Thursday, July 14, 2011

Ostuni, Italy June 25th – July 1st

Ostuni, Italy June 25th – July 1st

After a week in Atrani, on the Emalfi Coast, we departed for Ostuni, Italy.  Ostuni is on the opposite side of Italy (actually on the heel of Italy on the Adriatic Sea). We had rented a car for the week and had received another Lancia.

We travelled across from Naples and then turned inland and crossed the bottom of the boot.  We stayed one night along the way in a town called Matera.  It is a walled city high on a mountain top.  The streets going to our hotel were so narrow we thought at one time we were on a pedestrian walk, however it was a road, a two way road that when you met an opposite direction vehicle it required one or the other driver to back up to the closest widening.  We stayed in a hotel that was referred to as a cave hotel as all the rooms were dug out of the cliff face.  It was very interesting; however I found it way to dark as there were naturally no windows the only light came from the front door windows.  We visited the historic area of town and then had a very good traditional southern Italian meal. 

The next day we travelled on to Ostuni where we stayed at a Masseria.  A Masseria is a rural tourist Bed and Breakfast.  The one we stayed at was a former monastery that still had its beautiful chapel.  It was a young Italian couple who ran it.  The site was a work in progress but the room we were given was in an annex that they had built and it was only two years old. 


                                                          The gate to our Masseria
                                                     The building directly in front is the chapel

                                                          
                                             Gates to the Masseria

 We spent the week travelling around the area and one really nice day at a Beach resort that had a beautiful beach and facilities.  In fact it was the best pizza we had since arriving in Italy. While in Ostuni, I celebrated my 62nd birthday and had a lovely lunch at a Relais Hotel.


                                                               Hotel Dinning Room

       
                                                   Enjoying desert platter                                                          

On July 1st we drove to Bari, Italy to catch a flight to Vienna where we are staying for three days before moving onto Prague.



A small artists shop in Ostuni, the artist worked in slate. 
His shop was in the lower door and he lived upstairs


                                                                          The artist at work


Some of his work in the gallery



                                                           Typical Ostuni Street


  A beach resort where Sam and I spent the day


Beach resort on the Adriatic Sea


                                                                      Ostuni, Italy

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