Onomastico, Giovinazzo, Molfetta, Biscèglie, Trani, Santo Spirito
It’s my name day! Buon Onomastico a me e tutti Caterina!
Today we celebrate by visiting the little pocket towns along the coast.
The first stop—and it was my favorite of them all—is an overwhelmingly charming seafront town called Giovinazzo.
We got out of the car, started walking along the sea, and I noticed two women staring into the shallows. My curiosity got the better of me, so I clambered down the rocks to look. Nothing? I finally asked them what is the attraction here, and the daughter explained her mom just likes watching the little fish, the swirls in the water, and the changing colors. I said I understand that; it’s a world of its own, moving beneath the surface. Gotham City. Brava, the mom said. So we spent some time talking, learning mostly that these two women truly love their town. I can see why.
Having explored Giovinazzo for over a couple of hours, and it wasn’t yet 11:30, we decided to move up the coast to Molfetta.
Wow! Crowded! What’s going on here? And, more importantly, where might we park?
As it turns out, there was some sort of race, a 5K or something, and streets were blocked off and temporary festival-type structures were set up for the event. Oh; and there were a few weddings going on.
So Molfetta may have had more charm than we were able to notice, but we made a good loop around and were able to appreciate this coastal town as well. Giovinazzo was simply more serene today.
As a final coastal stop, and where we planned to dine, was in Trani. Trani revisited. We didn’t spend a ton of time seeing things there last time. And, Nicola said we had to check out where he was baptized, the Templar church. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we saw it only from the outside.
We grabbed a bite to eat along the sea. It wasn’t a mind blowing meal, but it was good. I had a seafood riff on Amatriciana, and Joe had salmon. The wine was local (bottled) and good. Joe had an incredible amaro afterward; I tried it and also loved it.
We then walked through the town to say goodbye to Trani, and go to the car.
Coming back to Santo Spirito, we made a pit stop before going to the B&B. Time for gelato. We got out of the car and walked to the main square, where someone was yelling to us.
It was Anna. From Da Giacomo.
We hung out with her for a little while as she waited for her 16-year-old daughter, then bid our goodbyes, with a promise to come back.
Back at the B&B, a rest, some blog writing, and a freshen up, before grabbing a casual bite for dinner.
We decided to take (@B&B) Nicolò’s advice, and get some “pucce”—casual pocket street food—for dinner. We drove, as it was drizzling when we set out, but the rain quickly dissipated.
First stop, a drink at Ghiaccio Bollente (literally, “boiled ice”), a cute bar/gelateria. Next, the puccereria we’ve been longing to try.
I love seafood, but seeing the porchetta d’Ariccia started my salivary glands watering. We stood outside in line, waiting to order at this popular place. After ordering, I noticed a table clearing and asked if we could nab it. Score! We squeezed ourselves in amongst the sardine-packed throng, and waited for our food to arrive. We got our drinks right away.
The porchetta is cooked in the wood burning pizza oven and oh my dear lord… I had to remind myself to slow down and chew. I think I’ll remember this pucce as one of those moments flashing before my eyes right before I die. Wowwwww. I’d fly back here again just for this meal.
We saw a long-haired (rare in the land of the well groomed) guy waiting for his food; he reminded both of us of my niece’s friend Leo, who we met at her wedding.
Yummmm. That was a great end to a beautiful day. Time to go dream about that pucce I just had and see where the storyline takes me.
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