We survived party night inTrani!  Almost as good a party as in Tarifa last year. The crowds below our apartment kept the chatting up until at least 3am. Not loud screams or obscenities or ever drunkenness. Just lots of talking and laughing.

We woke to golden sunlight, looking out across the port providing the best wake-me-up there is.

A fairly leisurely start with coffee in a nearby cafe before heading off to find Santa Maria di Siponto.

On our way to the car I did my good deed of the day. We were crossing a small street and a little old lady called to me. I went over to her and she asked me to help her across the road. I gave her my arm and we walked along chatting. I had to bend over to hear her she was so little.

She told me she was 92! Her daughter lived in Milan and she had lived in Trani for 30 years. She talked on and on in Italian and I was tested!  We walked another block together before we thanked me and turned into her apartment. She’d been out shopping – in the heat. What a sweetie.

So we arrived ( finally – as we got  a little lost). Signs here are almost non existent except for signs to the beach or Lido or the buffo mozzarella factory!  This Basilica, Santa Maria, was built in 1117 and had many changes  in fortune over the years. It had been abandoned for many years. Until ……

Recently,  Edoardo Tresoldi created a wire mesh impression of the church  – an artistic interpretation of the Basilica, which was abandoned following a 13th-century earthquake and currently sits on what has become the Archaeological Park of Siponto.

It’s an amazing sight.

He has even created some mesh people,who of course we befriended.

We drove back along the coast and explored the seaside villages and enjoyed the names of the ‘Lido’ (“Lidi?”) scattered along the coast. Everything from Bikini Lido to Ipanema, Fanta, Torre, African. Variety is the key! And the deck chairs and umbrellas, as far as the eye can see.

We arrived back at siesta time and decided to pack! Yes, sadly we go tomorrow. To Bari, then by train to Rome. We have a night there and then poor Steve flies home. Board meetings in Melbourne on Tuesday. I’m going off to Cotignac to visit our friends the Brannocks. Lucky me!

So the travel tales continue.

So this afternoon, after a little shopping, we had our last Trani, Aperol Spritz for me and beer for the boy.

We observed the locals. I feel we are getting to know them! We went to the same bar and saw the same people walking. The Nonno with his grandson. The fisher monger who today was able to get his cart through the little lane. The man with the turned up collar being driven to his restaurant on a Vespa by one of his waiters. The handsome man on a pink bike who stops at the corner to observe and make a call (who to I wonder?). The mamma in the cute Smart Car who drops her daughter to work in the cafe. The teenager who rides the littlest, noisiest bike imaginable. And doesn’t he love the attention! The mother and daughter jogging together. All the nonno and nanna’s walking and sitting along the promenade.

I feel we know them already.

We had our passeggiata and talked about the things we would like to bring home.
I’d love the long paved promenade with all its wooden benches at our beach. Also the stepped stone fence available for people to sit on and watch the world go by.

I’d love for people to turn off the TV and go out walking after dinner. But I wonder where we would walk? To the beach?  But there aren’t many places to sit and see and be seen. We need to embrace the sociable side like the Italians do.

As you can hear in my voice, I love the Italians. Yes,  they can be thoughtless – they throw rubbish out their car window! They push in, in traffic! But they love children. They love eating and they love a chat.

After dinner we strolled and I felt like a piccolo gelato. So we stopped in and I ordered mine. Panecotta. Steve thought he’d have the Cafe Speciale. It was advertised on the board outside. So in his best Italian lubicated with wine and after dinner limoncello he ordered ‘Cafe Speciale’. And got a coffee.

So as I’m writing this I’m listening to the church bells and watching the crowds gather for another night that isn’t a party night. It’s just the usual – people sharing a common space.

Our apartment on the corner – top floor with a balcony over both streets!

So for now – arrivederci!