The last stop, Bari, Italy 22.7.2011.

We spent our last evening in Italy in Bari which is a capital of Apulia. We only had few hours to spend there. Compared to the little villages we had visited before Bari was a real city with proper opening hours and big stores.


We had booked a room from this amazing hotel called Villa Romanazzi. It had a huge garden which was really beautiful and romantic. The hotel was very international. The staff was polite and friendly. The breakfast was good and versatile. There was a chef cooking omelettes, french toast and pancakes.


In the evening we went to the historical centre to have dinner. The old town was quite small but vibrant. Our Italian friend had recommended us a restaurant called Manfredi. It's located in the old town. The Street where the restaurant was located was very beautiful and full of restaurants and bars.

Pauliina chose stuffed aubergines and bruschetta for appetizer and Mirka's choice was Caprese salad. Especially the aubergines were really tasty. For main courses we took pasta because we had had too many risottos already. Pauliina took tomato pasta and Mirka ate fresh linguine pasta with mussels and clams. Desert was wonderful as you can see.

After the dinner we walked around the old town and enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. By accident we found our way to an amazing exhibition at an old church. What a wonderful ending to a adventurous road trip in Italy. Special thank's to our Italian guide! We can sincerely recommend this region of Italy to all of you who are planning a trip to Italy.

Road Trip part IV: Otranto, Apulia, Italy 20.7.2011

From Lecce we continued our road trip to Otranto. Otranto was a really cute little village. There were a lot of different handicraft shops all over the old city. 

There was a Dali exhibition in the castle of Otranto. As huge Dali fans we decided to visit it.

On the first night in Otranto we had dinner in Il Cantico dei Cantici. For appetizer Pauliina chose tuna carpaccio and Mirka had mussels. Both dishes were ok. For mains we both decided to take scampi risotto.

It was tasty but still missing something. What could that be? Hmmm…parmesan cheese. Well, you are never too old to learn new things…It is against the rules to add parmesan to fish or sea food dishes in Italy. After an educative speech from the waiter we still got the cheese and the dish tasted amazing after that! 

After the dinner we felt like having coffee. We ordered cappuccino but that’s the second rule we broke. You can’t drink cappuccino after dinner… Even though Italians don’t obey any rules when they are driving they have very strict rules about food. So, we didn’t get any coffee and had to drink some more red wine ;-)

The second night in Otranto we had dinner in Vico Lopez. Vico Lopez has an amazing terrace under lemon and orange trees. We started our dinner with seafood platter which included octopus, tuna, different kind of fish, mussels etc. Unfortunately it was so dark we couldn't get any good pictures. 

Surprise surprise…. For mains we ordered what else than Scampi risotto and this was the best of them all.

After two amazing dishes there weren’t other option than to taste dessert. And they didn’t let us down. We can really recommend this restaurant for all fish and seafood lovers!

Road trip to Italy part III: Lecce 18.7.2011

 On a hot Monday morning cool Hilton was waiting us in Lecce. The drive to Lecce went fast listening to Italian pop music. This time we didn't dare to confront TomTom. 

Hilton was everything we wanted; nice pool, great breakfast, friendly helpful staff and really nice room. 

Our Italian friend invited us to a sail trip which was a real relief because it was burning hot. We went to Gallipoli by car and got to experience a real Italian way of driving ;). There are no such things as speed limits, rules to wear seat belts and it's almost obligatory to drink and drive. 

We spent the whole day on the sail boat. We got to experience a real Italian way of enjoying hot Summer day. There is definitely something we Finnish can learn about taking it easy from Italians. 

The rescue of our life boat

L'Italiano - Olen suomalainen

Buongiorno Italia che non si spaventa
Con la crema da barba da menta
Con un vestito gessato sul blu
E la moviola la domenica in TV
Buongiorno Italia col caffe' ristretto
Le calze nuove nel primo cassetto
Con la bandiera in tintoria
E una 600 giù di carrozzeria

Hello Italia, joka ei pelkää
Kanssa partavaahtoa Rahapaja
Sinisellä liituraitapuku on
Ja uusintoja televisiossa sunnuntaina
Huomenta kahvia Italia "rajoitettuun
Uusi sukat yläluokka
Kun lippu pesulat
Ja kehon 600 alas

.....this is how it is in the Google-world ;)...

