It’s 1952, IBM has just released their very first scientific computer. Gary Cooper receives an Oscar for his role in the “High Noon”. Liam Neeson and Mickey Rourke are born. Women wear handbags which match their shoes. Dior comes up with a concept of boutiques. Meanwhile, in Italy, the government decides to force 15 000 citizens of Matera to live their homes and move into newly built houses. Yes, the exercise was all about Matera in 1952. The city was called the shame of Italy. Quite terrifying, isn’t it?

Two “cave districts”, called sassi were left behind and forgotten. Matera became a ghost time. People reminded themselves about it in the 80s and started the hard work of turning it into a place to live. It wasn’t easy, to say the least. 30 years of oblivion combined with an earthquake – doesn’t sound like a fun project. In 1993 Matera was included in the World Heritage Site. This years, it’s the European Capital of Culture.

All of these makes a bit of a creepy atmosphere. When we were in Matera, there was some kind of hurricane with wind so strong, the doors in our building kept slamming. Creepier and creepier.

Did you know, that Matera is the third-longest inhabited city in the World? People have been living in the caves for the past 7000 years. Now there are around 3000 caves. Go and visit one of the Casa Grotta. The entrance is just a few Euros and it really makes you think about life. Highly recommend, if you’ll be passing by one of them. Because Matera is all about walking up and down, getting lost, finding a cave which someone has recently walled up. And once you’re done with walking, drive to the other side of the gorge.

The other side was the side full of plants, water and crops. And chiese rupestri – cave churches. Now you have amazing views and hiking trails. This is the part which we had to neglect due to the lack of time. I have certainly underestimated Matera in my planning process. Don’t make this mistake.

 And because I love trivia, here’s one more trivia. Mel Gibson chose Matera to shoot The Passion of the Christ because it reminded him of Jerusalem. That says a lot…

Artykuł Matera, Mel and malaria pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Rent a car and go around the island

Left-hand traffic and Malaysian automotive industry. Sounds fun, right!? Driving on the opposite lane is actually not that bad on the island (fewer cars) and where you’ll have one more opportunity to drive Perodua Alza or Proton Saga? So go ahead and rent a car. Proton from Kasina Car Rental was ok.

Take a selfie with THE eagle

Eagle is a symbol of Langkawi, but the regular one was not enough. It was waaaay better to build a star-shaped jetty and place an eagle in the center. It’s huge. It’s awful. It’s dreadful. You have to see it.

Try to reach the waterfall

The waterfall is in the jungle. The jungle is in a mountainous area. It’s hot and humid in the jungle. Not my favorite combo. I was probably halfway to the waterfall when my body said “There’s no amount of water which can make me hydrated again”. Maybe you’ll more fit and you’ll get to the end of the waterfall. Or should I say “beginning”?

Go to the beautiful beach overlooking a cement factory

And don’t you dare crossing an invisible line of the hotel’s private beach. I went through all the images and I have no idea how it happened I didn’t take a picture of the cement factory. The only image I have is a still frame from a video:

See giant rocks

It’s a viewpoint in the north of the island. Beach entrance including. A bit like Seychelles, a bit not. Nice view from above and from the beach.

See the sunset at Hidden

Hidden, as the name says, is slightly hidden. Fortunately, we were given a convincing leaflet and convinced ourselves 2 more times to go there. It’s a place where I had my first pizza in Asia and it was good! It’s also a place where I saw the weirdest sunset of my life. Cloudless sky, cloudless sky, people chilling and facing the sea. Someone gets up, turns and freezes. Everyone else turns, freeze, grab beers and run under the roof before beers get too watery from the downpour. It was spectacular. No Photoshop included. Even the staff took pictures.

Langkawi Sky Bridge

For the 5 days straight I was looking at the clouds first thing in the morning. Is it cloudy or not? And the mountains? Are they in clouds? 5 days have passed and finally, Langkawi Sky Bridge was not in the clouds. When you’re traveling with a bridge designer, you’re seeing bridges. I have to say this one was fun. And someone knows how to make money! Grab drives make money as it’s the only way to get to the lower station of the cable car. Vendors of everything make money. Cable car and the bridge itself make money. And the bridge holds a record for the world’s longest curve suspension bridge on one pylon. What a category! It’s about 20 USD to get there with a cable car (and back). If you ask me if it’s worth it. Yes. I like pretty views.

