Volare!

 The mental image of putting the key into the big wooden door at the entrance to the Palazzo Spagnoli once again, kept me going through a long, long and exhausting day of travel back to Assisi from Puglia. 

We spent our final day with Mimma and her daughter Fausta, touring the city of Polignano a Mare. First of all, as mentioned in previous posts, small Puglian towns such as Martina Franca, have small, narrow roads that go on for miles and miles. They were built for horses, not horse powered vehicles and they are just about wide enough for one of those vehicles. Yet, they are two-way. Next, people who were born and raised in small Puglian towns, have been driving these roads almost exclusively, all of their lives and they drive very, very, very fast. They are issued some type of license when they are a mere fifteen years old. Fausta, now almost seventeen, explained that this early entry into the driving world has lots of strings attached. The car must be a step up from a motor scooter, as in "Smart Car". Kind of the size that you can drive into your bedroom and plug into the nightstand over night. For the first year, you may only have one passenger. The next, three are allowed in one car at a time. And then, finally, when you turn eighteen, you may drive a "real" car and have all the people you want in it. Seat belts are only required in the front so, the back belts are never used and are difficult to use if you are an American who is petrified. It's like they haven't been broken in yet. But, the car owners will just tell you "oh, don't worry, they are not required" and everyone moves on. We broke them in. It was either find a way or jump out. 

After safely arriving at our beautiful destination, we toured the city. Built upon cliffs, it is one of the most picturesque of the small cities and the views of the Adriatic are commanding. The water color is true turquoise and it's hard to not stop and stare. A cliff walk wraps around the area like ribbon on a birthday present. Imagine how lovely the restaurants are there.....what a setting for a fantastic seafood meal or aperitivo. There's another big feature in Polignano and this one forms an earworm very quickly. We know him as a "One Tune Wonder", the residents of Puglia, as a hero to the song world. His name is Domenico Modugno and his 1958 hit song, "Volare".  There's a whole plaza dedicated to him, a huge statue with outstretched arms and sets of stone seating with the words to the song inscribed in full view. Naturally, everyone becomes a singer.  It's too hard to resist. 

More tomorrow about our family dinner and then the trip back here.  It's a long story.

O. O.