One month in Puglia and Matera
Jul 15th, 2014, 02:32 PM
#22
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WOW, tuscanlifeedit! Thank you for sharing that. I can really understand your connection. I am so glad that you thought that the film was well done too. It was stunning to think that a professor would steal something so precious. No, we did not visit the museum. I wish I had known about it. I do hope that I can find my way back to Matera some day. It is so unique and so special.
jmct714: Thank you so much for dropping in to offer feedback. I appreciate your encouragement very much!
jmct714: Thank you so much for dropping in to offer feedback. I appreciate your encouragement very much!
Jul 15th, 2014, 03:01 PM
#23
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<b>Castellana Grotte</b>
On Friday our last day in PaM, I decided to heed the advice of so many in this area who all said Castellana Grotte is something special to see. They are caves which went undiscovered until fairly recent history, 1938, and they are in a town called Castellana Grotte, which up until 1950 was known only as Castellana. It’s a small town with a big attraction. The caves are very popular:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ri_Puglia.html
I went to the PaM tourist office to find out how we could go to the caves with public transportation. She told me that I’d need to buy two tickets at 1E each to the town of Castellana Grotte. Then I’d need to take one of two different bus routes to the caves. She gave me the schedule from PaM to Castellana and the return schedule. She also gave me a copy of each of the green buses (two different numbers: Circolare 1 and Circolare 2) schedule to and from the caves.
I asked her where we pick up the bus to Castellana Grotte, and I asked her what <i>color</i> the bus is. This is a good question to ask because I was told that it is white (they have buses in many colors) but it also prompted her to describe the bus as being really small, almost like a van. She pointed outside and told us that the bus would arrive in front of a bar under the trees.
While we were waiting there another man stood in the same area and it appeared to me that he was also waiting for our bus. Our bus was not on time so I finally asked the man if he too was waiting for the bus to Castellana. He said no, he was going to (I can’t remember) but that my bus was not going to stop here, but was going to stop across the street, basically in front of the TI. It seemed odd to me that the TI would get that information wrong, so I noticed another type of red “train” sitting across the street and since it was just sitting there, I figured I’d go ahead and ask them. The people in the “train” said that I was standing in the correct spot, and that the man who was waiting with us was in the <i>wrong</i> spot and that <i>he</i> should be waiting across the street in front of the TI. So I came back and told the man what they said. He told me that he has been taking the bus every week, and he thought that both the TI and the train man (and his wife sitting next to him) were wrong.
Soon enough I see a white van driving towards us with a white placard with “Castellana” written on it, tucked onto the dashboard of the van. I pointed at the van and it went right past us and stopped in the spot that the passenger said it would. I trotted over, spoke to the driver, and confirmed that it was going to Castellana. I beckoned R to run over and off we went. Ask, and ask again.
We arrived near the train station in Castellana Grotte and the driver told us where he picks people up to take them back to PaM. It was under a Kodak sign a block or so away from where he dropped us off. 10 seconds later one of the green buses showed up where we were dropped off and I hailed him and verified that it goes to the caves.
We got to the site 15 minutes before the ticket office opened from their lunch break. They shut down for lunch for at least an hour. R wanted to take an English tour of the caves. Based on the bus schedule to get us back to PaM, we had to take the 50 minute tour. it cost 20E and is 1 KM in length. The longer tour is about 3 Km as I recall and you get to see <i>all</i> of the caves including the white cave which is the most popular. R was happy with our tour, but I would have taken the longer tour whether or not I understood the guide. I thought it was a neat thing to see and I'm glad we went.
After the tour we waited a 1/2 hour for the bus which dropped us off near the Castellana Grotte train station. R wanted me to ask at the train station how we could get back to PaM by train since there was a station right there. We learned that we would have had to get a train to Bari and then a train to PaM. It would have taken a long time, like <i>at least</i> 2-3 hours or more, and a heck of a lot more $$ than the 2 Euros the bus would cost us.
We had two hours to kill before our bus back to PaM so we decided to find something to eat even though it was during the siesta. There was a friend of the train employee who was hanging out, and this gentleman told us that he’d walk us over to a bar to get a snack. As we were leaving to follow him into town, the gentleman pointed out the Kodak sign and bus stop for us to remember. I was glad he reminded us because I soon saw another Kodak sign on a different adjacent street, so I made a mental note of street names this time. When we got to the bar they only had ready made sandwiches with ham. We decided to carry on.
We came to another bar and they offered the same thing so someone in there told us where we should go to find something with a better variety. A street that has a lot of trees and a place on that street with more of a selection. Since I like to ask and ask again, as we passed a gelateria I asked a man where the “viale” with the trees were and he pointed us in the direction and gave us a name of a restaurant. We found it and the man behind the bar only had the same types of sandwiches but he said he could make us a salad so that is what we had. It was actually quite delicious and very fresh, and since the bar was decorated so nicely, with a friendly person behind the bar, we really had a nice little relaxing time. It’s called <b>Cafe Bistrot</b>.
<b>https://it-it.facebook.com/pages/Bistrot-CAFE/259422740860144</b>
We found our way back, found the bus, and upon our return to PaM, I had to go to <b>Caruso</b>’s <i>again</i> for my last favorite gelato.
Backtracking a bit, on Thursday we were told by the TI that the train departure we wanted for Saturday to take us to Peschici had really cheap tickets and we should buy them soon. I knew I’d be buying them the next day so I took our chances that the price would be low. On Friday morning, before we waited for the bus to take us to Castellana Grotte, I went to a nearby travel agency to purchase our train tickets from PaM to San Severo--gateway to Peschici (for the public transport passenger). Unfortunately, not only were the tickets with the great prices <i>gone</i>, the travel agent said that we’d have to wait in Bari for the <i>later</i> train. Right after I paid for the train tickets from the travel agent, I said to the woman that if she knows of any hotel in Peschici that we would be interested in hearing her suggestions. She suggested that we come back after visiting the caves to see what she could find.
After our visit from Castellana we walked into her office and she got to work on the internet searching for a place for us. I didn’t intend for her to do the legwork which I had been doing to this point, I was just looking for a name or two of a hotel. Anyway, she found a place which seemed like it would work for us. It was “nuovissimo” and she called and asked how much it would be for three nights. As she held the phone with the owner, she said to me 500E. I asked how much per night and she divided it and said 165E. I knew 165 x 3 did not equal 500 so it seemed odd. Usually prices are quoted by the night. It was THE most expensive price we had encountered. I thought that it must be pretty special, and since it was my birthday, I thought that “special” is a great idea. But since we had decided not to stay <i>anywhere</i> three nights without seeing it first, we only booked one night. I heard her ask the owner about her “commissione”. She took my credit card, charged us 165E, and asked us to let her know if we end up staying three nights (I assume because she wanted her commission) and R assured her we would.
We left and ate yet again at <b>Pepe Nero</b> so that i could get one of his pizzas again and so R could get another spaghetti dish. We really loved this little place (obviously) and we got to know the owner and the gal who was the waitress. He has a dream to move his family to Hawaii (one of his customers has a place there) and open up a restaurant there. We spoke about his dream and offered suggestions and just really enjoyed the time we spent with him.
Next stop Peschici...
On Friday our last day in PaM, I decided to heed the advice of so many in this area who all said Castellana Grotte is something special to see. They are caves which went undiscovered until fairly recent history, 1938, and they are in a town called Castellana Grotte, which up until 1950 was known only as Castellana. It’s a small town with a big attraction. The caves are very popular:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ri_Puglia.html
I went to the PaM tourist office to find out how we could go to the caves with public transportation. She told me that I’d need to buy two tickets at 1E each to the town of Castellana Grotte. Then I’d need to take one of two different bus routes to the caves. She gave me the schedule from PaM to Castellana and the return schedule. She also gave me a copy of each of the green buses (two different numbers: Circolare 1 and Circolare 2) schedule to and from the caves.
