Dimora Del Sole Bari

... shouldn't have taken the first agent's word for it. Seemed to be ships sailing at all hours - must surely have been one with space on it overnight? Definitely the only way to do this route.However, we get by: but I wouldn't recommend Ventourist line: cheap, for sure; but tacky -very, very tacky!Another night in an anonymous port.

... d left the book I was reading at the time, Gavin Menzies's 1434, at home and I expected to get a lot of reading done that weekend. As it was on a 2-for-1 sale, I picked up its companion piece The Corner too in what can only described as a fit of delusional literary optimism. After that weekend, my next 4 months were consumed with preparing for my trip, as well as polishing off Menzies.

In any case, due to ...

... inside the two or three room caves that served as their homes. The sanitary conditions were abysmal, and the infant mortality rate exceeded 50%.

Then, in the late 1950s, the government of Italy got involved and began to move (sometimes by force) all residents out of the Sassi and into new government apartments built in a “new” section of town. By 1963, the Sassi was deserted and had become a true ghost town. Then, in the 1980s, the government ...

... paper doesn't go down the toilet, it goes in the bin). After a second opinion from another person, I marched down to reception and demanded the bin be changed. Someone came immediately and changed it, not with good grace I may add. This helped straight away, but the stink was still not great.
We went for a walk and wandered the boat, alot of the chairs were taken due to people having no cabins and trying to find a good place to ...

... well preserved, and the Sassi ('stones') districts are now undergoing stylish renovations and are now host to bars, restaurants, and chic boutique hotels.

Our hotel, the 5* Palazzo Gattini, was stunning, and combined old world luxury with every modern comfort. The view from the terrace and the balconies to the ancient caves was magical and entrancing. Wandering through the Sassi ...

The most surprising thing I found before leaving England was that no one even know where Basilicata was! Even friends who thought they knew Italy well weren't aware of Basilicata as its not very well known. On the plane from Stansted, most of the English people we spoke were going on holiday to visit family or friends and most were staying in Puglia, not Basilicata.


If you're planning to visit Basilicata, you will defintely ...

... a picture with them! The next day we ate lunch at mcdonalds (we can't resist.. and it's cheap). We waited there until it was time to catch the train and headed back to San Vito. As soon as we got back to San Vito we tried the zoo again but it was closed because of rain :( so we drove around, looked at scenery and got cappucinos on the sea! Then, yesterday was Sam's birthday! We also had a trip to Bari planned for class! We all got dressed up in our professional clothes and drove ...

... once at the square we had to go to a restaurant to find directions to the hotel. While doiong all of this we were under a very tight time schedule because we were meeting our tour guide at 7:30pm at the hotel. We were supposed to have arrived at 6-6:30ish but because of the train delays we were late, but she was still there when we did arrive. After travelling for so long we just spent the rest of the night getting organized and order Domino's for supper!!!!!!!!!!!!

... passengers in a side passage while everyone else boarded. We finally found someone who spoke English, and learned that we had been about to board the ferry to Albania. Our ferry was delayed by an hour or more. After that experience, Albania is definitely off my list of future vacation destinations. Something disturbing about being examined by fifty pairs of eyes as dark as my own.

... up on Italian bread, cheese and olives. So we find a supermarket, opens again at 4pm. At five oclock the door was half open, no entry allowed, as they tried without success to get their s·$% together. You canīt rely on the Italians to do anything on time or with precision. Sorry Pierre. The ferry. Our Eurail ticket allowed us a cheap "deck pass". How lovely, we thought, and when we found the area, it was great. Best view on the boat, fresh air... Couldnt ...