Find a dramatic view with a dramatic branch

Someone has certainly found this place before I did. I didn’t put this branch there. But it turned out quite dramatic. Btw, it’s a beautiful spot. Somewhere near the Pantai Kok Beach.

Now you know what to do in Langkawi. Are you packed? Great! Which points from this list are the most appealing?

Artykuł What to do in Langkawi? pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Vacation in the tropics have to be like from a postcard: white sand, crystal blue sea, empty beach and this funny leaning palm tree. Well, maybe one local inhabitant is ok. Another tourist would destroy this heavenly atmosphere of instagramable vacation. Let’s stop here for a moment and talk about Instagram.

Picture perfect destination

We’re taking photos of beautiful places, looking at photos of beautiful places and we’re so insanely disappointed when it occurs that Langkawi is not a desert island, but a top tourist destination. The question is: is this really bad? Are pretty views on Instagram bad? The tourist hot spot? I’ll take a risk and say: no. Let me elaborate on that with the abovementioned Langkawi as an example. Langkawi is no paradise island. It’s very touristic. And I have nothing against that.

Langkawi can be divided into the resort – Pantai Cenang – and the rest of the island. And yes, I was mentally stable when I booked a hotel in the resort part. There’s no public transportation on Langkawi. Sure, you can choose a hotel by a remote beach on the other side of the island. And you’ll be stuck. Not fully stuck, you can always take Grab (local Uber). Personally, I’d feel stuck walking around this heavenly beach. Vacation without a spontaneous walk for a coffee? Oh come on. So Pantai Cenang it is.

Ok, and what about this beach straight from paradise? Well, the Pantai Cenang beach can look like this:

And it also looks like this:

Is it wrong? No. Does Instagram lie in this case? No. It’s the same beach after all. Just the point of view (literal) depends on where you are. We can keep complaining about Instagram misrepresenting the reality, because hey, there’s a cement factory right next to this beach (true story), but the World will still be pretty.

The beauty of having a choice

Is it really bad, that the biggest beach on Langkawi is so lively? For those Robinson Crusoes, seeking and afternoon on a remote island (but not a night) it is very bad. For the environment not that great – pollution and co., but let’s be real. Pantai Cenang is relatively ok. And as an old saying goes: you either go to a tourist hot spot and have 20 restaurants to choose from or you eat what you have and don’t complain. I like having options. Even if I end up eating in the same place for 5 days straight, because other places weren’t that great. At least I had options.

A variety of restaurants is a huge advantage, but so is a variety of hotels. You can stay in a crowded town and still enjoy the silence. You can go in Pantai Cenang and stay at Panji Panji – a place with the nicest owner on earth.

Azmil created this peaceful oasis which you wouldn’t want to leave. He welcomed us with the biggest smile, kept practising our names (and Polish names are tough!) and kept asking us every day on Whatsapp if everything is ok. He showed us our cars collection and claimed that people from all over the town were coming for breakfast at his restaurant – Smiling Buffalo. That was a bit hard to believe, but we changed our minds 2 minutes into our very first breakfast. This breakfast it’s a must when you’re in Pantai Cenang. Or lunch. Everything is amazing.

So? Are you #teamresort or #teamremoteparadise?

Artykuł Langkawi – does the world always has to be a paradise pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

The story of (not)staying at Regalia Suites deserves it’s own post. The building itself seems to be the most popular place to stay in Kuala Lumpur. All of my friends who visited KL, took a photo in the swimming pool there. Well, I did as well.

The story of this stay is a short motivational story of not giving up. From the very beginning it all looked shady. All tourists have to register at the reception desk. But the receptionist didn’t know the owner of our apartment. Finally we were picked up by the owner’s friend who skipped the registration and brought us upstairs. Well, the apartment wasn’t the one we booked on Airbnb. We texted the owner, he admitted and told us not very convincing story about renovation. Few bugs later we decided to take the photo of the swimming pool and leave this place. 30 minutes later we were in a sparkling clean and comfy room in a building with an infinity pool on the 48th floor. The price was almost the same and thanks to our quick reaction we got a full refund from the Airbnb. After all, it was all worth it, wasn’t it?

It’s all about the Petronas Twin Towers

It was raining when I woke up. Not very optimistic. It always rains on my holidays, it didn’t in George Town so maybe it finally got me? Ok, I can wait, put on flip flops and a raincoat. I have to find my breakfast somehow. We had no idea where to go. The only reasonable direction for me while in Kuala Lumpur was Petronas Twin Towers. And it was a very good direction. We had pancakes with egg and curry sauce for less than 3 ringgits in the Suria KLCC. Once we were done with breakfast, it wasn’t raining anymore.

