Heel of the Boot

We are now fast approaching the end of our stay here in Ostuni (pictured right). Again, we've had a lovely time - three weeks is an excellent length of stay to ensure that you really get a feel for the place that you're staying in.

Unlike Crete, Ostuni has been much more of a city break, albeit a quaint medieval city - we've had shops and services all within walking distance - so in theory have been less reliant on our car.

The town has been particularly lively, but this is because it's August and bang smack in the middle of the peak summer holiday period - meaning lots of people, wether it be in the town proper, or at any of the surrounding beaches - more on them later.

As it is peak holiday season, the central square in town has been transformed into a temporary stage - and every night bands or staged performances take place to entertain the crowds - all very interesting and not something we've witnessed in Italy before.

I suspect the reason we've not seen it before, is because we've always taken the advice of all the travel guides, and avoided travelling to Italy in August - now I'm starting to wonder if that was the best idea? Sure, it's very busy and I can only imagine the places that are more pure beach resort are heaving, but the atmosphere around town is excellent, and there is entertainment every night - it's a bit of a trade off, but it's certainly not been unbearable.

We have been making our way down to the local beach at least every other day. Milly is a proper little beach bunny now and loves to spend time playing in the sand or the shallow water.

The beach that we tend to go to the most has a car park near the road, and then a little train service that runs people backward and forward to the beach. The rides on the train are a real highlight for Milly, to the point that when she's asked if she'd like to go to the beach, she responds: "Come on mum, dad. Train!"

The weather when we first arrived was blisteringly hot, much like when we were travelling through mainland Greece - but it cooled a little the second week and now it's settled into a pleasant 30ish degrees every day.

The second week even brought a little rain, which we'd not seen for a while - we took the opportunity to go on day trips whilst the weather wasn't as nice, and have explored much of Puglia, or the "Heel of the Boot" as it's sometimes known - due to it's appearance on the map.

Our travels have taken us to Lecce, Monopoli, Albarobello, Gallipoli (not the one in Turkey) and Matera.

Milly particularly enjoyed Matera, an ancient city where the dwellings are carved into the rock along two ravines. What was it that she enjoyed you ask? Was it the awesome outlook, or the ancient history, or the good food? No, it was the thousands of steps winding their way up and down the place, which she happily stamped up and down for hours whilst mummy and daddy were looking around.

Speaking of food, the eating here as been excellent - unlike in Greece, we've predominantly eaten at home - this is because all the local cheese, bread, fish and produce stores stock all weird and wacky italian food that you'd either not find in a UK supermarket, or it would be prohibitively expensive.

The problem now is that we only have four meals remaining until we go, and we still have a list of things we'd like to make as long as your arm. We're considering inserting another meal into the day - perhaps between lunch and tea (I do like to eat lunch early, so there is a large gap) to ensure we can squeeze in another couple of dishes?

The good food is also having a somewhat adverse affect on my waistline, if we continue eating as we have been - I'm going to have to consider purchasing new trousers.... oh dear, diet in Galicia? My understanding is that the food is excellent there as well - whatever will I do!

We've been going down to the play area in the nearby park, and Milly is starting to socialise with the other children a little - but her best friends are still Mickey and Minnie. We have a couple of small Mickey and Minnie toys, and she plays with them for hours on end.

Also, this being Italy, Mickey and Minnie are everywhere - either on peoples shirts, or ballons, or on comic books in stores - you can't get away from them.

The other day, we were going out to get a gelato from the local store - we coaxed Milly out of the apartment by asking her if she'd like an ice cream - the response was pretty emphatic and moments later we were on the street walking towards the local gelateria.

As we walked along the road, Milly noticed an inflatable Mickey and Minnie in a shop window: "Look dad, Mickey and Minnie" she said.

"Oh Yeah" I said, "We'd better go get that ice cream though, ay?"

"Bye Mickey, Bye Minnie - ice cream!" she said, very cute :-)

On Saturday, we need to pack the car once more, and then we're off on our next road trip - having spent three weeks here, we're all looking forward to getting out on the road again.

Our travels will take us North through Italy to Milan, then west through the Cote d'Azur in France and then along the north coast of Spain to our next long term stop in Galicia - lots of adventures to had along the way, we can't wait.

Finally, for those that are interested in some of the places we've been visiting, or some of the food we've been eating - I suggest checking out Claire's blog and also taking a look at her flickr photostream.

Trip in numbers:

Miles since N15: 4308.2

Length of beard: 2.5cm