The following day we spent in Lecce. After a relaxing day at the pool we went to dinner to Trattoria Nonna Tetti which is situated in the heart of the historical centre of Lecce. 

a wonderful read wine

On the way back to the hotel we stopped by at this really popular ice cream bar and enjoyed some gelato. 

Alberobello, Apulia, Italy

We spent our first night in Ostuni in this amazing hotel called Hotel Novecento. Hotel Novecento is situated about 1,5 km from the Ostuni Historical centre. We got very warm welcome when we arrived to the Hotel. After the flight and drive from Bari we were really hungry but unfortunately it was siesta time, so everything was closed. But a really nice hotel manager promised us to prepare some small snacks to get us through till dinner. 

The Hotel itself was decorated in a romantic style. It was kind of old fashion and all the rooms had different names and decor. The Pool was great and the garden was really beautiful. We really enjoyed our visit here!

On the way to Noci we stopped in Alberobello, which is famous for its Trulli constructions. It is part of the Unesco World Heritage sites. We had a nice day wandering around Alberobello and admiring the little town. 

The next stop was Grotte di Castellana. We took one and a half hour english guided tour in these limestone caves. The caves are really worth to visit. 

Finally we arrived in Noci where we were sightseeing and had a nice coffee break enjoying Espresso Freddo.

Our main attraction in Noci was a Wine Factory called Cantine Barsento. We tasted different wines and our favourite one was a delicious dessert wine: Malicchia Mapicchia. What a wine! The Staff was really friendly even though they didn't speak english. Fortunately we had our own tourist guide with us! ;-)

For Dinner we went back to Alberobello. For Starters we ate different kind of Italian appetizers for example mushrooms, potatoes, olives, meatballs etc. and also tried traditional Apulian dish Fava Bean Puree and Chicory Greens. As main course we had pasta. 

Fava Bean Puree and Chicory Greens

Tiramisu

On the way back to Ostuni we experienced an exciting adventure with TomTom. TomTom didn't agree with us or another way around ;). The roads were narrow and the night was dark. Fortunately we had blonde hair and full tank of diesel. We got to visit a lot of different olive yards which were really spooky. We got to practice our reversing skills ;). We arrived to the hotel 2.30 am. We don't recommend this particular sightseeing tour to anyone....

Ostuni, Italy

We arrived in Italy on Saturday afternoon. We drove from the Bari Airport to Ostuni which is called the White City and situated about 50 km south from Bari. Ostuni's Old town is built on top of the hill. The old town is a fortress surrounded by walls. There's a great view to the sea. Ostuni has 30 000 inhabitants and it seemed like we were the only North European tourists there. In the old town there were lots of different kind of delicatessen which sold olive oil, different kind of pastas, pastes and Tarallinis.

In the evening we walked to the old town  of Ostuni. The centre was so beautiful and full of happy people. 

We wandered there a few hours before we had dinner. We enjoyed walking the little alleys and admiring the beautiful white houses and flower arrangements. Suddenly we heard some nice music and found this amazing bar called Riccardo Cafe. It was Mojito time!  

Then we were lost in Ostuni - and a little bit drunk too. Fortunally Ostuni is a small village and we got on track soon. We found by accident this really nice restaurant called San Pietro. 

After the bread basket the waiter brought us some Bruschettas.

For Starters we shared gratinated Mussels. This dish is a very traditional in Apulia area. The dish was quite heavy and the portion was huge which suited us well because we were really hungry. We were pleased with the dish.    

For main course we both wanted to have a Risotto. From the menu we chose Scampi Lemon Risotto. The Lemon in the Risotto worked very well and actually was a new experience for us both. The Risotto was fresh and light and tasted good. 

We had already eaten quite a lot but we still wanted to eat some more ;). The Waiter recommended us a traditional Apulia's dessert and we decided to share it. Perhaps we looked hungry because we got two pieces of this wonderful rice chocolate cake....

We drank this wonderful white wine recommended by the waiter. 

The restaurant was quite fancy. They had white table clothes and nice silver but the atmosphere wasn't stiff at all. It was a very affordable restaurant. Service was polite and friendly. We can truly recommend this restaurant. San Pietro


Overall Review: 9

Via Gaspare Petrarolo, 24 Ostuni