Our last morning in Naples was certainly more relaxed than the prior seven. With no activities planned until noon, we got to sleep in until 8am, had our last hotel breakfast and checked out. One last stroll down via Toledo turned up some interesting sights –
a Burger King, an announcement for a new KFC, and some interesting street art that you probably would never see in the USA.
We returned back to the hotel to meet our travel companions- we are a group of 13 women and 2 (token) males, many of whom (not us, though) had traveled together before. Ironically, there were two women who had been on our Rick Steves Sicily tour in 2019!
After the obligatory meet-and-greet, we shared a simple lunch of insalata caprese, prosciutto and mozzarella di bufala and mixed salad. Then we piled on our minibus for a five hour ride to Puglia, the “heel” of the Italian boot. We drove through the Appenine mountain range, passing agricultural fields and windmill farms. We arrived at our destination, Masseria Provenzani, an agriturismo near Lecce, at sunset. It is located down a country road amidst olive groves. A clowder of 9 kittens was our welcome committee to this rustic 16th century manor house that gas been converted to a guest house. We didn’t have time to explore as it was dark and we were to have dinner in a short while.
The rooms are all different- we actually have an apartment with a kitchenette, sitting area and bathroom on the first floor and loft bedroom.
Our dinner was a simple minestrone, roasted chicken and potatoes, a cabbage and sausage casserole and tangerines for dessert- a welcome change from the multi-course meals of the past week.
The itinerary for rest of the week will be a surprise. Stay tuned!
Camino Musings 