I asked her where we pick up the bus to Castellana Grotte, and I asked her what <i>color</i> the bus is. This is a good question to ask because I was told that it is white (they have buses in many colors) but it also prompted her to describe the bus as being really small, almost like a van. She pointed outside and told us that the bus would arrive in front of a bar under the trees.
While we were waiting there another man stood in the same area and it appeared to me that he was also waiting for our bus. Our bus was not on time so I finally asked the man if he too was waiting for the bus to Castellana. He said no, he was going to (I can’t remember) but that my bus was not going to stop here, but was going to stop across the street, basically in front of the TI. It seemed odd to me that the TI would get that information wrong, so I noticed another type of red “train” sitting across the street and since it was just sitting there, I figured I’d go ahead and ask them. The people in the “train” said that I was standing in the correct spot, and that the man who was waiting with us was in the <i>wrong</i> spot and that <i>he</i> should be waiting across the street in front of the TI. So I came back and told the man what they said. He told me that he has been taking the bus every week, and he thought that both the TI and the train man (and his wife sitting next to him) were wrong.
Soon enough I see a white van driving towards us with a white placard with “Castellana” written on it, tucked onto the dashboard of the van. I pointed at the van and it went right past us and stopped in the spot that the passenger said it would. I trotted over, spoke to the driver, and confirmed that it was going to Castellana. I beckoned R to run over and off we went. Ask, and ask again.
We arrived near the train station in Castellana Grotte and the driver told us where he picks people up to take them back to PaM. It was under a Kodak sign a block or so away from where he dropped us off. 10 seconds later one of the green buses showed up where we were dropped off and I hailed him and verified that it goes to the caves.
We got to the site 15 minutes before the ticket office opened from their lunch break. They shut down for lunch for at least an hour. R wanted to take an English tour of the caves. Based on the bus schedule to get us back to PaM, we had to take the 50 minute tour. it cost 20E and is 1 KM in length. The longer tour is about 3 Km as I recall and you get to see <i>all</i> of the caves including the white cave which is the most popular. R was happy with our tour, but I would have taken the longer tour whether or not I understood the guide. I thought it was a neat thing to see and I'm glad we went.
After the tour we waited a 1/2 hour for the bus which dropped us off near the Castellana Grotte train station. R wanted me to ask at the train station how we could get back to PaM by train since there was a station right there. We learned that we would have had to get a train to Bari and then a train to PaM. It would have taken a long time, like <i>at least</i> 2-3 hours or more, and a heck of a lot more $$ than the 2 Euros the bus would cost us.
We had two hours to kill before our bus back to PaM so we decided to find something to eat even though it was during the siesta. There was a friend of the train employee who was hanging out, and this gentleman told us that he’d walk us over to a bar to get a snack. As we were leaving to follow him into town, the gentleman pointed out the Kodak sign and bus stop for us to remember. I was glad he reminded us because I soon saw another Kodak sign on a different adjacent street, so I made a mental note of street names this time. When we got to the bar they only had ready made sandwiches with ham. We decided to carry on.
We came to another bar and they offered the same thing so someone in there told us where we should go to find something with a better variety. A street that has a lot of trees and a place on that street with more of a selection. Since I like to ask and ask again, as we passed a gelateria I asked a man where the “viale” with the trees were and he pointed us in the direction and gave us a name of a restaurant. We found it and the man behind the bar only had the same types of sandwiches but he said he could make us a salad so that is what we had. It was actually quite delicious and very fresh, and since the bar was decorated so nicely, with a friendly person behind the bar, we really had a nice little relaxing time. It’s called <b>Cafe Bistrot</b>.
<b>https://it-it.facebook.com/pages/Bistrot-CAFE/259422740860144</b>
We found our way back, found the bus, and upon our return to PaM, I had to go to <b>Caruso</b>’s <i>again</i> for my last favorite gelato.
Backtracking a bit, on Thursday we were told by the TI that the train departure we wanted for Saturday to take us to Peschici had really cheap tickets and we should buy them soon. I knew I’d be buying them the next day so I took our chances that the price would be low. On Friday morning, before we waited for the bus to take us to Castellana Grotte, I went to a nearby travel agency to purchase our train tickets from PaM to San Severo--gateway to Peschici (for the public transport passenger). Unfortunately, not only were the tickets with the great prices <i>gone</i>, the travel agent said that we’d have to wait in Bari for the <i>later</i> train. Right after I paid for the train tickets from the travel agent, I said to the woman that if she knows of any hotel in Peschici that we would be interested in hearing her suggestions. She suggested that we come back after visiting the caves to see what she could find.
After our visit from Castellana we walked into her office and she got to work on the internet searching for a place for us. I didn’t intend for her to do the legwork which I had been doing to this point, I was just looking for a name or two of a hotel. Anyway, she found a place which seemed like it would work for us. It was “nuovissimo” and she called and asked how much it would be for three nights. As she held the phone with the owner, she said to me 500E. I asked how much per night and she divided it and said 165E. I knew 165 x 3 did not equal 500 so it seemed odd. Usually prices are quoted by the night. It was THE most expensive price we had encountered. I thought that it must be pretty special, and since it was my birthday, I thought that “special” is a great idea. But since we had decided not to stay <i>anywhere</i> three nights without seeing it first, we only booked one night. I heard her ask the owner about her “commissione”. She took my credit card, charged us 165E, and asked us to let her know if we end up staying three nights (I assume because she wanted her commission) and R assured her we would.
We left and ate yet again at <b>Pepe Nero</b> so that i could get one of his pizzas again and so R could get another spaghetti dish. We really loved this little place (obviously) and we got to know the owner and the gal who was the waitress. He has a dream to move his family to Hawaii (one of his customers has a place there) and open up a restaurant there. We spoke about his dream and offered suggestions and just really enjoyed the time we spent with him.
Next stop Peschici...
Jul 15th, 2014, 03:05 PM
#24
Nice report! Thanks for taking the time to write it all up. Am enjoying reliving our time in Puglia and Matera. Its interesting to read how a trip with so many of the same destinations was done with public transportation.
@tuscanlifeedit - We did go to 2 museums in Matera, Museo della Scultura Contemporanea Matera & the Modern Art Musuem, and enjoyed them both. Nadia who I agree was an excellent guide provided insights to the feelings of being from Matera.
@tuscanlifeedit - We did go to 2 museums in Matera, Museo della Scultura Contemporanea Matera & the Modern Art Musuem, and enjoyed them both. Nadia who I agree was an excellent guide provided insights to the feelings of being from Matera.
Jul 18th, 2014, 12:24 PM
#27
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Thank you yestravel. I am so glad we were able to get to the Gargano Peninsula with public transportation. The other destinations were pretty easy to do with trains. It's the lifting of the bags up and down the stairs of the trains and the different platforms that seemed to be the biggest bother using public transportation...and we traveled light!
Thanks you tuscan for hanging in there!
kja: Yes, we loved it so much there was a part of me that considered returning to Trani when at one point we weren't sure how to fill three nights. We <i>really</i> liked the vibe of the town.
Thanks you tuscan for hanging in there!
kja: Yes, we loved it so much there was a part of me that considered returning to Trani when at one point we weren't sure how to fill three nights. We <i>really</i> liked the vibe of the town.
Jul 18th, 2014, 12:53 PM
#28
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A quick little word about wi-fi and Italian towns. I found it very interesting to learn that PaM had wi-fi zones where they offered free wi-fi. About three zones as I recall. A couple of them were by the sea, and Piazza Aldo Moro.
In Lecce they have free wi-fi also. Too bad I learned about it today whie trying to find out something else. Our B&B had the worst wi-fi and had I known there was free wi-fi in Piazza Oronzo, it would have really been handy.
