Tuesday April 18, 2023
We wake up to another bleary rainy day…wait a minute, we look outside and the sun is shining and according to Carol, there is a 70 percent chance of rain after 1500. In the meantime, Francesca brings us our breakfast. Carol, Dave and I just have the included croissant and a cappuccino. She brings a large assortment of homemade jams as well. Gwen had ordered the 5E extra breakfast with ham, bruschetta with tomatoes, cheese, orange juice, and a coffee. What she got far exceeded the expectation. 3 types of ham, 3 types of cheese, tomatoes with olive oil on a crisp bagel like bread, close to a half gallon of orange juice and her coffee, all prepared in front of us by Francesca. We all got to partake in this feast. We also talked quite a bit with Francesca, she is such a nice young girl. She was even going to come back and wash the dishes but Carol and Gwen would have none of that.
After breakfast, we modify our original plan to go to a beach 4 miles from town and opt to walk to one that is about 2.5 miles instead. The beach we are aiming for is by the Castle of San Stefano. Along the way, I veer off to see if the cathedral is open. It is, so we go inside. The Cathedral of Maria Santissima Della Madia is dedicated to Madonna Della Madia, who arrived in Monopoli by sea in 1117 on a raft bearing 31 beams. These wooden beams allowed the city to complete the church. Th wooden church no longer stands having been replaced with the current one in the 1700’s. The inside has frescoes and paintings, some which depict the raft. There is a relic of a piece of wood from the raft and the actual wooden beams in a side chapel at the rear of the church.. It makes for an interesting piece of history.
Next we walk down to the Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio, also known as the Purgatory Church. There is a door on the church which has skeletons and several skulls in the stone wall surrounding it. It is the inside we go to see today. There is a door open that says conservatory and we walk in. Some musicians are standing around and Dave just walks by to look around. No one says anything so we all walk in. Around the corner in a side chapel are various mummified remains of Priests in Glass from different centuries. It is a very eerie reliquary. After a while, a man comes in and tells us we have to leave.
Shortly after, we leave the old town and enter the new town. As we find the road that we will follow, I spot a path going off the road along a beach that seems to follow the shore. We had seen some trail on google maps for part of the way and this seems to be it. Since we are not sure how the weather is going to hold up, we decide to walk this path now, even though it will take longer to the castle beach. We can look back over the water and get some nice pictures of the city of Monopoli behind us, The path meanders along the coast and the water views are spectacular. We pass a few nice coves you could get to along the way.
After a while we have to return to the road for the rest of the walk. We make the turnoff to the beach and walk down to it. It is very beautiful with the castle walls and the sea lapping up against them. We can not get around the castle or inside so we decide to walk back the way we came and stop at one of those beautiful coves rather than hang out here. The most amazing thing is that a very short way from San Stefano, there is a bathroom, it is clean, and even has running water. It must be taken advantage of and it is.
We cut off the road again and find a beautiful cove to go down to. It has turned out to be a beautiful day and we head down the steps to the cove. Carol says she is goin to go in and after several false tries she takes a very quick dip. After she gets out it is my turn so Down to my swim suit underwear I go. I do not take as long as I did in Gallipoli even though I think the water is slightly colder here. I stay in for about 10 minutes and it is very refreshing.
On the way back to town, we stop at a grocery store and buy a bottle of wine. After a brief pit stop at the apartment, we go out wine in hand to drink it with a view. It is a very short walk to the old port and we find some nice concrete seats to have some wine and enjoy the view and beautiful sunshine. With half of the wine gone, we move locations. We have been watching the fishing boats come in and we walk around to the newer port and watch the going ons. It is quite the show as the fisherman hawk their catch and people argue price. A mafia looking guy comes, grabs a live shrimp walks away and eats it. Another does the same with a crab. One boat is selling strictly to a small refrigerated truck. It is quite the scene.
We finish the rest of our wine and after a little exploring, we meander back to our little wine bar. The same bartender is there and he gives me a few more tasting after the others order their glasses. We talk for a bit about our journey and the I ask if he grew up in Monopoli. He did, said he left as soon as he could, started schooling in Pisa, subject was not for him, went to a different school in Milan, again not for him, and then went and lived in Bucharest, worked with kids there for a while and now back here. He says he has figured out he wants to do social work even though the money is not as good as other jobs, he wants to help poor kids and he will be going to school here to study that. I tell him we are ending in Romania and he says we will love it and adds a few tips for us. I finally ask his name and it is Pietro. He is such a nice young man and has a very infectious smile and manner. We head next door to the restaurant and Carol and I split another Puccia sandwich and a pizza, both different from the night before and very good. Of course, Pietro brings us another glass of wine. Yup, life sucks here! The young girl serving us and another girl do not speak as much English but we make them laugh none the less. I type Glad we can make you laugh into google translate and she smiles when she reads it and says I needed to smile. Fun place and great staff. Another plus was music from the 70s and maybe early 80s which they say is the choice of the pizza chef who loves older American music. When I go to pay the bill I compliment his pizza and tell him the musical e perfetto which brings a smile and two thumbs up. Today was a great relaxing day but unfortunately it has to end so we can pack and get ready for our next town tomorrow
Expenses Wine at Carrefour 5.28E Wine at King Street Food 8E Bottino Puccia, Legione Pizza and Wine 23E. Walked 10.6 Miles
Great you met a friendly bartender. Fun evening for you.