Puglia - Daunia in September - Manfredonia to Trani

We get off to a slow start, packing, cleaning, loading the car. The owners have said we can check out at midday but arrive at 11 proclaiming they have no intention of hurrying us along, but nevertheless......We finish off our snack lunch quickly. It's good to be off, leaving behind the vicious mosquitoes and the sweet but highly invasive black cat. It's a relaxed drive to Margherita di Savoia where we pay one euro for an hour's parking and sit down at one of the tables outside Bar Fiamma to finish our lunch. I don't usually eat ice cream but I do here. It's special. I choose chocolate with pears and ginger, white chocolate with something caramelized and the best of all, sublime, ricotta con vincotto e fichi. Oh, yes, with whipped cream and waiter service followed by cappuccino for me and caffè lungo for Andrea. Excellent.

We get to Trani early but so is the kind owner of B&B Germinario right in the centre of Trani. It's easy to find parking nearby to unload the luggage but then we take the car to the Camper park for 10 euros a day just to be safe. Our room on the second floor is actually a small apartment - there's a a balcony and a small kitchen unit with its own window, too. There's antique furniture and ceilings about 4 metres high. Very nice indeed! After settling in we go out to explore Trani, this will be our fourth visit, but Trani is just beautiful and it's impossible not to stop for the day, an afternoon, or even a week.

Work has finally finished on the cathedral bell-tower as well and we can admire the whole building in all its glory. It's Sunday afternoon so there are lots of local and not so local people out and about in their Sunday best, strolling, and so we stroll too. The ice-cream for lunch seems like a long time ago so at about six we hunt down a place for pizza. One we know is closed, another hasn't opened up yet but fortunately we find Tody pizzeria which has already started. A spicy salami for Andrea, a "quercia" for me (no tomato but plenty of cheese, breadcrumbs, local vegetables and sausage) with a small beer between the two of us sets us back just 11 euro.

We go back to the apartment for a rest and to get something extra to wear because there's a cool breeze from the sea and then go out again, twice in the evening must be a record! The cathedral and nearby squares are as beautiful by night as by day.

We then head towards the port but it's swarming with people. Who can blame them, but time to call it a day for us. Beautiful Trani.