The moment we went outside, I fell head over heels for Kuala Lumpur. First of all, Petronas Twin Towers. Since I was a child, these towers have been a synonym of an exotic place somewhere far away. They may not be the tallest, the prettiest, but it doesn’t matter. It was my dream, they were on my bucket list and I saw them. Multiple times.

But even 2 towers won’t make the whole city great. And I’m really impressed with Kuala Lumpur. It became my no 1 city in the Southeast Asia.

So what’s there?

I have my criteria for favourite cities, including a diverse architecture and lots of parks. Kuala Lumpur is Asian Melbourne to me. We walked around it a lot, passed traditional Malay wooden houses, skyscrapers with really intriguing facades, colonial architecture. My favourite combo.

We went to the KL Forest Eco Park – a jungle in the heart of the city. A real one, which sounds like hundreds of chainsaws. Over 100 years ago a forest reserve was created, later they added canopy walks and now you can get all sweaty, enjoy nature and be in the middle of Kuala Lumpur at the same time. In the urban jungle. And fight your fear of heights.

We’re wandering around with no detailed plan, just wanting to go to Merdeka Square, the Independence Square. It was a cricket field once, in 1957 the flag of Malaysia was hoisted there when the country got its independence and today you can take a photo with the “I love KL” sign and enjoy the architecture. And Petronas Twin Towers on the horizon. You can also get stuck in the middle of the pedestrian crossing. And get asked by an Asian for a selfie together.

From Merdeka Square we go to the Chinatown. I’m not a fan of Chinatowns, I just don’t get them. At least no one can tell me I haven’t tried! I just don’t feel this vibe.

We go back to our infinity pool, because you know, #priorities. Our randomly chosen route proves that the architecture of KL is really surprising. Just like the facades on our evening walk to the Petronas Twin Towers.

That day we did 28,5 km by foot.

Practical info:

Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur? You won’t find many hotels in the city, rather apartments for short term rentals. Ours was in the Expressionz building. It had a washer/dryer which came in handy. And the infinity pool! Not having an infinity pool in Kuala Lumpur is a serious mistake.

Where to eat? Hard topic, as opening hours seem to be very random. Pancakes for a quick breakfast are great, you’ll find them in the Suria KLCC food court. The stand with the longest line. Best Cheese Naan was also great. And Sushi Zanmai for a cheap sushi and ramen. Mingle Cafe is a nice place in Chinatown, but prices are a bit higher.

Artykuł Kuala Lumpur – welcome to the urban jungle pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Is it Malaysia or Vietnam?

The bus mentioned above brings us from Geroge Town to Cameron Highlands and I experience a deja vu:

1. It’s raining
2. It’s less than 20 degrees Celsius
3. It looks like a very touristy place in the mountains

Is this Sapa? Not really. It’s Tanah Rata, but feels similar.

People go to Cameron Highlands to see tea plantations and one night in Tanah Rata is perfectly fine to do so. Or two nights, if you plan to go trekking. The town itself isn’t the most impressive. And it’s hard to find good food there, especially when all 3 places recommended by travel bloggers are closed. But it doesn’t matter the moment you see landscapes like in a tea commercial. Tea plantations are there for almost a century.

The easiest way to admire tea shrubs is to join a tour. We started with a Mossy Forest, or rather a short walk through platforms. Our guide gives us a short biology lesson, teaching us about local plants and there’s one major conclusion: Malaysian nature will kill you or heal you, there’s nothing in between.

Scotland, Netherlands or Malaysia?

Enough about the forest, time for a tea. Why do I keep talking about it? This is why:

This is BOH Tea Plantation. BOH is the biggest tea producer in Malaysia. And it’s a really nice tea if you ask me. BOH was established in 1929 by a Scottish family and still belongs to them. Employees are provided with accommodation, school for kids and temples for several religions.

Guided tours tend to squeeze in some attractions you don’t really care about. This is how we ended up in butterflies garden and on a strawberry farm. I’d rather trade these two for more tea shrubs, but fortunately, I knew what I was doing when I bought this tour and I’m not here to complain. Nevertheless, the strawberry farm is organized in a really clever way, which doesn’t require a lot of bending down and watering plants. Btw, the seedlings are from the Netherlands, as they fruit longer.

