The train ride down to Taranto was rather uneventful. I managed to catch some sleep on the way though, and get a bit of work done despite there not being a plug for me to charge my computer. For most of the trip the scenery was all things I had seen before, having traveled along the route down and through Le Marche and to Pescara many times. After Pescara though it was all new for me, having never been down that far south on the east coast before. At first the scenery wasnt that different, but eventually the architecture began to change, and I started too feel like I was somewhere new. On the stretch of the trip from Bari to Taranto at one point we passed the carcus of a train, several cabins laying on the sides in ditches down below the trap. A reminded of an accident.

During the train change in Bari I had been cursing the yahoo weather man, and started to plan my revenge. It had said online that the weather would be warm and sunny, but I was greeted with cold, cloudy skies, and a threat of rain. I reminded myself however that Taranto was still another hour away and on the other coast, so hopefully the weather would be nicer there. When I arrived in Taranto the sun was indeed shining, and I stripped off my jacket for the walk to the hotel. I had no map with me, but had looked at one before hand. It was a simple 20 min walk, across a bridge, through the old town, and across another bridge. As I crossed the first bridge I could look out across the water and see the hotel in the distance. The walk was quite pleasent, as I decided to stay along the water front and go around the parameter of the island. After having read to much about what a dirty port town Taranto was, I was surprised to find it clean and an altogether nice place. Certainly cleaner than Milano.

view from my hotel room

When I arrived at the hotel I got an odd look from the receptionist at first. I dont think I'm quite their typical customer, and I'm sure she thought I was lost at first. As soon as I explained to her who I was though, her look changed, and she quickly and politely handed over my keys, directed me to my room, and told me that my brother was in his and what number it was. I meant to take pictures of my room, as it was my first time staying in a 3 star hotel, but kept putting it off and eventually forgot. I dropped my backpack in my room, and headed down the hall to my brothers. He looked almost surprised for a second to see me, but I suppose after being in a foreign country for the first time it is a bit surprising to have someone show up that you know. We hung out and talked for about an hour until it was time to go to dinner (at 7.30 so as we would arrive right at 8 when the resturants open - they werent quite used to eating so late). He also gave me 3 bottles of coffee syrup that he brought for me (yay!) and a starbucks coffee mug he brought for Fede (who was very excited when I gave it to him!).

For dinner we went to a pizzaria nearby. As they had been there the night before, the waiter remembered them and quickly handed over the menus in English. I lasted about 30 seconds with mine before wanting an Italian version. The English translation was so bad (as often is!) that I thought it would be easier to read in Italian. The waiter seemed a bit confused when I asked for a menu in Italian, but quickly got me one. I was right, it was easier to understand. I spent awhile translating the random different english items to the group before we ordered. It was a relaxing dinner with perhaps a little too much wine. After dinner we headed back to the hotel where I stole my brothers internet for a few minutes and then headed to bed. Not before taking advantage of the multiple TV stations though to watch the end of a bad made for TV movie.

sunrise

I woke up early Saturday morning at 6 am. I'm not sure why I woke up, perhaps because by 11 last night I was sound asleep. None the less I found myself awake and the sun peeping into my room from behind the curtains. It's been a long time since I've had that happened, as having a first floor apartment we close our metal shutters every night. Drawn by the glow I pulled open the shades to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise. The sky was pink and the water glistened as the rays of sun hit it. Sitting there watching the sunrise I was reminded of being at home, where in the winter I would wake up before the sun, and often sit on the stairs eating breakfast and gazing out the window as the sun slowly came over the roof of the house across from me, and gave light to the day.

When I left the hotel I decided to cut through the middle of the old down on my way to the station. The town was peaceful, although the streets were indeed a bit dirty. The dark buildings and narrow streets reminded me of Macerata, although not as hilly. Morning life was going on as usual as people stood about talking to friends, children playing, and shop owners sweeping the ground in front of their doors.