<b>http://www.leccecittawireless.it/site/</b>
<b>Peschici</b>
Got a cab to drop us off at the PaM station. BTW, if you’re young, this walk is easily doable on foot from the center of town. Once we got to the station, we got confused with those ramps again. We went down two long ramps with our bags, saw the other set of ramps on the other side and went up them only to realize we were on the other side of the tracks. Back down the ramps we go until we found the stairs in the middle. Too bad every station doesn’t have ramps, even if they only take you half way to the platform. Every time it was move-to-the-next-town day, we’d always think about the items we brought that we could have lived without, making our bags even lighter.
We got to Bari with a two hour wait for our train to San Severo. With tickets in hand, purchased the day before at the travel agency, I decided to talk with the employee who was helping passengers purchase tickets through the self serve machines. I showed him my tickets and he verified that the early train for our destination which was getting ready to depart any minute was full. He suggested that we go to the binario and speak with the <i>capo</i> and ask if there was any room for us. With four minutes to spare before the train departs, we ran to platform 3 using elevators (thank goodness). The conductress radioed her colleague to inquire, then she said to me if we paid 16 more Euro we could climb aboard! We didn’t have a seat assignment so we could potentially get booted out at some point. No worries. We were never asked to leave, it never got full, we had a great conversation with some young people and we found ourselves in San Severo.
I went to the ticket office in the San Severo train station to get the train tickets to Peschici, but the man barked at me, pointed, and said for me to go to the “giornali” (newspapers). I was in the Trenitalia line and the train to Peschici is run by Gargano transportation and is sold from the man in the newspaper stand. If he would have said calmly and slowly, “I don’t sell those tickets here, you need to buy them over there.” I would have understood, but it took him a couple times to yell and point “giornali” or “giornaleria” before I understood him. I went over there and told the man that we wanted two train tickets to Peschici. An employee of the Gargano transportation was right there getting ready to take off on his bike but he stopped and said that there wasn’t a train to Peschici. I asked if there was a “sciopero” (strike) and he said no. He kept insisting that there wasn’t a train to Peschici and that we’d need to buy a bus ticket. I didn’t understand him well as he spoke too fast for me. I <i>did</i> understand that there was no train to Peschici. Disappointed while holding a train schedule printed out for me by the PaM tourist information saying that there <i>was</i> a train departing at 1:38, I bought the bus tickets.
We had to wait an hour or so for the bus. I thought I had better find a bathroom not knowing how long this bus was going to take us, so I went into a bar outside the train station and told him that I’d like to buy something and use his restroom. I bought a big bottle of water for the journey and thought about the irony of the cycle. Many times I had bought water in exchange for using the restroom.
Finally our bus arrived and off we went. About two hours into our journey I seriously wondered what I was going to do. I really needed another bathroom break. At one point we took a “road” that was so pitted and unpaved it seemed like a cruel joke. Finally at one point the driver stopped and got off the bus. I decided it was now or never. I followed after him and told him that I could not ever recall a time in my life where I had to “fare la pipi” like I do right now. He pointed to two bars across the street and I literally ran while trying to cross my legs at the same time. “Very awkward looking” as I was told by R upon my return.
I run into this bar and I see at least 9 men inside at the bar laughing and having a great time. I ran to the girl behind the bar and repeated my claim of never recalling a time when I had to go, and how I’m on a “pullman” to Peschici! She pointed to the restroom. As I ran, I heard laughter from a few men. It took a while but when I was empty I ran out of there while proclaiming that she is “the best”, and “Dio ti benedica” (God bless you).
By the time I ran back on the bus, R told me that a passenger asked what the problem was and that the driver started to get anxious by looking at his watch, and that’s when he saw me running back.
After a while a young female passenger was beckoned to one of the stops we made. It was really in the middle of nowhere and as the driver spoke to her, she kept shrugging her shoulders. I asked her if she spoke English which she confirmed, and I said that maybe I can help her with translation. I translated for her that she was to wait here for another bus and I told her what the destination will read on the bus. She asked “wait here?” as in “by myself?” I asked the driver what color is the bus and told her. I asked how long before the bus arrived and he said “soon”. She was a Canadian who came to the Gargano Peninsula to volunteer for a triathlon. The driver waited until her bus showed up.
We finally made it to Calenella. The driver got off and I thought we would too, but instead we waited for a while and suddenly some other driver got on. It all started to make sense to me. Calenella is the train stop for Peschici. There is no train that drops you off in Peschici. I knew that from my research. However I believe that the man in the train station at San Severo was telling me that the train doesn’t stop in Peschici but if we take the bus we won’t have to transfer anywhere and will simply be dropped off in Peschici. <b>I can’t stress this enough, from San Severo, do not take the bus to Peschici, instead buy a ticket for the train to Calenella, then take the bus to Peschici</b>. I can’t help but think that if I would have said, “I <i>know</i> it doesn’t stop in Peschici.” that everything would have been fine. A lot finer than riding at least three hours on a bus! The man kept saying that the bus will drop us off in Peschici. However, the train from San Severo to Calenella takes only 1:38. About half the time! Yes, you do need to grab a bus from the train station, but that ride is only about 15-20 minutes to Peschici.
When we got to Peschici I called the B&B to let them know we arrived and the owner was kind enough to send the “governess” to come and get us. She drove a short distance into town and she parked on a street. We followed her quite a ways. We entered the centro storico and the pavement really changed. There are two rows of slippery stones and surrounding the slippery rows they have rocks of all shapes and sizes. The governess was moving quickly, much more quickly than R who was trying to keep up as he schlepped his roller bag past hordes of tourists down the slippery street. We got to the B&B and there was a flight of very steep steps. He wasn’t happy. Then we got in and saw the room and he really got PO’d.
This was the most expensive room of our trip and possibly the worst. It was billed as being full of antiques yet completely restored. Not so much. When we made mention of the price we paid, the governess showed us on her cell phone a message from the owner that they were charging us 144E a night. That’s when we learned that the travel agent took a commission from US TOO! Long story short we didn’t want to stay. The owner’s husband came and said that if we didn’t want to stay, that was fine. He didn’t want anyone to stay who didn’t want to be there. He hand wrote a letter declaring that the TA should give us our money back 100%. He also said that he sent a letter to the TA and asked them to reimburse us. He also said that this was the first and last time he would ever work with a TA, and that it’s better for people to find it online themselves.
We found a table in front of a restaurant that we wanted to dine in later that night. I told R to settle in with his book while I wandered around Peschici sans bags to find us a place for the night. A few steps away I found a B&B and a cute room that we could only have for one night. There were a lot of steep steps up to the room, but it was clean, with a view of the sea and only 60 E for the night. I told her that my husband would really love a place with an elevator. She said it’s all about stairs in Peschici, but she called her friend and asked. Her friend told her about Hotel Peschici, thinking they have an elevator so I said I’d give it a try. It’s outside of the centro storico, but I found it, confirmed it had an elevator, and looked at a room. They had a little balcony with a great view over looking the sea, it was a pretty large room by Italian standards, decor was kind of 80’s but very clean and the bathroom was all tiled with no mildew or anything and was large and clean. I asked how much and when he said 70E, I said I’ll take it. After collecting R and showing him the elevator and room, he was very happy with it. He LOVED the balcony and its view. He loved how quiet it was. Quite the opposite of the centro storico.
After settling in, we got cleaned up and I asked the owner if he’d call and make a reservation for us at <b>Porta di Basso</b>. The man said that we didn’t need one. OKay. We took his word for it and decided to just go over there at around 8 pm. We were fine without the reservation. It was my birthday and I was coming down with a chest cold/infection. I kind of wanted to eat, then come back and get an early nights sleep after hours of traveling and dealing with the memory of a bad room that we ditched, and a grumpy husband.
I learned about this restaurant from a woman I met on Trip Advisor. Back in 2011 when I was looking into Peschici, I wrote to a woman who had left a review of this restaurant and asked her about Peschici. She and I became email buddies. She asked me to bring her greetings to the owner if we went so we did, and I brought “saluti” to the chef/owner from her.
