Hotel De Bonis Foggia

... story - why I came all the way to Vieste - and they took interest - greeted me with welcome smiles and kind words. I couldn't resist to run next to the beach my first morning, especially after my amazing pasta and fish dinner the night before! It was the most beautiful run I have ever had! As far as I know, I have no more relatives living in Vieste, but I felt like I was surrounded by my family just the same.

After working everyday in the pub for a month I was starting to look a bit white and pasty - you know how it is work all night and sleep all day - so it was time to go and get out into the sun again! Dad and I headed off on a month long trip to Sicily together a few days after I finished working at the pub. Dad's bought a car in Italy so we got to travel in absolute luxury and stop where we wanted and when we wanted which is just great when you're touring ...

... during the camp. The father of the family is from Vieste and arranged for his restauranteur friends to hook us up! And hook us up they did. Yesterday was spent feasting on clams, mussles, octopus, sole, shrimp and other delicious fish. Also, Vieste is home to some of the best olives and sun dried tomatoes in the world..... We ate WELL. Which is nice considering the next three weeks we'll be in hostels eating out of cans....

... know where it went and fortunately ended up where we wanted to be. Even here, we have not come across much animal or birdlife although we amazingly spotted some groups of wild mountain goats from the road. This is our last stop in Puglia (the 'heel' region of southern Italy) and we are now heading about three hours north along the east coast before heading inland to Rome. Ciao for now, Caren, Jonathan and Ethan :)

... as you could see its various re-incarnations as you went further down - it was definitely walking through history. We paid a visit to the crypt, the lowest level, and were rewarded with a personal tour in English of the two oldest parts of the church (around the 6th Century) as well as a small, but very interesting, museum. Our next stop is further around the Grgano Peninsula at Vieste. Until then, take care. C, J & E :)

... the new edition of the book in the States next April. Sunday was the Premio Matteo Salvatore itself, and we reported to the former firehouse in the middle of town now called the Teatro del Fuoco, a fantastic performing arts facility where we joined the producer, Angelo Cavallo of Suoni del Mondo, his wife Teresa, Signor Pieruigi, the great swing bandleader and singer Ninni Maina, Gianni Laterza and his wife, and the other members of the cast: La ...

... for more really. When it gets cold, we thought, we can just shut those doors down the front. The ones that someone had thoughtfully removed from their hinges and neglected to replace. We also discovered that some of the windows were not in fact extremely clean glass.... there was no glass. Nor anywhere to sleep, aside from a selection of fibreglass tables. And it was bloody freezing. Did I mention the ferry took from 5pm til 12pm the next day to reach Petras?

... our consumption of copious amounts of pasta, so we did a couple of runs and a few exercises, so we could continue to indulge a little. We ventured into town one afternoon to check out the quaint little old town and pick up some supplies. We met a hilarious little old Italian man in a little corner shop who was so excited to meet some Australians but didn't speak a word of English. With the little ...

... Nope - it's industrial pollution! I have never seen pollution like this before ... compared to this, even Los Angeles air is like refreshing alpine. Naples is a dump. The hostel is in a terrible area near the train station. But I must admit that I knew this beforehand - I thought it would be convenient as a base for day trips. The area is like a war zone - trash everywhere and it's pretty scary crossing the streets. Total culture shock! My lungs hurt ...

... group, we stopped to chat about the incident while the 4 men separated and casually hopped on to the next bus across the road. The whole security thing spoiled Rome a bit for me. Rome has a lot more to offer than we were able to see and I am a bit disappointed we didn't stay long enough to get a good feel about Rome. I'll jot it down in my 'must see properly' memory file. Naturally we took the motorway to Bari and hardly stopped for a break as Lou and Lynn were waiting for ...