We woke to an unpleasant surprise - the toilet wouldn't flush. Hmm - it was one of those modern toilets where the entire works are hidden in the wall. I took off the cover plate, but I couldn't solve the problem - the tank wouldn't fill. We went down to breakfast at 8.45, and found we were the only guests. The owner of Il Casale, a dour, balding, grey-haired man apparently in his fifties, brought us croissants. We told him about the problem in our room. After bringing us our coffee and tea, he disappeared without comment, presumably to fix the toilet. Shortly thereafter he came back down, and to our dismay he started making phone calls - obviously the problem was beyond his ability to fix.
Hoping for the best, we drove to Polignano to take the train to Bari. We were in plenty of time, and after deciphering the faded Italian writing on the elderly ticket machines we bought two round trip tickets. Since we still had time, I decided to look for a newspaper - an Italian one would do, I had no hopes of finding a German or English paper in this small town. But within a three block radius of the train station there was no newspaper to be found. Throughout our trip it was not always easy finding newspapers and books, leading me to believe that Puglians perhaps don't read much.
The train was on time, clean, and virtually empty. After the thirty minute trip we walked towards Bari's old town. Bari, the capital of the region, is an interesting working Italian city with 350,000 inhabitants. It's not in the least touristy. Weddings were happening in both the big cathedrals - throughout our trip it seemed that weddings were almost continuously going on in the churches and basilicas. We walked around, looking in vain for a cafe with a great view in the old town. We ended up sitting down at a rather industrial cafe near the harbor for a cappuccino and to read the papers we scored in Bari.
We went to a salumeria (a butcher specializing in sausages and salami) and they made us a great sandwich with cheese and spicy salami, we found tomatoes and plums in a tiny market. We walked some more, drank a bottle of beer in the shade, bought Anja a new summer dress, walked to the park, ate some fruit (tomatoes great, plums watery), bought a gelato (just for John; Anja was trying to watch her weight). Here are a few shots from Bari:
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We took the train back to Polignano and drove to Il Casale. With relief we noted that the toilet was fixed! After some time at the swimming pool
and a jog through the narrow lanes and olive groves, we decided to drive to the nearby town Conversano, which according to our guide books was scenic and had good restaurants. It was moderately attractive, 
but the restaurants all opened at 8:30 PM. It was a quarter to 8, we'e already seen most of the town, and it was getting cold. We decided to drive back to our albergo and dine there. The dinner was excellent and reasonably priced, though the portions were huge for a late dinner. The albergo was again noisy till 2 AM or so - there was some kind of dance going on. We slept till 9 the next morning.
Hoping for the best, we drove to Polignano to take the train to Bari. We were in plenty of time, and after deciphering the faded Italian writing on the elderly ticket machines we bought two round trip tickets. Since we still had time, I decided to look for a newspaper - an Italian one would do, I had no hopes of finding a German or English paper in this small town. But within a three block radius of the train station there was no newspaper to be found. Throughout our trip it was not always easy finding newspapers and books, leading me to believe that Puglians perhaps don't read much.
The train was on time, clean, and virtually empty. After the thirty minute trip we walked towards Bari's old town. Bari, the capital of the region, is an interesting working Italian city with 350,000 inhabitants. It's not in the least touristy. Weddings were happening in both the big cathedrals - throughout our trip it seemed that weddings were almost continuously going on in the churches and basilicas. We walked around, looking in vain for a cafe with a great view in the old town. We ended up sitting down at a rather industrial cafe near the harbor for a cappuccino and to read the papers we scored in Bari.
We went to a salumeria (a butcher specializing in sausages and salami) and they made us a great sandwich with cheese and spicy salami, we found tomatoes and plums in a tiny market. We walked some more, drank a bottle of beer in the shade, bought Anja a new summer dress, walked to the park, ate some fruit (tomatoes great, plums watery), bought a gelato (just for John; Anja was trying to watch her weight). Here are a few shots from Bari:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
We took the train back to Polignano and drove to Il Casale. With relief we noted that the toilet was fixed! After some time at the swimming pool
and a jog through the narrow lanes and olive groves, we decided to drive to the nearby town Conversano, which according to our guide books was scenic and had good restaurants. It was moderately attractive, 
but the restaurants all opened at 8:30 PM. It was a quarter to 8, we'e already seen most of the town, and it was getting cold. We decided to drive back to our albergo and dine there. The dinner was excellent and reasonably priced, though the portions were huge for a late dinner. The albergo was again noisy till 2 AM or so - there was some kind of dance going on. We slept till 9 the next morning.
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