Buongiorno! and welcome again to “When Wine Calls” as we head into the final days of our road trip through Puglia.
In the last blog I mentioned that after leaving Masseria il Frantoio we were heading to our next stop with a high degree of anticipation. But on the way we wanted to call into the wonderful coastal town of Monopoli with its whitewashed buildings and an Old Town ringed by a surrounding wall leading right up to the waters edge.
It had a quaint harbour with old open boats bobbing up and down in the gentle blue waters as well as the usual restaurants and bars overlooking the Adriatic that provided the most picturesque backdrop. The luxurious vessels moored off the town were amazing and would become a more dominant feature of this part of the Puglian coastline as we headed northwards. It was a town worthwhile calling into and if we had more time would be great for an overnight stop to appreciate the atmosphere of this “town by the sea” at night.
However, we were excited to get to our next stop so as soon as we received word that our apartment was ready, we were in the car and driving the short distance north to the famous Polignano a Mare. We had always wanted to visit this town and had booked an apartment that had great reviews and appeared to be located close to the Old Town and importantly had a washing machine to catch up on our washing from our last apartment stop way back in Bari prior to commencing our road trip.
We had been warned by the apartment owner prior that we would be unlikely to get parking in the extremely thin street and would need to park the car near the railway station about 5 minutes’ walk away. However, as we drove into the street and located the apartment number, we noted that through sheer luck there was a small parking space across from the apartment that we could get the car into..
It didn’t seem possible, so we took a picture of the car in the space and sent it through to the owner and asked if it was OK to park the car there. They came back amazed that we had found the space and simply said “you have struck it lucky, don’t move it during your stay” and we didn’t.
The apartment was perfect for our needs and so close to the restaurant strip, the Old Town, and the famous beach Lama Monachile.
We could not believe we had nailed it so well, so got the washing happening and then immediately headed out to explore this famous town walking through the roman arch Arco Marchesale and inside the Centro Storico old town precinct with its beautiful alleyways and stunning cliff top views,
then strolled to the famous postcard stop of Ponte Borbonico, the roman bridge that looks down on the famous Lama Monachile Beach and watched swimmers diving off the cliff faces into the crystal-clear Adriatic – we were so excited to be part of the wonderful atmosphere created at this famous landmark as the sun started to set and the town really comes alive.
We finished the day off with a wonderful seafood dinner enjoyed with a bottle of local wine (of course). We have tasted such a large variety of wines on our trip through Puglia and for the most part they have all been fantastic and provided us with an enhanced appreciation for these local wines.
The next morning, we were up early as we had booked a speed boat trip to visit the grottos off the coast. Prior to departing we went around the corner from the apartment to a small square where this quaint family run café was located and using the voucher providing by the apartment owner were able to get cappuccinos and croissants at no cost – what a great touch by the apartment owner to offer these vouchers as part of your rental.
We walked down to the meeting point near the famous Domenico Modugno Statue and after catching a bus down to the wharf, we boarded the speedboat. I was concerned that Pauline would not fare well with the swell but like a trooper that she is we had several hours on the boat with a family from Sicily,
as we explored the various grottos and travelled inside some of the well-known ones such as Grotto Azzurra (Blue Cave) and Grotta soprannominata “degil innamorti” (now renamed the grotto for lovers). At the end of the trip the boat anchored in a small cove and the skipper pulled a bottle of prosecco out of the ice chest for us to enjoy (the prosecco’s served in Italy are all very good), then it was over the side of the boat for a swim to finish off the trip – a must do trip to experience if you travel here.
The most exciting part of our visit to Polignano a Mare and one we had been waiting so long to experience was dinner that evening at the famed Grotto Palazzese.
This restaurant is located inside a grotto on a cliff face with the ocean entering the grotto underneath the restaurant floor. It is difficult to describe how unique and beautiful this restaurant is and while we took many, many pictures, as did every other guest there that evening, the visual reality is so much more when you are there.
The restaurant has a strict dress code that you are advised about multiple times prior to arriving so it was interesting that when we arrived two couples were there with the two men wearing shorts. The “maitre d” was making it very clear to them that they would not be allowed in and then excused herself and went over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out two pairs of dark blue trousers and showed them to a dressing room to change. One of them was certainly not impressed with having to change but after stern words from his partner reluctantly accepted that it was the only way they were going to get to dinner – an amazing start to the evening and something I had not seen before.
Pauline was always hopeful (wishful thinking actually) that we when we arrived, we would get a front row table at the cliff edge, but those tables are reserved for quests staying at the hotel above the grotto which comes with a significant price point.
