Rondo Hotel Bari

As it turns out, filling that day wasn't so much of a problem.... we tootled out of town, found a beach, wandered about & looked at the boats; tootled back, found somewhere to eat, had a chat with a few Brits and - hey presto! - before you knew it, time for bed! But the one on board was a bit more of a challenge... all 13 hours of it! BIG ...

... can be safely pilfered.<br><br>In any case, the style suits travel blogging perfectly, where the purchase, storage, consumption, and ultimate disposal of each book is integral to the travel experience itself.<br><br><br>Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets<br>David Simon<br>purchased in the UK this past Easter Bank Holiday<br>completed in Paris<br>============================== =========<br>Somewhere ...

... a taxi that you haven't called. Jyles insisted though. <br>I checked the locks on the doors before I got in, and made sure I could escape. It was legitimate, but in a normal situation I would have said no. <br><br>We got to the ferry terminal just on time. Since it was an overnight ferry, we got bunk beds and had an awesome sleep. <br>

So we get up, get ready, have the usual buffet breakfast that has ceased to be a wonder and a pig out fest. We loaded towards Pompeii and settled in for what we thought would be a 45min drive, try more like 20mins later! Suddenly we were at Pompeii, meeting Enzo again and getting wired for sound so we could hear him. It was pretty hot, but still early..and we went into Pompeii via the Gladiator training ground..past there we went to ...

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. <br><br>If you're planning to visit Basilicata, you will defintely need ...

This is where Pietro, an old Italian guy, jumped into Bruce and navigated us to the trulli. He saved us from a traffic jam in the narrow streets of Puglia.<br><br>Pete was also called Pietro while in Italy. :-)<br><br>Trullo comes from the Greek word, "tholos" &#8211; meaning &#8220;dome&#8221;. See the pictures of the wee houses.<br><br>We found the Belvedere pub here too - also the name of our local in Aus &#8211; meaning &#8220;beautiful view&#8221;. It was beautiful.

... exhibiting symptoms of genuine amazement and bewilderment at "how could this happen to me". They just don't seem to realise that if you drive like a complete idiot at some point you are going to have an altercation with another such idiot, and seeing as there are so many of them on the roads... well need I say more. The other very funny incident I saw involved one police car, two policemen and a vehicle they decided to escort along the motorway under ...

... store to get some supplies. Anyhow, we set off in the cold rain and wind, heads down, thoughts on more pleasant things. 8 km down the road I was yelling through the barrage of rain at Ainaz to pull over at the next shelter, as I just could not go on for the time being. She was distracted however, and seemed to be talking with a van pulled up alongside her. Upon closer inspection, the van (and the occupants) were from ...

... It helps to have a map, for sure, but it gives a great insight into the southern Italy of old, without the gawking, jabbering tour groups. Strangely enough, Bari is home to the relics of St. Nicholas. Yes, that St. Nicholas - the one the Santa Claus mythology comes from. It was a little bizarre stumbling upon the church playing host to them. It was even more bizarre being there with a bunch of Russian tourists (eh?), but apparently there ...

... me that she was in Crete doing some volunteer project with sea turtles. She wants to teach me to SCUBA dive, too. So now I sit on a ferry bound for Patras, where I will get a train to Athens. I might sit there for a couple days before heading down to Crete. I'm not going just because she's there, at least I don't think so, but it will be great seeing her again, sea turtles and all.