Hotel Vecchio Mulino 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.<br><br>

... it had strong echoes of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, although here the (potential) autism is less the focus than an accessory of the story. In any case, I was gutted when I left the book in Florence. I even went back to the hostel to see if a kind soul had dropped it off at the book exchange on the return trip from Siena to Milan, but no dice. I'll definitely have to pick it back up at the ...

... with floor, hotel furnishings, and modern amenities. The bathtub was a Jacuzzi cut right into the cave wall. It was quite bizarre but a fun experience staying in a cave. <br><br>We spent our time wandering the maze of old streets and alleys of the Sassi area. Indeed, the words mysterious and haunting are perfect. We can&#8217;t imagine any other place being like this and John was fascinated by it. It truly looks like a town lost in time and a place where you might expect ...

... main street and walked up looking at the shops, looking inside the house of a wealthy politician that has been well preserved. Back on the street they still had working water fountains, well preserved signs and we wandered off towards the main square and the forum. We looked inside the cages that hold the remains of the artifacts, including the casts of the bodies that are also on display at the Melbourne Museaum. Enzo then took us to ...

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

... hire a car! We had decided to travel around the region rather than staying in one place, so we could really get a feel for what it was like. The further we drove from Bari and the Puglia border, the higher we rose, the wilder and more beautiful the scenery became. Basilicata is the most mountainous as well as the least known region of southern Italy. We found out before we came that tourism is not big in Basilicata, although Italians ...

... style organisation. One boy had obviously been instructed to sneeze from a great height on passengers seated in poll position seats, mine was one, it was so blatant that this young man was faking it. Mine was an aisle seat so then the buffeting started, there was a lot of activity to and fro, I was barged, banged, "accidentally" bumped by passing luggage, had my hair pulled from behind as someone constantly used the back of my headrest to pull themselves ...

... adjust for the bends in the track. I enjoyed kicking back, people watching a bit (some very pretentious Italians in that car), but especially enjoyed taking in the scenery. I noticed so many vineyards, blanketed fields of waving golden wheat (amazing), and mountains rising in the distance (and getting closer the further north we went). It was a site to beheld, truely. I definitely listened to some Gladiator soundtrack and read the book of Romans in honor of ...

... warned us not to. We made dinner on our little desk while the ipod made us feel more at home. We finished 2 bottles of wine in hopes that the buzz would help us go to sleep and forget we were on this miserable little ship. It didn't. The boat rocked and creaked like it was going down in the night. At times we hoped it would. But we survived. And none of this had mattered. Because the sunrise in Dubrovnik made the difficult journey all worthwhile.

... talked of the difficulty of running his computer shop ... the Chinese are taking over by somehow illegally importing goods tax-free. He can't compete. Also, he sells Playstation games for 50 euros each. The street vendor outside sells a pirated version for 5 euros. Of course it's illegal, but the cops figure it's better to allow them to do this rather than turn to more serious crime. Guiseppe figures they have a pretty good living. No taxes, no overhead ... and ...