So, my new Aussie friend Emma and I made plans to meet up again the week after we met in Polignano a Mare. She had just gotten back from the Amalfi Coast (which is where I am going for my next long trip) and I had just gotten back from southern Italy, which was her next destination. Technically I'm already in southern Italy and there were places that I still wanted to see so I gladly volunteered to meet her in Gallipoli, another city on the west coast just north of where I was in Torre Vado. That ended up being a good decision.
I was supposed to take a train from Bari Central to Lecce, another southern hub city, and then from Lecce to Gallipoli on another rail line. Since it was going to be over an hour to Lecce, I planned on taking the nicer Frecciarossa train with AC, wifi and nicer seats. It was a good plan, but somehow I ended up on the regular TrenItalia regional train. It's a rougher crowd and definitely not as nice of an environment. Usually I take this line within Bari and it's fine for the 10-15 minutes I spend on it, but I definitely don't recommend it for intercity trips. We had to stop in almost every city on the way there, but at least they turned the AC on once we got going. It would have been miserable without it...so that was almost a bad lesson learned instead of just a mental note.
Emma is much braver than me...she's traveling with her phone on airplane mode and just relying on wifi to communicate and make her plans. This system works well for her, but it also created some difficulty for us. She was traveling in from Otranto (where I had been the previous week) and she had booked the B&B for us. We both had each other's train information, the address for the B&B and she was arriving first...so we planned to just meet at where we were staying. I fell in love with the city the second I stepped onto the main road from the train station. It had the same charm as the old towns that I have also loved but it felt more sophisticated. I walked from the train station to the B&B, but the door was locked and no one answered my knock. I had packed as light as I could manage, but I still had a big bag to tote around and I didn't have anything else to do but wander. I figured she had missed her train and she would text me when she got there later.
Is the phrase "waterlust" a thing? Instead of wanderlust? The way I follow bodies of water, a more accurate term for me might be waterlust. I could see the sea in two directions at the end of the crossroads I stood in, and picked one way to head to. I found a cafe next to the water and ordered a drink to wait. I chatted with some locals and got to FaceTime some of my favorite people, all the while enjoying the view, the sun and the drink. I really didn't mind waiting....for the first hour.
I was supposed to take a train from Bari Central to Lecce, another southern hub city, and then from Lecce to Gallipoli on another rail line. Since it was going to be over an hour to Lecce, I planned on taking the nicer Frecciarossa train with AC, wifi and nicer seats. It was a good plan, but somehow I ended up on the regular TrenItalia regional train. It's a rougher crowd and definitely not as nice of an environment. Usually I take this line within Bari and it's fine for the 10-15 minutes I spend on it, but I definitely don't recommend it for intercity trips. We had to stop in almost every city on the way there, but at least they turned the AC on once we got going. It would have been miserable without it...so that was almost a bad lesson learned instead of just a mental note.
Emma is much braver than me...she's traveling with her phone on airplane mode and just relying on wifi to communicate and make her plans. This system works well for her, but it also created some difficulty for us. She was traveling in from Otranto (where I had been the previous week) and she had booked the B&B for us. We both had each other's train information, the address for the B&B and she was arriving first...so we planned to just meet at where we were staying. I fell in love with the city the second I stepped onto the main road from the train station. It had the same charm as the old towns that I have also loved but it felt more sophisticated. I walked from the train station to the B&B, but the door was locked and no one answered my knock. I had packed as light as I could manage, but I still had a big bag to tote around and I didn't have anything else to do but wander. I figured she had missed her train and she would text me when she got there later.
Is the phrase "waterlust" a thing? Instead of wanderlust? The way I follow bodies of water, a more accurate term for me might be waterlust. I could see the sea in two directions at the end of the crossroads I stood in, and picked one way to head to. I found a cafe next to the water and ordered a drink to wait. I chatted with some locals and got to FaceTime some of my favorite people, all the while enjoying the view, the sun and the drink. I really didn't mind waiting....for the first hour.
After an hour, I started getting a little bit concerned. Even the later trains from Otronto should have arrived by then and I needed somewhere to put my bag. I barely knew this girl...maybe she was a flake and was just never going to show up or maybe she had been abducted on her way to meet me. I had no idea, but the old ICU nurse in me (where the worst that can happen always does) started to kick in, assume the worst, prepare for it and make mental plans for spending my time in the city alone.
