From: Fasano
To: San Vito (South of Bari, Italy, not to be confused with San Vito dei Normanni near Brindisi)
Miles: 17
Total: 346
Today started off with another great breakfast at the hotel. It was a sunny and warm day so in less than a mile I had my jacket off and was walking in short sleeves.
Today’s walk was mainly through urban areas. The towns and cities in Italy so far are clean and the houses and business appear well constructed. Instead of 30-40 year old Mazda and Toyota trucks that we saw the farmers use in Greece, we mainly see nice Mercedes, BMW and Alpha Romeo cars and SUVs.
We came across a large Remote Contol car racetrack where men were racing some really fast and probably expensive cars. (The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys). It was neat to see. I’m sure John will post a video of it.
We also saw some trulli houses with conical roofs. My friend John Compton told me to be on the lookout for them. They are very unique. They date back to at least the 14th Century. Here is a link that explains more about them: http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/apulia/poi/the-history-of-alberobellos-trulli.html
We stopped at a nice cafe in Monopoli for lunch that had lots of fresh pasteries and sandwiches but I enjoyed their version of “Piggies in a Blanket”, which was basically a breakfast sausage in small croissants.
Next we came to the town of Polignano a Mare. The town was set stunningly on cliffs overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The roads downtown were closed to vehicles and the townspeople were out enjoying the sunny day at shops and cafes. The people in the town as well as the rest of Italy have been very friendly.
Cliffs of Polignano a Mare
It was only a few more miles to San Vito, our town for the night. Our hotel sits just outside of town by about a mile and a half. When we walked up to it there were some large gates and they were closed. We were again concerned that we picked a hotel that was closed for the winter. There was a call box and as soon as we pushed it someone answered. That was a relief! The hotel is a bit dated but the rooms are nice and big. Unfortunately the restaurant is closed for the winter so we will have to head into town by taxi to grab dinner tonight, but they will have breakfast for us in the morning. We’re hoping for many more sunny days like today.