On the train ride to Martina franca I stared out the window at the country side. It was so nice to be out of the city and see some green. Around me were various farm lands and vineyards, houses converted out of old Trulli structures, and palm trees and cacti like none I've ever seen lined the tracks. When I arrived I was surprised at how dead the station was. I knew it was a smaller town, but not that small, I expected there to be a few more people there. Unsure of exactly where to go, as I had no map and only a vague memory of instructions I had found on the net, I stopped a local high schooler and asked directions to the centro storico. He first looked at me as though I was crazy, and proceeded to tell me it was very far. Still, he proceeded to head me in the right direction. The main road I took to get there was quite nice, the town was alive with people, all of whom I'm sure were locals. The street was lined with palm trees in place of where I am used to seeing leafless trunks in Milano (spring hasn't quite hit us yet). The sun was out and it was a beautiful warm day. While I wished to strip off my jacket, I resisted the urge. It was already obvious that I was a tourist to the town, and I felt no need to draw extra attention and stares to myself, as most of the locals were still in their winter coats. So i settled on simply un-buttoning my jacket as I felt that was as much as I could do without having a grandma stop me and tell me to bundle up before I caught cold.

Within 15 minutes I had found myself at the city gate. I guess after living in Milano my perception of what 'very far' is, is a bit different than those living in Martina Franca. Before the gate was a large square filled with locals young and old alike enjoying the sun while chatting with friends. When I entered through the gate I was greeted with the Palace and grand fountain.

the Palace.... cant remember the specific name

As I wandered around the streets continued to buzz with people finishing up their morning shopping before heading home for lunch. Within half an hour though the streets were silent except for the occasional conversation drifting out from the open windows above. Had I closed my eyes I could have easily imagined that I was back in Macerata taking one of my favorite lunch time walks where its easy to imagine that you're back in time hundreds of years ago when the town was first built. With my eyes open though, it was obvious I was indeed not in Macerata, or anywhere in central Italy for that matter. The golden brown buildings and dark stone roads I was used to had been replaced by white washed walls, many more balconies, and streets paved in white stone. Even the streets themselves seemed smaller than those in Macerata, as many of them were barely wide enough for a moped to go down, and would never allow access for a car.


I spent the next hour wandering the tiny streets of the town. One street after another lead to a dead end courtyard and tiny shrines. Every few minutes i would find myself in front of various small churches. Continuously I found myself back on the main street, and at the central piazza. However, it wasnt until about the third time that I approached it from the right direction to notice a pale pink building peaking out from a side street, its colors contrasting against the rich white walls that surrounded it.



I soon found myself feeling that I had exhausted the labrynth of streets the town had to offer. Although I never did find one particular piazza that I had seen photos of online and had been searching for. However, having left my notes with the name of the piazza back at the hotel, I decided to call it a day, and headed back to the train station. The first half of the ride back wasnt quite as peaceful, as I managed to catch the train back that was mainly used by high school students returning to nearby smaller towns after class. Soon though I once again found myself alone on the train, as we made the last few stops and pulled into the station at Taranto.

As I exited the station I prepared myself once again to hear the noises of the city, but was strangely surprised to find the town relatively silent. Walking along one of the main streets I would go several minutes without having a car pass by. Everything was closed down for siesta. I have adjusted so much to life in Milan where things stay open all day, that it was a surprise for me to find that even this port town, which is by no means a tiny town, still closed down in the afternoon.