This was by far our most gourmet of all the meals we had. R loved everything about it. They brought us things besides what we had ordered like some tuna and before that some olives and two little hors d'oeuvres. Maybe even more things to try. I don't remember because I didn't write it down. The service was impeccable. We had a waiter and waitress, the chef made the rounds to check on everyone. The waitress gave me a hug when she found out it was my birthday. She was so precious.
We paid 62 E which made this the most expensive place we ate, but for fish/wine people it could easily be much more. We did split a half bottle of organic local wine, and we had some interesting dishes. Mine was a ravioli. This is a restaurant made for a romantic evening and a creative feast. The owner is opening up another restaurant in Miami and we have little doubt that he will succeed.
<b>http://www.portadibasso.it/</b>
In Lecce they have free wi-fi also. Too bad I learned about it today whie trying to find out something else. Our B&B had the worst wi-fi and had I known there was free wi-fi in Piazza Oronzo, it would have really been handy.
<b>http://www.leccecittawireless.it/site/</b>
<b>Peschici</b>
Got a cab to drop us off at the PaM station. BTW, if you’re young, this walk is easily doable on foot from the center of town. Once we got to the station, we got confused with those ramps again. We went down two long ramps with our bags, saw the other set of ramps on the other side and went up them only to realize we were on the other side of the tracks. Back down the ramps we go until we found the stairs in the middle. Too bad every station doesn’t have ramps, even if they only take you half way to the platform. Every time it was move-to-the-next-town day, we’d always think about the items we brought that we could have lived without, making our bags even lighter.
We got to Bari with a two hour wait for our train to San Severo. With tickets in hand, purchased the day before at the travel agency, I decided to talk with the employee who was helping passengers purchase tickets through the self serve machines. I showed him my tickets and he verified that the early train for our destination which was getting ready to depart any minute was full. He suggested that we go to the binario and speak with the <i>capo</i> and ask if there was any room for us. With four minutes to spare before the train departs, we ran to platform 3 using elevators (thank goodness). The conductress radioed her colleague to inquire, then she said to me if we paid 16 more Euro we could climb aboard! We didn’t have a seat assignment so we could potentially get booted out at some point. No worries. We were never asked to leave, it never got full, we had a great conversation with some young people and we found ourselves in San Severo.
I went to the ticket office in the San Severo train station to get the train tickets to Peschici, but the man barked at me, pointed, and said for me to go to the “giornali” (newspapers). I was in the Trenitalia line and the train to Peschici is run by Gargano transportation and is sold from the man in the newspaper stand. If he would have said calmly and slowly, “I don’t sell those tickets here, you need to buy them over there.” I would have understood, but it took him a couple times to yell and point “giornali” or “giornaleria” before I understood him. I went over there and told the man that we wanted two train tickets to Peschici. An employee of the Gargano transportation was right there getting ready to take off on his bike but he stopped and said that there wasn’t a train to Peschici. I asked if there was a “sciopero” (strike) and he said no. He kept insisting that there wasn’t a train to Peschici and that we’d need to buy a bus ticket. I didn’t understand him well as he spoke too fast for me. I <i>did</i> understand that there was no train to Peschici. Disappointed while holding a train schedule printed out for me by the PaM tourist information saying that there <i>was</i> a train departing at 1:38, I bought the bus tickets.
We had to wait an hour or so for the bus. I thought I had better find a bathroom not knowing how long this bus was going to take us, so I went into a bar outside the train station and told him that I’d like to buy something and use his restroom. I bought a big bottle of water for the journey and thought about the irony of the cycle. Many times I had bought water in exchange for using the restroom.
Finally our bus arrived and off we went. About two hours into our journey I seriously wondered what I was going to do. I really needed another bathroom break. At one point we took a “road” that was so pitted and unpaved it seemed like a cruel joke. Finally at one point the driver stopped and got off the bus. I decided it was now or never. I followed after him and told him that I could not ever recall a time in my life where I had to “fare la pipi” like I do right now. He pointed to two bars across the street and I literally ran while trying to cross my legs at the same time. “Very awkward looking” as I was told by R upon my return.
I run into this bar and I see at least 9 men inside at the bar laughing and having a great time. I ran to the girl behind the bar and repeated my claim of never recalling a time when I had to go, and how I’m on a “pullman” to Peschici! She pointed to the restroom. As I ran, I heard laughter from a few men. It took a while but when I was empty I ran out of there while proclaiming that she is “the best”, and “Dio ti benedica” (God bless you).
By the time I ran back on the bus, R told me that a passenger asked what the problem was and that the driver started to get anxious by looking at his watch, and that’s when he saw me running back.
After a while a young female passenger was beckoned to one of the stops we made. It was really in the middle of nowhere and as the driver spoke to her, she kept shrugging her shoulders. I asked her if she spoke English which she confirmed, and I said that maybe I can help her with translation. I translated for her that she was to wait here for another bus and I told her what the destination will read on the bus. She asked “wait here?” as in “by myself?” I asked the driver what color is the bus and told her. I asked how long before the bus arrived and he said “soon”. She was a Canadian who came to the Gargano Peninsula to volunteer for a triathlon. The driver waited until her bus showed up.
We finally made it to Calenella. The driver got off and I thought we would too, but instead we waited for a while and suddenly some other driver got on. It all started to make sense to me. Calenella is the train stop for Peschici. There is no train that drops you off in Peschici. I knew that from my research. However I believe that the man in the train station at San Severo was telling me that the train doesn’t stop in Peschici but if we take the bus we won’t have to transfer anywhere and will simply be dropped off in Peschici. <b>I can’t stress this enough, from San Severo, do not take the bus to Peschici, instead buy a ticket for the train to Calenella, then take the bus to Peschici</b>. I can’t help but think that if I would have said, “I <i>know</i> it doesn’t stop in Peschici.” that everything would have been fine. A lot finer than riding at least three hours on a bus! The man kept saying that the bus will drop us off in Peschici. However, the train from San Severo to Calenella takes only 1:38. About half the time! Yes, you do need to grab a bus from the train station, but that ride is only about 15-20 minutes to Peschici.
When we got to Peschici I called the B&B to let them know we arrived and the owner was kind enough to send the “governess” to come and get us. She drove a short distance into town and she parked on a street. We followed her quite a ways. We entered the centro storico and the pavement really changed. There are two rows of slippery stones and surrounding the slippery rows they have rocks of all shapes and sizes. The governess was moving quickly, much more quickly than R who was trying to keep up as he schlepped his roller bag past hordes of tourists down the slippery street. We got to the B&B and there was a flight of very steep steps. He wasn’t happy. Then we got in and saw the room and he really got PO’d.
This was the most expensive room of our trip and possibly the worst. It was billed as being full of antiques yet completely restored. Not so much. When we made mention of the price we paid, the governess showed us on her cell phone a message from the owner that they were charging us 144E a night. That’s when we learned that the travel agent took a commission from US TOO! Long story short we didn’t want to stay. The owner’s husband came and said that if we didn’t want to stay, that was fine. He didn’t want anyone to stay who didn’t want to be there. He hand wrote a letter declaring that the TA should give us our money back 100%. He also said that he sent a letter to the TA and asked them to reimburse us. He also said that this was the first and last time he would ever work with a TA, and that it’s better for people to find it online themselves.
We found a table in front of a restaurant that we wanted to dine in later that night. I told R to settle in with his book while I wandered around Peschici sans bags to find us a place for the night. A few steps away I found a B&B and a cute room that we could only have for one night. There were a lot of steep steps up to the room, but it was clean, with a view of the sea and only 60 E for the night. I told her that my husband would really love a place with an elevator. She said it’s all about stairs in Peschici, but she called her friend and asked. Her friend told her about Hotel Peschici, thinking they have an elevator so I said I’d give it a try. It’s outside of the centro storico, but I found it, confirmed it had an elevator, and looked at a room. They had a little balcony with a great view over looking the sea, it was a pretty large room by Italian standards, decor was kind of 80’s but very clean and the bathroom was all tiled with no mildew or anything and was large and clean. I asked how much and when he said 70E, I said I’ll take it. After collecting R and showing him the elevator and room, he was very happy with it. He LOVED the balcony and its view. He loved how quiet it was. Quite the opposite of the centro storico.