Useless knowledge:

Tea shrubs are actually treas. If a tea shrub was left alone, it would grow quite high. To make tea picking easier, trees are cut and turned into shrubs.

Practical info:

• starting from March 1st 2019, there’s entrance fee of 30 MYR to the Mossy Forrest.
• a half day tour is about 40-50 MYR. Our driver asked everyone when our buses leave and all of us made it to the bus station on time.

Artykuł Cameron Highlands – the Scots in Malaysia pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

The twist of the plot happened when I had to plan a free day in George Town. I already had so many photos of beautiful buildings, that it was even too much for myself. So I had to find something else. And it was Penang National Park and Monkey Beach.

The internet was telling me, that it’s not that bad. I wasn’t convinced and spent 1 hour on the bus thinking “what am I doing and why”. We left the bus, found the entrance to the park and the ranger told us, that the route to Monkey Beach is closed. Due to a landslide. The only open path leads to Kerachut Beach and it’s a bit longer. Ok, that was a good start. I’m standing there, contemplating the meaning of life. A woman passes me. Writes in the registration book. For quite a while. I turn and notice her husband and 3 kids. She finishes, joins her family. I’m taking a look at the book. Germans. Kids’ age? From 1 to 7. Ok, if they’re doing this, I’m doing this.

The beginning? A wide promenade. Ok, where’s mud and leeches? Crossroads. We’re turning left. Going up. Going straight. Going down. Up. Down. Fast. It should take us 1,5 hours. Faster. Are we doing this or giving up? Will it rain and will the sandy path turn into slippery mud or not? Faster. Photos? Not now, on our way back. Let’s survive this first. Do you know how the jungle sounds? Like a million chainsaws. We’re in this together, the two of us. We can see a guy a few dozen meters from us, he’s walking alone. The jungle seems very calm, but at the same time, it’s full of these noisy creatures. It must be creepy to walk alone. We’re continuing our trek. The path is quite wide. It’s so damp, it’s hard to breathe. Have you ever tried cardio in a sauna? Me neither. But I guess now I know how it feels. It’s raining. Great. Is this the Armageddon? Rain stops. Good. It’s so hot and humid that I can’t imagine putting a raincoat on. The jungle itself is a good umbrella. The sun comes out. And it’s gone. We’re still walking. Is this the meromictic lake? It was supposed to be next to the beach. There should be water in the lake, right? In a meromictic lake even two layers – salty and sweet. There was no water in the lake, but we found Kerachut Beach. We did it. Faster than we were told. What’s next? Photos! Finally. And food. Don’t forget to take food to the jungle. You won’t eat, you won’t have the energy to go back.

We’re chilling at the beach and we go to the Turtle Conservation Centre. A controversial place. I really want to believe that these few turtles were in the plastic containers because they were undergoing treatment. This is the version I want to believe in.

We’re back at the beach. The Germans arrived. The youngest boy is playing in the stream and he’s the happiest kid on the planet. We will meet them 2 weeks later on Langkawi.

Our way back is way more relaxing, but the very beginning isn’t. The sun is in a full force, the jungle is even more humid, cardio in a sauna is like going for a walk on a Spring morning. But it gets better and we admire the forest. We don’t have to hurry, we know what to expect. And it’s fun. Some stairs, wide trails, a jungle for a city girl like me. Nothing has eaten me. Insect repellent worked. I guess I can enjoy a jungle.

We’re leaving Penang National Park and we’re exhausted like we’ve just finished a marathon. I’ve never even attempted to run a marathon, but I don’t have to try, to know it’s not my thing. It took me half an hour and a huge bottle of water with vitamins to get back to my normal self. And to be able to walk 50 meters to buy an ice cold drink. I survived, I could go back. Obviously, I’m not a fit freak. I’d rather watch a sport than do it, but I’m a queen of walking. But a jungle can be a huge challenge even for a walker like me.

Conclusion: it was fun, you should try it even if you’re a couch potato like me.

Artykuł Penang National Park – will the jungle eat you? pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Our Grab driver, southeast Asian Uber, keeps repeating “Welcome to Malaysia”. Not because his vocabulary is limited. He’s just kind. Malaysians are kind.

It’s evident we’re in Asia. Just one glance is enough to realize there’s no local space development plan. It looks like someone took a few dozen blocks, tossed them up and left where they fell. But the whole George Town feels surprisingly spatial as for Asia. Only a little chaotic, not so crowded, you can walk around it, you can breathe in it. Simply speaking – I was delighted from the very first moment.

