Hotel Rivablu Rodi Garganico

... located on the heel of "the boot" is a beach town but also has a historical area full of homes built on a continuous structure. It is so very special! The beach is so white and clean, the sand so fine and soft, the surrounding mountains filled with olive trees and orchids! The smell so simply incredible! The historical center was built on a small mountain where the town homes were nestled together ...

... a t-shirt around his head to keep the sun off - fantastic! Would you beleive they also have a shell museum there. I've always loved looking at and collecting shells - I developed this interest from collecting sea shells with my aunty Jan on the beach at Sorrento (Australian one) and loved to copy her collages of seashells which are just amazing! Anyway, thanks Jan - and now I can tell you I've seen a place where they love shells just as much as we ...

After 6 weeks of working and teaching English, Serena and I are finally off to do some traveling of our own... Yesterday we left Cortina at 5:30 in the morning and after a bus, a train, and an 11 hour bus ride later, we arrived in Vieste! Right now we're heading out to the beach! WWWWWWOoooooooooooooooo I love Italy. Our days in Vieste were splendid. Serena and I were able to get in touch with one of the families that we stayed ...

... 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 :)

... remaining lakes which were classified as nature reserves, and enjoy the spring flowers and bird life. We arrived at our apartment - a stunning old building with a large terrace and magnificent, unfettered views over the countryside and ocean. Our host had made it feel more like a "home away from home" with lots of little extras like limoncello, books and CDs, playing cards, a well-stocked kitchen and more. To add to our ...

We made our way to Bari by train. We shared a carriage with a man about our age, who was of eastern extraction (deja vu) and using his I Pod. I can only assume he had never sung without the ear plugs in, as we had the benefit of him moaning along to every song in the Asian Top 40 for most of the trip. Despite this minor setback, we arrived in Bari. Ferry food tends to be both **** and expensive, so Alex decides the plan of action is to find a supermarket and ...

... farm land except for the very tip which was where we were heading. It is very reminiscent of Croatia in particular Dalmatia with its rocky barren ground dotted with olive trees and boulders. We drove to a town called Peschcici right on the tip and were delighted to find a great little camp site right on a gourgeous sandy beach a few kms past town. All for the bargain price of 15 Euros a night ...

... sit in a busy park all day (probably the best location in town) and look at the pretty Italian women. The only price of doing business? The odd item that they "give" to the cops. Going with the Euro has been ******* Italians, apparently. Overnight, prices effectively doubled. You can tell that Guiseppe is a bit disenchanted with how things are in Italy right now. Bari isn't too bad .. but only for a few hours. Went to the bus station - the bus driver was the ...

... and generally bloodthirsty 'north men' that descended from Scandinavia in continental Europe around 900AD and conquered large swathes of it including Britain and much land all the way down to Sicily in the Mediterranean. They led the Crusades and shaped the course of history in the Middle Ages, allowing modern-day countries to coalesce and eventually setting the ...

... of hours on the dock. Thanks goodness for the cricket bat and the hackey sac (not at the same time). We had a competition to see who could guess the time the ferry would depart as Katie and Nev assured it us it would not be on time. I guessed 7.27pm and Charmara guessed 7.21pm - the darn thing left at 7.12pm. I don't think he ever got his prize. The boat vibrated the whole time, it was very nice being rocked to sleep like a baby.