Pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/debstah1/sets/72157626812953348/ - videos will be coming
11:50pm: Woke up just before 8, right after which some fireworks went off. Had a smaller breakfast and met Angelo at 9:30. Set off for Trani a more working-class seaside fishing town with a very important historical significance. The immense cathedral sits right on the water, as does the town's castle. Wandered the historical center a bit, including the gorgeous public park, and the neat bay of a port mostly used for fishing boats. Some of the fisherman were selling their catches right on the waterfront. Angelo showed me a beautiful little ceramic shop where the woman makes everything right there. Trani still has a little Jewish community and many of her ceramics are Jewish themed. I bought a gorgeous mezuzah and a little dish that you grate garlic on. I love buying things in little shops like that where the person who is there is the owner and the person who makess everything.
Then we set off for lunch in Montegrosso at the famous restaurant Antichi Sapori. This tiny little village was built in fascist times because Mussolini wanted farmers to cultivate the surrounding land. Now it's full of gorgeous olive trees, vineyards, and gardens. This restaurant looks unassuming outside, and inside it's a very rustic-themed place. Small, maybe 15-20 tables, Angelo tells me that it books up every day at lunch and dinner and way far in advance. and I can certainly understand why.
We started with the antipasto - like the other day, tons of dishes of things kept coming out. But these were so artfully and skillfully prepared that you could tell a complete expert had lovingly created each one based on what's fresh. Plate after plate came out, from things as simple as toasted bread doused with their amazing home-grown olive oil to purees, homemade salami/sausage, cheese, homemade goat ricotta, multiple kinds of artichoke (served raw) and more.
Aburd that there was even more food, we tried two first courses. the first was a simple artichoke puree with thyme and their olive oil. Impossible to say how good it was. Then a homemade orecchiette pasta, which is very typical to puglia, made out of a different kind of darker wheat that tasted mostly the same just a bit nuttier, dressed simply and equally as delicious. Then came dessert. The dessert I will forever remember. Like the antipasto, it just kept coming on little plates. First a little glass of the most amazing strawberry sorbet you can imagine. Then a piece of sweet ricotta with chocolate chips that's almost hard to describe. Then cakes, sugared almonds, and the best tiramisu you can imagine. Then two homemade digestives - limoncello and one with walnuts, coffee, and licorice. Not really my thing but then came the sweet moscato famous from Trani, which was quite nice. All I can say is, thank god we didn't get meat too.
Perhaps the best part (OK, no, dessert was the best part) was that after the meal diners are invited to walk over to the restaurant's garden where they grow everything they serve in the restaurant. Artichoke plants, herbs, tomatoes, you name it. All gorgeous healthy green plants. Fascinatingly, these little white snails crawl over everything. Apparently it's quite popular to eat them in the summer. But the fact that they adhere themselves to all the plants shows that there are no chemicals being used.
Beyond stuffed, we then headed for Castel del Monte, a famous landmark basically in the middle of nowhere on a hill with gorgeous views of the countryside. Built by Frederick II, everything is octagonal - the castle itself, the inner courtyard, there are 8 towers, and each one of those is octagonal, and there are 8 rooms on each of the two floors. A lot of mysteries surround the castle, but it seems to be that he used it as a place to study and write. Hiked up from the parking, walked around for a while, and hiked back. Unfortunately because the castle had been left deserted for a long time, any and all decorations once housed in the statue were gone and it's now basically empty. there was a modern artist's exhibit and i still will never understand modern art (like people in almost all of the paintings had no arms??)
Came back to the B&B shortly after 6, rested for a few minutes but after hearing all of the commotion outside for the Patron Saint Day I had to go check it out. In the main square, crowds were gathering and a procession was beginning. First was kids around the age of their communion, then several other religious groups and it went on and on including banners/representatives from nearby towns, and the focal point, the statue of San Filippo Neri, the celebrated Saint. First the key to the town got put on him, then he got carried in the procession all throughout town. As he passed by a group, people would cheer and throw flower petals at him. Following him was a marching band. Fascinated by the whole scene, I followed the procession for a while taking some pictures and videos and soaking it all in, and then when I was able, went back to the B&B.
Went out again around 8:30, grabbed a gelato, and started walking down the main street same as last night. The lights are just beautiful so I took a bunch of pictures. Got partway down and the procession was STILL going and the crowds were so bad that I lost the motivation to keep going and turned back. normally I can't stand crowds like this but here people were just out having a nice time with their friends and families, it wasn't a bunch of stupid drunk idiots like similar thing might attract at home.
The band's been going and people have been out and about all night since then. Around 11:15 a huge fireworks show started. Too tired to go try to find it, I opened the bathroom window and could see a lot of it over the buildings. Quite a show. What a great day. Best meal of my life followed by a truly once in a lifetime experience. The people are so fun and friendly here, this is the type of town I could see being really great to live in. just big enough to have what you need, but small and friendly enough to be a nice place.
But now sleep is necessary.
1 comment:
WOW!
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