George Town is so fascinating I have no idea how to start. They say it’s good to start from the beginning, so let’s try. At the end of the 18th century, the British East India Company established the first trading point and settlement on Penang Island. So we have the Brits. But there were more nationalities which discovered that Penand makes a good trading port. Chinese and Indians were stopping there here. And Malays, Thais, and a few other nations. Is it getting interesting? In the meantime, the island became a center of spice production. 100 years later everything which was British in the area, turned into a British colony. This dominance was interrupted by Japan during World War II. During this time Penang became a base for Nazi U-boats. Then the year 1957 came and the Independence of Malaysia. Have I just written the shortest, most general and probably quite ignorant summary of the history of Penang? Probably but it shows what a mix of cultures they have there. Also in the streets. Just go through the main George Town street. On a distance of 500 meters, we pass the mosque, Hindu temple, Taoist temple, and Anglican church. Interesting, isn’t it? To make it even more fun, over half of George Town’s population is a Chinese minority. In this case, rather the majority.

The Chinese kept coming to Penang for years and years. As they were settling there, their families started coming to Penang. Close relatives, more distant relatives, 8th cousin and so on. Once the family moved in together, they stayed together. The more wealthy families built mansions in the city. Others built their houses on jetties and this is how Clan Jetties developed. There were 7 of them, 6 remained.

Let’s continue with trivia and let’s go to the Armenian street. We have the Brits, Chinese, Malays, Thais, so why not add Armenians to the mix? Yes, Armenian traders were there too. Is there a nationality which didn’t come to Penang? For sure at least one Lithuanian came – Ernest Zacharevic. And he’s called the Malaysian Banksy. We have Banksy, we can expect some street art. There’s plenty of street art in the streets of George Town and you can see on Lebuh Armenian. Looking for Zacharevic’s art is like having coffee in Italy. You just have to do this. The sad part is that his murals are on each and every souvenir from Penang but Zacharevic himself doesn’t get any money from it.

When you walk around George Town discovering it’s history you can’t miss tiles. You just have to take pictures. At least when you’re like me.

Oh, and the European influence on the architecture can’t be missed as well. Is this really Asia?

But the best are the colonial-era houses. They’re everywhere and I’m not exaggerating. Some of them look good, some are barely standing. Some are renovated, turned into hotels and cafes. In some, there were probably workshops and stores, but now they’re shut down. We landed on Saturday, ok, maybe in Malaysia they don’t work on Saturday afternoons. On Sunday almost everything was closed, ok, it makes sense. But on Monday not much has changed. On one hand, it’s really sad to see all these abandoned buildings. On the other hand, there are so many buildings, it’s not a surprise that there aren’t so many services and other businesses. 10 years ago the old town of George Town joined the UNESCO World Heritage List. Since then each renovation has to be done according to the rules. One of them is to keep the original layout of the building. I guess it’s a good thing and a bad thing – UNESCO protects these beautiful buildings, but probably some investors are discouraged. We spent a night at a renovated house turned into a hotel and I have to admit, I’m a fan!

Talking about hotels and cafes… The whole Internet says that George Town is THE PLACE for street food. The Malaysian capital of street food. Or even the World capital of street food. Sounds good, doesn’t it? We asked in our first hotel “where is street food”? We got two places. Sounds good. In the second hotel we asked the same questions. Three guys started talking with each other, looked quite surprised and confused and said “just walk and you’ll find something”. So we went. And looked for food. And it wasn’t easy. We found it a few hours later and it was good. But the World capital of street food? Come on. There weren’t that many hawker stalls, dishes were quite similar. Or maybe we’re spoilt? In our hometown, we can find food from almost every country in the World, so maybe our expectations were too high?

George Town requires a happy ending, so here’ a story. On a hot November morning, we were walking down the street and met an older man in a traditional outfit. He smiled, even grinned and greeted us with: hello, Merry Christmas!

Truth be told, I can talk about George Town for hours and hours. Safe to say it became my favorite city in Southeast Asia.

Artykuł Penang – around the world in George Town pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Expectation: lots of rain. It shouldn’t be surprising. Malaysia has equatorial climate, so it rains a lot. It was November, shoulder season, so it rains. And I was going on holidays, it always rains on my holidays. It’s as certain as taxes.