After settling in, we got cleaned up and I asked the owner if he’d call and make a reservation for us at <b>Porta di Basso</b>. The man said that we didn’t need one. OKay. We took his word for it and decided to just go over there at around 8 pm. We were fine without the reservation. It was my birthday and I was coming down with a chest cold/infection. I kind of wanted to eat, then come back and get an early nights sleep after hours of traveling and dealing with the memory of a bad room that we ditched, and a grumpy husband.
I learned about this restaurant from a woman I met on Trip Advisor. Back in 2011 when I was looking into Peschici, I wrote to a woman who had left a review of this restaurant and asked her about Peschici. She and I became email buddies. She asked me to bring her greetings to the owner if we went so we did, and I brought “saluti” to the chef/owner from her.
This was by far our most gourmet of all the meals we had. R loved everything about it. They brought us things besides what we had ordered like some tuna and before that some olives and two little hors d'oeuvres. Maybe even more things to try. I don't remember because I didn't write it down. The service was impeccable. We had a waiter and waitress, the chef made the rounds to check on everyone. The waitress gave me a hug when she found out it was my birthday. She was so precious.
We paid 62 E which made this the most expensive place we ate, but for fish/wine people it could easily be much more. We did split a half bottle of organic local wine, and we had some interesting dishes. Mine was a ravioli. This is a restaurant made for a romantic evening and a creative feast. The owner is opening up another restaurant in Miami and we have little doubt that he will succeed.
<b>http://www.portadibasso.it/</b>
Jul 21st, 2014, 09:23 AM
#29
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"I stayed and drank my beer and chatted with Gianni who gave me advice about the town, gave me a map, told me about things to see, he asked how I came to speak Italian so well (as did so many people I met) and I told him. He laughed, like everyone else. "
So, how did you?
Continuing to enjoy your report. Sorry your journey to Peschici was so arduous.
So, how did you?
Continuing to enjoy your report. Sorry your journey to Peschici was so arduous.
Jul 21st, 2014, 04:46 PM
#30
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Thank you jmct714. It was a pain in the butt but we ended up staying there 5 nights, so it was definitely worth it.
Back in '94 I rented a video called, "Johnny Stecchino". It was Italy's highest grossing film back in '88 (I think). It's a comedy with Roberto Benigni and his wife, and for some reason I LOVED it. After seeing it I said to myself, "I have <b>got</b> to learn this language!" I think they laugh because they expect me to say that I have Italian ancestors, or lived/studied there, maybe married an Italian, but not because of a funny film.
Back in '94 I rented a video called, "Johnny Stecchino". It was Italy's highest grossing film back in '88 (I think). It's a comedy with Roberto Benigni and his wife, and for some reason I LOVED it. After seeing it I said to myself, "I have <b>got</b> to learn this language!" I think they laugh because they expect me to say that I have Italian ancestors, or lived/studied there, maybe married an Italian, but not because of a funny film.
Jul 22nd, 2014, 07:59 PM
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Thanks so much for this very entertaining and informative report. We too are public transportation travelers and have had many wonderful trips that way. We were having a vacation in Puglia several years ago but only made it to Vieste where I injured my knee so badly we had to return home. I was SO disappointed not be able to continue on to Matera and south, and your report is inspiring me to continue on our aborted trip.
Jul 23rd, 2014, 06:56 AM
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linawood: well bless your heart! You made my day. I sure wish I could go back to the very beginning and draw attention to the fact that this was done with public transportation because a lot of people said that it would be tough to get around and see stuff. But like my fellow public transportation passengers agree, where there's a will there's a way.
Your input has inspired me to get busy and finish up this travelogue.
Your input has inspired me to get busy and finish up this travelogue.
Jul 23rd, 2014, 05:33 PM
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Sunday morning we decided to stay another night since it’s not always easy to get around with public transportation on Sundays. In addition, R. loved the view from the room and the peacefulness of our hotel, and this little town. We went for a walk and loaded up with a fruit/veggie vendor so that I could get some vitamins and minerals in me. I went to Vege Market next to the TI and bought large waters for only .40 each! <b>So</b> much cheaper than at the bars where we had been purchasing water, and I went to a bread place where they had this huge wheel of bread and she cut it into a quarter loaf for only .80! We hung out in the hotel’s patio area outside and ate fruits and bread and read for a while.
We had thought that we’d check out their procession scheduled for tonight. They were honoring their city’s saint that night so we waited by the main church and gabbed, but after two hours we gave up.
Dinner was at the large pizzeria right at the entrance to the Centro Storico. Pizza was just OK, salad was good, and the limoncello was outstanding. It was homemade and frozen. Kind of reminded me of a slushy. Service was really good too, and it was a great spot for people watching. The procession made its way past us into the centro storico, so we got to see it after all. Amazing how we happened upon three cities each at the time of year when they honored their saint.
Sitting there I noticed the very large bar across the street <b>La Terrazza</b> with all of their tables and they had free wi-fi. The wi-fi at our hotel wasn’t working and the hotel computer that was free for guests was so slow with ancient software, it was pointless to sit there while pages tried to load. Watching paint dry is much faster. I spent the weekend without wi-fi and I missed it. I did have 1 GB of data, but I wasn’t sure how many downloads that gave me nor how much I had already used.
The next day was Monday and I wanted to call the owner at the PaM travel agency which sold us the room for 165E that we didn’t take, and ask if he got the message from the B&B owner, and my email, and if he was going to reimburse us. Since the coffee at our hotel wasn’t very good, I suggested that we go to <b>La Terrazza</b> for a nice coffee (delish!) and some catching up on email by using their wi-fi. The owner of the PaM Travel Agency said that he will try to reverse the credit card charge but he won’t know if he is successful until Tuesday, but he agreed to reimburse me. No website for Bar La Terrazza.
<b>Bar La Terrazza with lots of tables right at the entrance to the centro storico</b>
Then we went to the Tourist Information to get needed info on getting a train to Foggia. We knew that we needed to get to Foggia in order to leave that area since our vacation was winding down. The TI lady seemed more bothered than helpful. She told us we could get train tickets from a nearby travel agency. We had three nights to kill before returning to Rome. I had wanted to go to Pescara, but people said there isn’t anything to see. I just really wanted to stick to small towns by the sea since we live in the desert and I love the smell of the sea air and don’t like sweating, and in small towns I figured I had a better chance to continue speaking only Italian. Plus it seemed like Pescara was equidistant from here to Rome. R had been reading Dan Brown’s latest book <i>Inferno</i> which all takes place in Firenze, so we talked about going there for three or four nights.
By now my cold was pretty bad. My voice had been very hoarse for over two full days. R loved Peschici and thought that instead of traveling that we should stay not only Monday night, but Tuesday night too, so that I can try to take it easy and get well. We returned to our hotel and told the man we’d like to stay through Tuesday night. He was happy with that considering the fact that when I had first spoke to him about staying there I had asked to stay only one night. Now we were in it for four.
After relaxing a little we wandered and found a nice little place for lunch called <b>Ristorante da Mario</b>. R had orecchiette with tomato and I had a side of grilled veggies and another side of arugula and tomatoes. The grilled veggies were really good, but a little too salty for my taste (we never cook with salt) They had a nice drizzling of olive oil on top so I just put my large plate of fresh arugula and fresh tomatoes on top of my grilled veggies and stirred it all together to make a really healthy meal. All of the arugula took the edge off of the salty flavor. It was quite perfect, actually.