So I started walking towards the old town. I had been so proud of myself for packing light, but I quickly found that it wasn't light enough. My shoulder was killing me so I sat down on a bench along the water to rest. I was there less than five minutes before Emma herself walked by. The B&B that we were staying in did not actually have wifi as advertised. She had been waiting there for me for hours, not wanting to leave and miss my arrival and had finally set out to find wifi to reach me. Gallipoli is not a small city by any means...for her to be walking along the same promenade by the sea only 5 minutes behind me was pretty funny to both of us. We laughed about how we were both drawn to water like bugs to a light. That was twice in one week for us to unintentionally cross paths.
We dropped off my bag and set out wandering again. The old town center is on a small island connected to the new town by a 17th century bridge. The entire island looks like a castle, with the surrounding sea as it's moat. I think it used to be a trading port. You step off the bridge and it still feels like the other old Italian towns that I have come to know and love, but it has a different aura. It's not as compact and it has a more sophisticated vibe...almost touristy but still a hidden gem. It wasn't crowded, but we were told that in July and August it would be swarmed with crowds of people. We walked the perimeter of the city until we came across a restaurant that used wine barrels for tables next to the ocean with a view of the sunset. So of course we stopped.
So I started walking towards the old town. I had been so proud of myself for packing light, but I quickly found that it wasn't light enough. My shoulder was killing me so I sat down on a bench along the water to rest. I was there less than five minutes before Emma herself walked by. The B&B that we were staying in did not actually have wifi as advertised. She had been waiting there for me for hours, not wanting to leave and miss my arrival and had finally set out to find wifi to reach me. Gallipoli is not a small city by any means...for her to be walking along the same promenade by the sea only 5 minutes behind me was pretty funny to both of us. We laughed about how we were both drawn to water like bugs to a light. That was twice in one week for us to unintentionally cross paths.
We dropped off my bag and set out wandering again. The old town center is on a small island connected to the new town by a 17th century bridge. The entire island looks like a castle, with the surrounding sea as it's moat. I think it used to be a trading port. You step off the bridge and it still feels like the other old Italian towns that I have come to know and love, but it has a different aura. It's not as compact and it has a more sophisticated vibe...almost touristy but still a hidden gem. It wasn't crowded, but we were told that in July and August it would be swarmed with crowds of people. We walked the perimeter of the city until we came across a restaurant that used wine barrels for tables next to the ocean with a view of the sunset. So of course we stopped.
We sat there enjoying the views, aperitifs and appetizers that turned into dinner. We timed it perfectly...we finished just as the sunset view disappeared around the corner. We got to chase the sunset from one side to the next and then down to the beach. The lighting was perfect, and then it was even more perfect so we took way too many pictures. No, seriously, WAY too many pictures. We were both just so captivated with the beauty of the island and the city and the sun and the sea...it was easy to get carried away. La Spiaggia della Purita (the beach) is overlooked by the promenade of restaurants and cafes above, so I'm sure we looked like complete idiots dancing around and taking pictures in the sand. We didn't care though, and I love how the pictures turned out.
We are technically both adults with degrees and careers and responsibilities...but we were having so much fun being kids jumping around on a beach. It reminded me of how I would always play with my cousins in the summer when we were younger. Some of my favorite childhood memories are goofing off on beaches. It's hard to believe that I met Emma only 4 days before this and we are able to be that goofy like we've known each other for years. We literally come from opposite ends of the world and have completely different backgrounds and stories, but we have a lot in common too. I've noticed that a love of traveling can unify anyone...not that I wouldn't have been friends with Emma under other circumstances, but I'm definitely not usually the kind of person that makes travel plans and dances on the beach with people I have just met earlier in the week. All the people I have met have all been very similar and very different to me in one way or another. I guess that's how you grow though...you find people similar enough to relate to, but different enough to learn from.
When the sun finally set on us, we went back to wandering. We had planned on getting dinner but we weren't hungry. We ended up just finding another place by the water to have more wine. We were up too late and ended up walking around town with one of our waiters and his friends. They were all around 20 and they couldn't believe that we were older than them....probably because of the ridiculous show we put on at the beach. But they bought us flowers and pointed us in the right direction for a bakery to get a croissant on our way home.
When the sun finally set on us, we went back to wandering. We had planned on getting dinner but we weren't hungry. We ended up just finding another place by the water to have more wine. We were up too late and ended up walking around town with one of our waiters and his friends. They were all around 20 and they couldn't believe that we were older than them....probably because of the ridiculous show we put on at the beach. But they bought us flowers and pointed us in the right direction for a bakery to get a croissant on our way home.
The next day, we just lounged around on the beach. All day. It was wonderful. We wandered through shops and looked at the scenery. Emma was staying for an extra night but I had to get home...I do work occasionally. So I bought a purple hat and some gelato and went home. It was probably the most fun I have had since I've been in Europe.