7:00am scared facing the heavily industrialized City of Brindisi! The first sight of Italy was not the most charming - hopefully to be changed soon. Therefore, after arrival and one of the quickest Immigragtion check (1 Minute), immediate departure on motorbike to explore more charming places.<br><br>See next entry.

After spending one more nite in Naples, we boarded the train and headed for Brindisi. There we would catch the overnite ferry to Corfu, Greece. I had been to Corfutown, a couple of times, but this, too, was Dennis' first time, and I was anxious to show him around.<br><br>We both thoroughly enjoyed the train ride. Intially, we were in a compartment with a young couple that made-out ...

... We spent the next couple of days in the ´heel of the boot´, around the lovely town of Lecce with its stately squares and grand sandstone buildings, then to Otranto, with its ornate cathedrals, both highlights of the region. We crossed towards the ´ínstep of the boot´ to the village of Gallipoli, a fortified headland (virtually an island) where the fishermen in their traditional boats mended nets by the port. The ¨Heel´- a great place to spend a few days.

... we figured he´d unlikely be going anywhere, so we could still see him if we came here another time!<br><br>We drove down the coast, stopping instead at a tiny little village by the sea, with a stall by the water selling fresh mussels. We bought a couple of kilos and cooked up chilli mussels overlooking the water watching the sun set. Another of our great spots!<br><br>Slightly inland were the villages of the ...

... locked our only key to Millie in the back seat under a map. As Kate and Sharm remained relatively calm and decided to call the RAC (after asking around for a wire coathanger), we were informed that Brindisi embraced the traditional siesta and nothing would open until 4pm. The ticketing people were very helpful and tried to break into Millie for us but we found she was burglar proof (which Sharm found very reassuring). In broken English one ...

... to speak to us in Italian but we were able to turn it all around so that they kindly spoke to us in English. Thank goodness. All in all another great night. We piled into the cars around 1 am and meandered home to bed. Day 4 In the morning we chilled out and watch as the families came from the surrounding areas to pick their own cherries. Francesca weighted them and they paid by the kilo. She always slipped in a handful extra for good measure. Kay is helping out in the kitchen and ...

We parked Pluto in a small village in the south of Italy (Vieste) and went off for a sandwich.  When we came back, the window was smashed and our backpacks containing our passports with all the visas were gone!!!  <br><br>We didn't know what to do until an hour later an old man approached me and whispered, "check the cliffs, there are caves down there..."<br><br>I ventured down the rocky cliffs and surely enough, in a cave were our ...