<b>http://www.enotecadamario.it/peschici/ristorante-tipico/</b>
It was time that we saw the beach in Peschici. Since our hotel would bring people down to the sand and pick them up, we asked if we could go down and see the beach. He took us, and we told him that we would return on foot, so he showed us which set of stairs to take to get back to town. After we took a ton of photos, we walked back up, but mostly we walked along the road instead of all of the stairs. We took more photos as we walked up. Then I saw a flight of stairs I had recognized from having walked past here at lunch. We went up, and the next thing you know we’re smack dab in the centro storico in front of the most popular gelateria, <b>Michel</b>. We were hot and the ice cream was cold and it was a beautiful thing.
<b>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g194848-d3964236-Reviews-Gelateria_Michel-Peschici_Province_of_Foggia_Puglia.html</b>
Then we went for a walk into The Castle in the centro storico. Wow! I didn’t realize that it was dedicated to torture. Very disturbing place. Then we went to the TA and decided that we’d take a day trip on a bus to Vieste the next day while I continued to try to get rid of this cold. We got our bus tickets and also our train tickets from Calenella to Foggia. I wrote down all of the bus times that the bus leaves Peschici for Vieste. The TA girl was very sweet. It's called <b>Agrifoglio Tour</b> and it's on a side street across from the main church. I am referring to the church on the main road, two blocks away (and across the street) from the tourist information building. It sits on a really large brick foundation. There are trees and benches around the church, and stairs that lead up to the church walkway.
<b>http://www.agrifogliotour.it/ Piazza Sant’Antonio, 3 TEL: 0884 962643 </b>
For dinner we walked down <i>a street which is directly in front of the church's main front doors</i> for two blocks until we came to the Corso Garibaldi. Corso Garibaldi is the main drag which I believe is only open for pedestrians. We found a pizza/bruschetta place called <b>Garibaldi</b> on the corner of Corso Garibaldi and this street that I am trying to describe. It is NOT easy finding the <i>name</i> of the eatery. They have a bunch of wooden picnic tables and benches. You will see the words, “Pizzeria”, “Bruschetteria”, “Paposceria”, but the word Garibaldi is on the receipt and in tiny cursive writing on one sign only. I tried to find it online, but the only thing I found was a photo of it with <b>the wrong name!</b> Just walk along the corso with everyone else and you’ll find it. Around the corner from it is a foto studio. Anyhoo we had the BEST most delicious vegetarian bruschetta that filled us up for <b>5.50 Euro each</b>. Freshly grilled veggies alongside a large roll of bread cut in half and grilled with olive oil and sitting on top was a ton of fresh tomatoes and arugula! It filled the plate and was gorgeous with all of those colors. As people walked by, they would stare at our plate and salivate. We got this dish more than once. Here is the photo, but the name is wrong.
<b>http://omnitourist.suggesto.eu/share/-/dettaglio/13634</b>
We celebrated that delicious meal by heading towards the centro storico and stopping just outside the entrance to the old town at the <b>Bar La Terrazza</b> once again but this time we wanted to give their limoncello(s) a try, and enjoy some people watching, and use their wi-fi. The limoncellos were good and packed a punch.
We had thought that we’d check out their procession scheduled for tonight. They were honoring their city’s saint that night so we waited by the main church and gabbed, but after two hours we gave up.
Dinner was at the large pizzeria right at the entrance to the Centro Storico. Pizza was just OK, salad was good, and the limoncello was outstanding. It was homemade and frozen. Kind of reminded me of a slushy. Service was really good too, and it was a great spot for people watching. The procession made its way past us into the centro storico, so we got to see it after all. Amazing how we happened upon three cities each at the time of year when they honored their saint.
Sitting there I noticed the very large bar across the street <b>La Terrazza</b> with all of their tables and they had free wi-fi. The wi-fi at our hotel wasn’t working and the hotel computer that was free for guests was so slow with ancient software, it was pointless to sit there while pages tried to load. Watching paint dry is much faster. I spent the weekend without wi-fi and I missed it. I did have 1 GB of data, but I wasn’t sure how many downloads that gave me nor how much I had already used.
The next day was Monday and I wanted to call the owner at the PaM travel agency which sold us the room for 165E that we didn’t take, and ask if he got the message from the B&B owner, and my email, and if he was going to reimburse us. Since the coffee at our hotel wasn’t very good, I suggested that we go to <b>La Terrazza</b> for a nice coffee (delish!) and some catching up on email by using their wi-fi. The owner of the PaM Travel Agency said that he will try to reverse the credit card charge but he won’t know if he is successful until Tuesday, but he agreed to reimburse me. No website for Bar La Terrazza.
<b>Bar La Terrazza with lots of tables right at the entrance to the centro storico</b>
Then we went to the Tourist Information to get needed info on getting a train to Foggia. We knew that we needed to get to Foggia in order to leave that area since our vacation was winding down. The TI lady seemed more bothered than helpful. She told us we could get train tickets from a nearby travel agency. We had three nights to kill before returning to Rome. I had wanted to go to Pescara, but people said there isn’t anything to see. I just really wanted to stick to small towns by the sea since we live in the desert and I love the smell of the sea air and don’t like sweating, and in small towns I figured I had a better chance to continue speaking only Italian. Plus it seemed like Pescara was equidistant from here to Rome. R had been reading Dan Brown’s latest book <i>Inferno</i> which all takes place in Firenze, so we talked about going there for three or four nights.
By now my cold was pretty bad. My voice had been very hoarse for over two full days. R loved Peschici and thought that instead of traveling that we should stay not only Monday night, but Tuesday night too, so that I can try to take it easy and get well. We returned to our hotel and told the man we’d like to stay through Tuesday night. He was happy with that considering the fact that when I had first spoke to him about staying there I had asked to stay only one night. Now we were in it for four.
After relaxing a little we wandered and found a nice little place for lunch called <b>Ristorante da Mario</b>. R had orecchiette with tomato and I had a side of grilled veggies and another side of arugula and tomatoes. The grilled veggies were really good, but a little too salty for my taste (we never cook with salt) They had a nice drizzling of olive oil on top so I just put my large plate of fresh arugula and fresh tomatoes on top of my grilled veggies and stirred it all together to make a really healthy meal. All of the arugula took the edge off of the salty flavor. It was quite perfect, actually.
<b>http://www.enotecadamario.it/peschici/ristorante-tipico/</b>
It was time that we saw the beach in Peschici. Since our hotel would bring people down to the sand and pick them up, we asked if we could go down and see the beach. He took us, and we told him that we would return on foot, so he showed us which set of stairs to take to get back to town. After we took a ton of photos, we walked back up, but mostly we walked along the road instead of all of the stairs. We took more photos as we walked up. Then I saw a flight of stairs I had recognized from having walked past here at lunch. We went up, and the next thing you know we’re smack dab in the centro storico in front of the most popular gelateria, <b>Michel</b>. We were hot and the ice cream was cold and it was a beautiful thing.
<b>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g194848-d3964236-Reviews-Gelateria_Michel-Peschici_Province_of_Foggia_Puglia.html</b>
Then we went for a walk into The Castle in the centro storico. Wow! I didn’t realize that it was dedicated to torture. Very disturbing place. Then we went to the TA and decided that we’d take a day trip on a bus to Vieste the next day while I continued to try to get rid of this cold. We got our bus tickets and also our train tickets from Calenella to Foggia. I wrote down all of the bus times that the bus leaves Peschici for Vieste. The TA girl was very sweet. It's called <b>Agrifoglio Tour</b> and it's on a side street across from the main church. I am referring to the church on the main road, two blocks away (and across the street) from the tourist information building. It sits on a really large brick foundation. There are trees and benches around the church, and stairs that lead up to the church walkway.
