Kathleen and I checked out at Barletta, picked up the hire car and drove to Matera. The first nice thing was that the couple who run the B&B gave us a lift to Europcar, saving us the taxi fare. Second the hire car was a Fiat 500 which although it is not glamerous it is easy to drive, with intuitive controls, Airplay etc. so absolutely no issues with it. We took the secondary road route to Matera rather than just blasting down the autostrada. The journey started with the mix of olives and grapes that dominates the plains of Puglia but then slowly changed to the rolling wheatfields which are more common in the higher parts of Puglia and Basilicata. Absolutely no issues with the route or driving until we got into Matera where it turned into a bumper to bumper zoo. The last km took quite a while but the parking garage was efficient and the van soon delivered us to the hotel (well at least as close as you can get in a vehicle).
Saw Pam and then bumped into Julie so we all sat down to a light lunch. After that we went our separate ways as we monitored the progress of the two riders. They were doing about 50% riding and 50% stopping so another long day in the saddle...
I did my washing, went for a short walk. The number of tourists seems to be similar to last time I was here. It will soon be time for aperitivo!
Aperitivo coincided with the arrival of the cyclists, so after we helped them settle in we had a couple of beers and then a delightful meal at Bistro Keiv. Really good food and wine! Chris and Keith had not been all that impressed with the township of Lavello, but it appears that they know how to make a good Aglianico!
Looks rather ancient.
ReplyDeleteHow are the boys bums holding up?
Or shouldn't I ask about boys bums.
It is said to be the longest continuously inhabited urban settlement in the world.
Delete