Residence Padrepio Foggia

... it didn't matter to me. I managed to communicate no problem, and my Italian was improving. It seemed like the more I spoke the more I learned, and the more I screwed up, the nicer the people were! There's not much to do in Vieste, since it's not tourist season, and everything closes in the afternoon for about 4 hours, so I walked and discovered the town and the people. Everyone I met there I would tell ...

... first stop was at a peninsula called Gargano where we drove (yes I drove too!) through winding roads through some beautiful forests and then stopped at a small town. From there we took a boat cruise one day which took us to heaps of small caves along the peninsula coastline. The caves weren't that much to look at but it was nice relaxing out in the sun on the sea after spending so much time indoors. Dad showed me some of his high fashion pieces when he ...

... 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....

The drive into Vieste along a windy coastal road felt a little like a cross between The Great Ocean Road and the Amalfi Coast. It was a glorious sunny day (at last!) and there were stunning vistas over the ocean. I think this beauty starkly contrasted against the outskirts of Vieste which we can only describe as horrifying. It looked slummy, messy and overgrown. Fortunately our first impression was not our last ...

... we met a lovely family from Seattle who were staying in the apartment next to ours. We spent a lot of time with them and Ethan loved playing with his new friend, Jack. We hope to meet up again sometime in the future. We visited the town of Monte Sant'Angelo that is set up high in the mountains with views way down to the ocean. It is a pretty, old town but our highlight, unexpectedly, was the cathedral. It was ...

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 ...

Breakfast on the ferry wasn't too bad. Cold cuts, cheese, bread, jam, and the other usual stuff. Guiseppe gave me more tips - he's a really good guy. We went to the train station to store our things, then he bought me a coffee. We sat for awhile - I planned the next phase of my trip. I possibly could fit in Malta and Tunisia, but would it be worthwhile? I need to do some more research and decide later. Guiseppe gave me a bit of a tour of Bari. The castle - looked ...

Phew. After two or three pretty intensive days agonising over my bungee jumping (and subsequently dead) computer I eventually bit the bullet and bought a cheapie travelling lappie to get me through the last couple of months on the road. Being Italy that wasn't as easy as it sounds, but in spite of some more grey hairs we're back in action and that's the main thing ...

Day 19 - Overnight ferry to Greece Tonight I screwed my neighbour. That's a card game by the way. Similar to 500 as you have to nominate how many tricks you think you can win, but the number of cards and the number of tricks nominated can't match - so someone always gets screwed. A lot of fun. We had another schedule change at the last minute and instead of being on the 5pm ferry we were placed on the 7pm ferry... so we had to kill a ...