<b>http://www.agrifogliotour.it/ Piazza Sant’Antonio, 3 TEL: 0884 962643 </b>
For dinner we walked down <i>a street which is directly in front of the church's main front doors</i> for two blocks until we came to the Corso Garibaldi. Corso Garibaldi is the main drag which I believe is only open for pedestrians. We found a pizza/bruschetta place called <b>Garibaldi</b> on the corner of Corso Garibaldi and this street that I am trying to describe. It is NOT easy finding the <i>name</i> of the eatery. They have a bunch of wooden picnic tables and benches. You will see the words, “Pizzeria”, “Bruschetteria”, “Paposceria”, but the word Garibaldi is on the receipt and in tiny cursive writing on one sign only. I tried to find it online, but the only thing I found was a photo of it with <b>the wrong name!</b> Just walk along the corso with everyone else and you’ll find it. Around the corner from it is a foto studio. Anyhoo we had the BEST most delicious vegetarian bruschetta that filled us up for <b>5.50 Euro each</b>. Freshly grilled veggies alongside a large roll of bread cut in half and grilled with olive oil and sitting on top was a ton of fresh tomatoes and arugula! It filled the plate and was gorgeous with all of those colors. As people walked by, they would stare at our plate and salivate. We got this dish more than once. Here is the photo, but the name is wrong.
<b>http://omnitourist.suggesto.eu/share/-/dettaglio/13634</b>
We celebrated that delicious meal by heading towards the centro storico and stopping just outside the entrance to the old town at the <b>Bar La Terrazza</b> once again but this time we wanted to give their limoncello(s) a try, and enjoy some people watching, and use their wi-fi. The limoncellos were good and packed a punch.
Jul 23rd, 2014, 07:30 PM
#34
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I really like your detailed info on traveling by public transportation and I wish there were more reports like yours. I know over the years of reading Fodor posts, many people feel that you just can't get off the beaten track without a car, but we have had years of going to out of the way places on buses, trains, boats, cable cars... You might start a new post titled something like Puglia by Public Transportation and link it to this thread with your name? Thanks so much for posting this.
Jul 24th, 2014, 05:53 PM
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Linawood, Hey!! That is a really great idea! When I am done (hopefully this weekend) I think I will do just that. It would help others in that region without a car. As a matter of fact, in the next segment I will be explaining how we waited over an hour for two buses that never came, so we gave up...but if I had known then what I know now, we wouldn't have been left wondering why they had never arrived..
Thank you!
Thank you!
Jul 25th, 2014, 07:05 AM
#36
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I am in the process of reading your trip report from top to bottom. It is so helpful! I am going to Italy in October (starting in Napoli)for a month. I will be relying on public transportation. Do you think it's reasonable to go from Matera to Lecce in a day? I don't want to miss Lecce and thought I would start there and work my way up the Adriatic coast. Grazie mille.
Jul 25th, 2014, 07:18 AM
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Hi jen: Thanks for checking in. we did just that. We got a cab to the train station in Matera (maybe 10-15 euro) then we got our train to Bari, you have to exit the train station and go to the main Trenitalia station in Bari right next door to get your tickets to Lecce. It was easy.
One option is that while you are in Matera, you should be able to get your train tickets at a travel agency. You will at least be able to buy your train ticket from Bari to Lecce from a travel agent. That way when you arrive in Bari from Matera, you will have your ticket in hand and can go and find the Bari Centrale station and look for your "binario" (platform) to Lecce.
One option is that while you are in Matera, you should be able to get your train tickets at a travel agency. You will at least be able to buy your train ticket from Bari to Lecce from a travel agent. That way when you arrive in Bari from Matera, you will have your ticket in hand and can go and find the Bari Centrale station and look for your "binario" (platform) to Lecce.
Jul 27th, 2014, 09:30 AM
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Tuesday was a great day because the owner had someone come in to find out what was wrong with the wi-fi. They fixed it and it ran great! Catching up online, we were running late getting out of the room so we went to the bus stop to catch the 11:05 bus to Vieste. It never came, so we waited for the 12:00 bus, which <i>also</i> never came. The bus stop is next to a bar, so as we waited there in the heat, I asked a patron if he understands the bus schedule and why it is that the bus would not show up. He looked at the schedule and said something about how it is probably late. I showed him that he was looking at the <i>Vieste to Peschici</i> schedule, then I showed him the schedule I was looking at. I directed my finger to the top of the time slot and pointed to the word “fest” and suggested that perhaps it <i>only</i> runs on holidays. No, he thought it was just late. Then the guy inside the bar came out and agreed with the patron. Since I was still obviously sick going through kleenex after kleenex, we gave up, walked back and ate from our stash of veggies and fruits and bread and stuck close to the room watching World Cup soccer. We did go back to <b>Garibaldi</b> for another veggie bruschetta before calling it a night.
The next day still sneezing with watery eyes and a nose running like Niagra Falls, we decided that instead of taking a 45 minute bus ride to Vieste for a day trip, and instead of leaving Peschici for another town for a couple of nights, that we would stay here one more night and then spend four nights in Rome before heading home. At least I got my voice back so I knew the cold was working its way through.
We went back to the TA and gave our round trip Vieste tickets to the owner and asked her to give them to someone who looked like they could use a gift, thinking it would brighten their day. She liked that idea. I asked her about the buses and why they didn’t show and asked if it could have been the word “fest”. Did it mean only on holidays? She confirmed my suspicion. No wonder neither bus showed. As sweet as the girl was who sold me the bus tickets, it’s a shame that as she watched me write down the times of departure that she didn’t mention anything about noting “fest” (signifying “festivo” or “holiday” in Italian) and “feriale” (“weekdays” in Italian). Così è la vita. (That’s life) Oh well, we’ll just have to return to see Vieste some other day.
I haven’t spoken much about our hotel in Peschici. We spent five nights here and enjoyed our stay very much. It was clean, simple, and inexpensive (70E). The breakfast was modest, coffee was so-so, and a stupid dog would start barking at 5 am but remain quiet from 8 am on. There wasn’t any A/C, but they <i>did</i> have a ceiling fan. The fan had two speeds, Off and Tornado...but we <i>really</i> liked staying here! The view of the sea from the balcony was <i>so</i> beautiful. The sunsets were stunning. It was in a quiet neighborhood but very close to the centro storico. R loved the elevator. The owner Tomasso was professional, courteous and very accommodating. The cleaning lady was so sweet. The first time I spoke with her she had such a warm smile, and as we walked back towards our room to grab some towels she put her arm around my waist and walked with me as I spoke to her. So cute!
<b>http://www.hotelpeschici.it/</b>
On the day that the buses to Vieste didn’t show, I had asked Tomasso if there was a taxi which could take us to the train station. Nope. It didn’t exist. I told him how wary I was of relying on the bus so Tomasso was kind enough to offer to take us. I told him I would gladly pay him because I really didn’t want to miss our train, since there aren’t frequent trains out of the area. On Thursday we were ready to depart and Tomasso took us on the 15 minute ride to the station. I had our tickets already having purchased them a couple of days prior at the TA. Tomasso wasn’t expecting any money for the ride, but I told him that we enjoyed our stay so much and we appreciated the ride so very much, and to please let us buy him and his wife a lunch. I think he appreciated having us stay five nights instead of the original one night too. If we return I am <i>sure</i> we would stay with them again.
When we got to the station we immediately struck up a conversation with two of the train employees. One of them drove the train and the other, Gino took the tickets and whatever other duties he had. In any case, it was a lively, fun conversation that lasted at good 15 minutes before we boarded for San Severo-gateway to Foggia--from Peschici. This train ride follows the coast for quite a ways. Every stop looked like a nice outing for the beach. At the Ischitella stop Gino pointed up and said that he has a family home here that he uses every August. Then he said if we ever come back outside the month of August we can use his home because otherwise it sits empty! How about that!
About an hour into our train ride Gino came to us and told us that we would have to get off the train and take a bus into San Severo! Oh no! “No more buses” was my thought---that I said out loud. He assured me that it wasn’t a big deal and that we wouldn’t lose any time and that the time on the bus was equal to what it would have been on the train. He said that they were working on the train tracks for two more days and so the next stop would be the end of the line and a bus would be there waiting for us. Then he gave me his email and phone number so that if we ever find our way back to the Garano we can contact him.
