Enjoyed our night in our trulli, up early, and a coffee was made in the pot on the stove while I went and found some pastries down the street. Had to go to a restaurant for our breakfast (like in Lecce) but we got more that a coffee and croissant – we actually had bacon & eggs! Excellent service – being waited on by three attentive guys that wanted us to come back for a meal (but we were leaving town later in the morning), and we indulged from the buffet with cake, cereal, & yoghurt. Most of the old town streets had developed into an open-air market and we had time to wander around the transformed car parks looking at shoes, clothes, linen and fresh produce. Lots of interesting things to see, and I noticed the fellow (below) arranging the celery, but Wendy didn’t…
Travelled to Bari on the train and bought tickets to Pescara (*note to reader[s] – you should be following our travels on a map or atlas as it will do wonders for your geography) and thought we’d got some window seats but didn’t. Slightly upset because these tickets cost 25 euros each and our compartment had five people in the six seats while two compartments next to us had one each! This was an InterCity train and you get a reserved seat which is where you have to sit. A young guy and also a girl shared our space – they didn’t talk, but we did and once we pulled out our large ‘Rough Guide’ map of Italy we were able to engage with her and chatted about our travels. In Pescara, raced around trying to get off the platforms and had to go down and out & back in again before I could tickets for the next leg while the girls waited on the platform. Not very well sign posted for travellers in a rush. The next train that would get us to Sulmona was in five minutes, so a mad dash back up, and down, & up again, as we had to move across platforms. Had about a minute spare! Just a little bit too exciting – but good to be on the right train. A very scenic ride to Sulmona with the train weaving along a valley and through tunnels and following an elevated roadway.
As we pulled into one of the stops along the way, a young bloke seemed to be loitering behind Maryann who was standing at the window. He seemed to be undecided about something, and as the train pulled to a stop, rushed past us and gave something to a girl behind us, said something, and jumped off the train. He had given her some sort of note (written in rough block letters and finished with ‘CIAO’ (yes, dear reader I did sneak a look over the back of the seat). The girl read quietly and then rang a friend and had a chuckle about it, and then she got off at the next stop. We can only imagine what the note may have said. It was nice that the third train trip for the day wasn’t as crowded as the previous two. A fairly long day on the trains today and a couple more to go before we get all the way up & across Italy to Riomaggiore, the beginning of the Italian Riviera at the Cinque Terra.
Caught the local bus up to town and got off the bus a little too early (someone misunderstood our question) and asked a lady for directions and she turned out to speak very good english. She’d been born in Sulmona and married an Englishman and had come back for a visit because the Pope was coming. Checked into our digs and took a turn around the centro and enjoyed the atmosphere with everybody out doing their stroll. Groups of old men chatting and gesticulating, old ladies on the benches clasping handbags in their laps. Past the fountain, under the ancient aquaduct, and through Piazza Garibaldi with lots of scaffolding and chairs piled up getting ready for a big event. Later we checked out three restaurants on the map before we found one that was open and tried some pasta. I had mine served but the girls were still waiting after I’d finished! Apparently the waiter mixed up the order and a couple on another table got the girl’s cabonaras, and they had to wait while they made up some more. We didn’t find out about this till later though, and were a little annoyed that we paid then 4.50 euros for service and no apology!
