We made the decision earlier in the week, to remain here in Martina Franca for just one more day and will make our way to the airport Hilton in Rome tomorrow instead. It's a long drive but for the most part, it will be Autostrada and we can take our time, let every would-be Mario Andretti zoom past us and we can once again, visit each and every auto stop along the way. Chocolate warning!!!!
When we asked if another night was possible at our fantastic Airbnb, our hostess Mimma told us with regret, that there was another set of guests arriving this evening and so it would not be a possibility. But.......she quickly offered, the "rumpus room" of their large and beautiful home as an alternative. She told us that this is not something that she would ordinarily do, that we are considered to be "special guests" and therefore, their home would become our home and that was all there was to it. So, we are now ensconced in the World's largest "rumpus room", complete with a kitchen and a fireplace that could house a circus-load of clowns. We were told to take full advantage of everything, including the espresso machine and to spend as much time lounging around the property as we care to. And we are. And, it's wonderful. Ahhhhh.
Yesterday, we gave ourselves one, huge treat. Instead of driving and making ourselves pazzo, we actually hired a car from a tour company. Extravagant as it sounds, it was worth every Euro. Our driver extraordinaire, Flavio arrived in a Mercedes minivan after he got lost (phew, we aren't the only ones) and away we went, off to Ostuni. We sat back and relaxed, not a care in the world as this highly skilled and very nice young man drove us through narrow streets and on highways, to our destination. Ostuni. The "White City". Aptly named. Every building is pure white and against a true blue sky, punctuated by absolutely perfect weather, they are breathtaking. Had we not had a driver, we would have been nervous and confused and might have missed out on the lovely opportunity.
Flavio brought us directly to Step Two of this perfect day, our reserved appointment with one of the town's "Tuk Tuk" tour operators. We paid our fee and waited just a few minutes for the arrival of Pietro, our own bold, skilled, fun driver. A Tuk Tuk is a three-wheeled open topped vehicle, probably around 6 feet in length. It's steered with two handle bars, kind of like a bike. And, it's noisy. Almost like riding in a lawn mower. One that goes really fast at times. Up hills, down hills, through very, very narrow streets, around bends and.....well, basically, it's a roller coaster. Not much more. No seat belts, no helmets, just pure trust. Trust, because this guy is really good at driving this strange, tiny truck. It was thrilling, to say the least. Our tour lasted close to an hour. We laughed like children as the tiny engine chugged underneath us and we held on for dear life most of the time. As we drove by Pietro's Nonno's house, we made a stop and got out to meet this charming man. With pride, Pietro explained that Nonno is an artist and that all of the intricately carved wooden objects in his tiny garage were done by his hands. Fatto a mano. Holy cannoli! Never have we ever seen such an incredible display of artistry. His collection includes scaled models of famous places, not the least, the Basilica of St Peter. Pietro, who is 31, thinks Nonno is an old man. He's probably our age! Maybe slightly older. We amused him with our phones. Antique Iphones by his standards.
Following our fun tour, we arrived back at our starting point and bingo....there was our new bff, Flavio! Our minivan awaited us. And, off we went to Step Three.......a nice smooth ride this time (gazillion times faster than we would have done), along a shore route. Not just any shore. We were hugging the Adriatic Sea on a fairly windy day. White caps, two-toned water. White rocks. Who knew this much beauty even existed? First, a stop at the memorial to Polignaro a Mare's, ( a small, beautiful seacoast town near Bari), most famous resident's memorial. Dominco Modungo. You might recall a song called "Volare"? Well, that's what we grew up thinking its name was. It actually was Nel Blu di Pinto de Blu. There's a beautiful statue of him, arms widespread, overlooking the sea in the town's center.
From there, we were whisked away to pranzo (lunch) at a sophisticated seaside spot for a lunch of all things wonderful from the ocean right next door. A bottle of local Savignon Blanc and two very satisfied, happy passengers we again became.
It's really hard to say what has been the best of our times here but when we reminisce one day in the future, surely we will have to say that yesterday, well it probably holds a record.
So, tonight, it's dinner out with the lovely family who have given us the gift of an incredible visit to Martina Franca, to the Casa tra il Trulli clan. Tomorrow, it's white knuckle morning. A trip to the local farmacia for our Covid tests, the green light for our flight home on Saturday.
Let's hope our good fortune continues. We really miss our home and our good friends there!
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