By the time we got to San Severo about a dozen of us grabbed our bags and hurried to see if the train to Foggia had departed. We were a few minutes late as compared to the time we should have arrived. Thank goodness they held the train knowing that a bunch of us were expecting to take it to Foggia.
When we got to Foggia the train to Rome was booked solid. We really wanted that train because it was scheduled to arrive Rome around 5:30 in the evening which would get us into Rome in time to see the US in the World Cup. The next train to Rome wasn’t scheduled until after 5 pm and wouldn’t get us there until after 11 pm! That would not work so our only other option was to take a bus to Napoli and then a train to Rome which would get us in 20 minutes earlier than the train we wanted to take. Ugh! We had 6 minutes to go outside and find the bus and get on board before it left. Thank goodness it wasn’t any big deal. The ticket taker charged me for our tickets from Napoli to Rome, drew me a quick map on where the bus was sitting outside and told me what to look for, “Napoli”. As we exited the train station and looked to the left it was right there. We paid the bus driver and off we went. Two hours later we were in Napoli. We waited maybe 25 minutes in Napoli and we boarded their fast train, and we were in Rome in about an hour. Wow! This fast train is new to us. We hadn't been in Italy in 11 years and were very impressed with the speed (nearly 300 KM per hour) and the train itself was so nice. You can bring your roller bags and tuck them away and out of sight between your seats on the ground, which I hadn't noticed until a passenger showed me. This journey from Gargano to Rome worked out really well for us after all. I realized that I can handle a two hour bus ride easily enough but much more than that and I feel antsy.
The next and final post will be a word about Ostia Antica.
The next day still sneezing with watery eyes and a nose running like Niagra Falls, we decided that instead of taking a 45 minute bus ride to Vieste for a day trip, and instead of leaving Peschici for another town for a couple of nights, that we would stay here one more night and then spend four nights in Rome before heading home. At least I got my voice back so I knew the cold was working its way through.
We went back to the TA and gave our round trip Vieste tickets to the owner and asked her to give them to someone who looked like they could use a gift, thinking it would brighten their day. She liked that idea. I asked her about the buses and why they didn’t show and asked if it could have been the word “fest”. Did it mean only on holidays? She confirmed my suspicion. No wonder neither bus showed. As sweet as the girl was who sold me the bus tickets, it’s a shame that as she watched me write down the times of departure that she didn’t mention anything about noting “fest” (signifying “festivo” or “holiday” in Italian) and “feriale” (“weekdays” in Italian). Così è la vita. (That’s life) Oh well, we’ll just have to return to see Vieste some other day.
I haven’t spoken much about our hotel in Peschici. We spent five nights here and enjoyed our stay very much. It was clean, simple, and inexpensive (70E). The breakfast was modest, coffee was so-so, and a stupid dog would start barking at 5 am but remain quiet from 8 am on. There wasn’t any A/C, but they <i>did</i> have a ceiling fan. The fan had two speeds, Off and Tornado...but we <i>really</i> liked staying here! The view of the sea from the balcony was <i>so</i> beautiful. The sunsets were stunning. It was in a quiet neighborhood but very close to the centro storico. R loved the elevator. The owner Tomasso was professional, courteous and very accommodating. The cleaning lady was so sweet. The first time I spoke with her she had such a warm smile, and as we walked back towards our room to grab some towels she put her arm around my waist and walked with me as I spoke to her. So cute!
<b>http://www.hotelpeschici.it/</b>
On the day that the buses to Vieste didn’t show, I had asked Tomasso if there was a taxi which could take us to the train station. Nope. It didn’t exist. I told him how wary I was of relying on the bus so Tomasso was kind enough to offer to take us. I told him I would gladly pay him because I really didn’t want to miss our train, since there aren’t frequent trains out of the area. On Thursday we were ready to depart and Tomasso took us on the 15 minute ride to the station. I had our tickets already having purchased them a couple of days prior at the TA. Tomasso wasn’t expecting any money for the ride, but I told him that we enjoyed our stay so much and we appreciated the ride so very much, and to please let us buy him and his wife a lunch. I think he appreciated having us stay five nights instead of the original one night too. If we return I am <i>sure</i> we would stay with them again.
When we got to the station we immediately struck up a conversation with two of the train employees. One of them drove the train and the other, Gino took the tickets and whatever other duties he had. In any case, it was a lively, fun conversation that lasted at good 15 minutes before we boarded for San Severo-gateway to Foggia--from Peschici. This train ride follows the coast for quite a ways. Every stop looked like a nice outing for the beach. At the Ischitella stop Gino pointed up and said that he has a family home here that he uses every August. Then he said if we ever come back outside the month of August we can use his home because otherwise it sits empty! How about that!
About an hour into our train ride Gino came to us and told us that we would have to get off the train and take a bus into San Severo! Oh no! “No more buses” was my thought---that I said out loud. He assured me that it wasn’t a big deal and that we wouldn’t lose any time and that the time on the bus was equal to what it would have been on the train. He said that they were working on the train tracks for two more days and so the next stop would be the end of the line and a bus would be there waiting for us. Then he gave me his email and phone number so that if we ever find our way back to the Garano we can contact him.
By the time we got to San Severo about a dozen of us grabbed our bags and hurried to see if the train to Foggia had departed. We were a few minutes late as compared to the time we should have arrived. Thank goodness they held the train knowing that a bunch of us were expecting to take it to Foggia.
When we got to Foggia the train to Rome was booked solid. We really wanted that train because it was scheduled to arrive Rome around 5:30 in the evening which would get us into Rome in time to see the US in the World Cup. The next train to Rome wasn’t scheduled until after 5 pm and wouldn’t get us there until after 11 pm! That would not work so our only other option was to take a bus to Napoli and then a train to Rome which would get us in 20 minutes earlier than the train we wanted to take. Ugh! We had 6 minutes to go outside and find the bus and get on board before it left. Thank goodness it wasn’t any big deal. The ticket taker charged me for our tickets from Napoli to Rome, drew me a quick map on where the bus was sitting outside and told me what to look for, “Napoli”. As we exited the train station and looked to the left it was right there. We paid the bus driver and off we went. Two hours later we were in Napoli. We waited maybe 25 minutes in Napoli and we boarded their fast train, and we were in Rome in about an hour. Wow! This fast train is new to us. We hadn't been in Italy in 11 years and were very impressed with the speed (nearly 300 KM per hour) and the train itself was so nice. You can bring your roller bags and tuck them away and out of sight between your seats on the ground, which I hadn't noticed until a passenger showed me. This journey from Gargano to Rome worked out really well for us after all. I realized that I can handle a two hour bus ride easily enough but much more than that and I feel antsy.
The next and final post will be a word about Ostia Antica.
Jul 28th, 2014, 07:01 AM
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kawh: I am so glad that our adventure brought back good memories for you. (I am assuming they were good, anyway ) I am also really glad that you took time out to watch the incredible Matera film. When we were shown the video, he had some sort of link where the videos were shown to us back-to-back and he clicked the button so we could view it in full screen. To us it was so gripping because we had just taken that long tour learning about the people of the sassi. Our guide Nadia as a child didn't even realize that there were people living in caves under her city! It was her brother that prodded her into going down to have a look. What a fascinating village. I am sure that as more of us go there and come back with photos and stories that Matera will be a "don't miss" destination in the south.
Thanks for your feedback!
) I am also really glad that you took time out to watch the incredible Matera film. When we were shown the video, he had some sort of link where the videos were shown to us back-to-back and he clicked the button so we could view it in full screen. To us it was so gripping because we had just taken that long tour learning about the people of the sassi. Our guide Nadia as a child didn't even realize that there were people living in caves under her city! It was her brother that prodded her into going down to have a look. What a fascinating village. I am sure that as more of us go there and come back with photos and stories that Matera will be a "don't miss" destination in the south. Thanks for your feedback!