Nevertheless, we ended up with a good table position and as the night proceeded those sitting at the front tables left and we were able to take a picture at the front of the grotto in any event. The food by the way was predominantly set menus and seeing you are paying for the experience it was pricey, as expected, compared to other restaurants we have eaten at on this trip, but it was certainly a once in a lifetime event and well worth it albeit I will have to speak to the bank manager when I get back.
We had originally booked to stay at Polignano a Mare for 3 nights but due to a change in the ferry schedule from Bari we needed to leave the next day in the afternoon to make the connection.
We therefore got up early the next morning so we could ensure we had a swim at Lama Monachile prior to leaving. It is an extremely rocky beach with no sand and large rocks all the way out to the water and beyond. Amongst the crowd we managed to find a small portion of beach and after observing others decided to walk out to the water in our thongs then turn onto our backs and reverse out to deeper water.
After falling several times, we made it out but we felt like beached whales on the way back in and fortunately there was no one there we knew to observe our awkwardness – you certainly will not see any pictures here of our efforts. We certainly cursed that we had not brought water shoes with us, and the thongs did not work that well on the rocks. While I wouldnt rate it as the best beach in the world at least we can say that we swam in one of the most famous.
A quick lunch at a bar we had found the previous day overlooking the crystal blue Adriatic where they serve a great fresh tuna salad with Aperol’s and then it was back to the apartment, pack up and into the car to head up to Bari Airport to drop the car off, catch a taxi to the Ferry terminal and check in prior to the cut-off time. All went well with the logistics until we remembered that we had to fill the car up prior to dropping it off and therefore had to deal with the bowser issue in Italian I have spoken about previously.
We didn’t have the time to deal with the translation issues again given it was a different brand of service station but luckily the person at the service station, being so close to the airport, was clearly familiar with hire car customers filling up here and having issues so he was standing at the bowsers ready to assist – a great relief. We were soon on our way again to the airport.
After dropping the car off we hopped into a taxi and headed for the Ferry Terminal located back in town to check in for our overnight ferry to Split in Croatia/. Unfortunately, our driver thought he was in a car rally and no other cars or trucks were on the road, weaving his way through anything or anyone in front of him with no thought of stopping – we made it to the terminal in record time, but a bit shaken up.
In booking the overnight ferry we had been clearly told that check in was at 4pm with last check in 6pm and the ferry departing at 9pm arriving in Split at 7am the next day. What we were not told was that there is no bars or restaurants at the terminal and that boarding was not until 7.30pm. We had ensured we arrived at the terminal at 4pm when check in opened expecting a long queue and found only four persons ahead of us – all that rushing from Polignano a Mare for nothing as it turned out, but we will know for next time.
We eventually sighted some small umbrellas in a car park area on the opposite dock so we went over, bags in tow, and found that they served at least Aperol’s and some nibbles, but I certainly would not recommend anyone go there. The problem at the ferry terminal is you cannot leave your bags anywhere to go back to the Old Town to eat at the many restaurants we had discovered when we stayed in Bari a few weeks previously, so if we ever did the ferry again, we would eat first in the Old Town (with our bags) and then do the walk around to the terminal and arrive later for check-in although it is a sizeable walk – you may want to consider that approach for yourselves if you are planning on travelling to Croatia this way.
We finally boarded the ferry heading for Split and made our way to our cabin.
For me it was like we had been transported back to the 80’s when I had caught a ferry from Brindisi to Corfu all those years ago with the cabin consisting of bunks with an ensuite having a shower head located over the toilet. We opted out from showering during the overnight crossing. We should have opted out of the breakfast in the morning also in hindsight given how early we had to get up for it prior to docking.
After leaving port we sat on the upper deck and watched a magnificent dark orange sunset drinking Croatian wine for the first time as the city lights faded in the background. Then this amazing deep yellow full moon slowly emerged above the horizon in the opposite part of the sky and gave out this incredible beam of light across the water in front of us. It was such a great sight and since it was so mild, we sat up on the deck until late mesmerised by the view, a lot better than the alternative of heading down to the bunks.
On arrival at Split (at the unenviable time of 6.45am) we contacted the driver that was picking us up to take us to Dubrovnik (about 3 hours’ drive) and when we hopped into the car we immediately requested that he find us a decent coffee stop as soon as possible although it turned out be an hour away by the time we were sipping a really good cappuccino in this magnificent location along the highway overlooking a winery and a view over the islands along the Croatian coastline – it had certainly been worth the wait though.
Well, we have now arrived in Dubrovnik in Croatia on the next leg of our “When Wine Calls” adventure after a fabulous time in Italy but we will certainly be back. Looking forward to telling you all about our travels through this amazing country with so much history and unbelievable scenery, until then “Dovidenja” from Croatia.
Bruce and Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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