When I got back to the hotel I attempted to do a bit of homework, which lasted about 5 minutes before flipping on the TV. Discovering that there was nothing good on, I decided to take a shower instead. Afterwards I headed to my brothers room where I discovered he had finally returned from work and lunch and we hung out a little while before heading out to dinner (once again at 7.30). This time we were with a slightly larger group of 4 other people (compared to 2 the night before). We headed to another resturaunt nearby - that they had already been to before. they need to be more adventurous! While I was tempted to get a hamburger and fries, I decided instead on pasta (I think I really am becoming italianized!) as did everyone else. After dinner I suggested that we get a grappa, which only one other person had tried before. -- For those of you who havent had grappa, its a very strong alcohol made from the left over grape parts after wine is made. you normally would only have one small glass of it after a meal. Normally -- The group liked it so much that a second round was quickly ordered. Lets just say that this was particularly strong grappa, and that i dont drink as much as i used to so my tolerance has been lowered. I dont remember if I had 3 or 4 (but i do know that others had more than that!) but it was more than enough to get me quite drunk. After a short after dinner walk we headed back to the hotel where I quickly passed out. I'm told that it was around 11. 0:)

Sunday we were up fairly early again, having agreed to leave at 10. We were going to lunch with the same group who had been at dinner the night before, at a nearby winery. After missing the exit, and then getting lost in a small town, we finally stopped to ask some people for directions. Being the true good hearted southern Italians they were, they offered to take us there, having us follow them. They quickly hopped in their car and off we went. About 10 minutes later we waved goodbye to them and parked the car ready to explore.

my brother

the grounds

The grounds were quite nice, although I felt a bit as though I was in disneyland. It was a large resturaunt/hotel that had a bit of original archtitecture, but you could tell that things were definitely added on and remolded for the visitors viewing pleasure. They didnt speak much English there, so they were happy to find out that I spoke Italian and I soon became the official translator. Having arrived early we sat down at our table in a large ball room type place, being the only ones there. Soon afterwards the food started coming out.

The antipasti consisted of fresh mozzerella, prociuto crudo, deep friend artichoke hearts, deep fried potatoe and cheese balls, and some kind of little cheesy veggie layered bake thingy. The primo was a plate of fresh seafood, which I and another lady politely declined. It consisted though of mussels, squid, and some other things I dont quite remember having not eaten it. The Secondo was a pasta dish of Orechetti with a tomatoe based sauce made with eggplant and speck (ie. little chunks of bacon). It was quite yummy. Afterwards we had a plate of cheese and various vegetables, followed by a desert of fresh fruit and a selection of little bombom type things. (If I ever steal the photos from my brother. I'll post some). The whole lunch lasted about 3 hours. After arranging the purchase of bottles of wine for several of the others, we were off once again, this time headed to Lecce.

old church on the way to Lecce

We took the back roads to get to Lecce, driving through various small towns. On the way we spotted many churches of course, but one inparticular caused us to stop and take photos. I'm not quite sure why, perhaps its size in relation to the relatively empty surroundings. who knows.

Arriving in Lecce we took awhile to find the center and a spot to park. Once out of the car we headed to a market we had spotted nearby. It was the first market for the group, and the girls lingered through it checking out purses and sun glasses. After the market we headed to the towns Castle where the were several art displays going on. After a quick trip through those we were off to the Roman amphitheatre in Piazza San Oronzo.

the amphitheatre

After the mandatory photo shoots we headed to the duomo and wandered around some of the other side streets. We only spent a couple hours in Lecce, and didnt see much. I wasnt in a particuarly foto happy mood, so once again photos will have to wait until I steal them from my brother who was happily clicking away. After a stop for Gelato and some pizza we were once again back in the car and on the road headed back to Taranto sleepy from a long day of eating and driving (and probably more so from the alcohol infussed night before!)

Monday morning I was up early once again at 6.30 to get ready and eat some breakfast before heading off at 7.30 to catch my train. After saying goodbye to my brother and a few others who were already down for breakfast, I headed back through town to the station. The two days had gone by far too quickly, and I was sad to be leaving again so soon. I wish also that I had taken more time to explore Taranto further as it seemed as though while definitely no medival hill town, it had its own share of treasures to offer. Whenever I do get back down to Puglia it will be on my list of places to stay as it also makes a good base for exploring the area. The train ride home was long and sleepless, and i arrived back to my apartment almost exactly 12 hours after I had left the hotel. 30 minutes later Fede was here and we started work on our project for the next morning. The vacation was over way too soon.