Reality: maybe it doesn’t rain when I’m on holidays. Maybe it’s not just rain, but weather anomalies. Or maybe tropical climate isn’t as bad as it seems. Sometimes it was raining for an hour in the evening. Few times in the morning, once in the afternoon. And it wasn’t bad. Conclusion: Malaysia in November? I highly recommend!

Expectation: it will be ok. Let me explain. I read a lot about Malaysia. Some people were amazed, but there were many opinions saying that Malaysia is ok, but Thailand is better. Well, Thailand is Thailand. I probably read too much and became a bit sceptical. I assumed that Malaysia won’t be very pretty, interesting or fascinating. Just ok. Average. That was the optimistic version. Some days I was afraid it would be a disappointment. And it was the pessimistic version.

Reality: it was more than ok. Oh how wrong I was. If you have low expectations, there’s a chance you’ll be surprised. That’s me and Malaysia. It’s a really interesting, beautiful and underestimated country. The architecture, nature, people. Everything made an impression. That’s the reality vs expectations I like!

Expectation: there’ll be lots of good food. George Town on Penang Island is a local capital of street food. Some say it’s a world street food capital. That’s enough to get my attention. I went to Penang to eat.

Reality: let me quote a guy we met on a bus to Kuala Lumpur: this food thing in George Town is is some kind of hysteria. We found street food, but it took us some time. We stayed at two different hotels and only one person from these hotels were able to tell us where hawker stalls were. Once we found them, food was good. But calling George Town a world street food capital? I’m not convinced.

Expectation: Kuala Lumpur is a big city and doesn’t offer a lot. That’s basically a summary of the opinions I read. It didn’t discourage me and I wouldn’t skip KL. I was dreaming about seeing Petronas Twin Towers for 17 years and I had to see them.

Reality: if I see one more opinion saying that KL is not interesting I will write the longest essay of my life and give a speech to prove this person wrong. Kuala Lumpur has everything which every big city should have – alluring architecture, green areas and a bit of local chaos. If you ask me, it’s a perfect blend.

Extra category: surprise. Malaysians are the kindest people on Earth. They’re so kind, it took me a few days not to pay attention. They were curious where we are from and how we like their country. They were really pleased every time we said we loved it there. One lady even sad “thank you”. They were authentically happy and I was happy that they were happy.

Hey, it’s a series! See more expectations vs reality:

• Thailand
• Vietnam
• Lviv
• Lago di Garda

Artykuł Malaysia – expectations vs reality pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Locorotondo was completely EMPTY when we arrived. No tourist at all. No people at all. It was afternoon, siesta time. Everything was closed except for maybe 2 restaurants and 3 cafes. We didn’t have a plan or even a map. Our plan was to walk around, get lost in the streets and take photos. And have an aperol spritz in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele.

Are there any attractions in Locorotondo? Not really. The town has 3 main features:

1. It’s white
2. The old town is round – well, it’s rotondo for a reason
3. There’s a free parking next to the old town

The round shape of the old town you can only see when you look from above, but the white color makes everything very pretty, photogenic and instagramable. Sure, there are churches (hello Italy), but why visit them if Locorotondo inhabitants are apparently competing in the contest “the prettiest decor next to the entrance using pot plants”. Just take a look:

Our plan was the lack of it, but there was one thing we wanted to do: find a place from which you can take a picture of the old town. It took as a bit, but than we saw a group of people in the distance. Ok, there it is. So we went there. By car. Took photos. Yes, it was the right place:

In the evening we came back to Locorotondo for dinner. In comparison to the lively Bari, Locorotondo was weirdly deserted. Maybe we came too early. All in all we where in the south of Italy and we went for dinner at 7pm. Good luck with that. Unfortunately there were no menus in front of restaurants so it took us a while to find a restaurant with dishes around 8 euros, not 18. We wanted to have pasta, but ended up having pizza at Casa Pinto in one of the charming houses. And it was a good choice. Visiting Locorotondo was even better.

Artykuł Apulia: Locorotondo pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.

Bari is cool

And it was a big surprise. I had no expectations at all. I didn’t know a lot about the city, I was reading a bit but no one was raving about Bari. Actually, I found one article saying that you either love Bari or hate it. And I’m in the first group.

Have you ever dreamed about going to a typical Italian town? Like the one you see in the movies? You know, narrow streets, laundry on balconies, mamma is making pasta and you can hear Italian songs? Go to Bari! Add a tiny chapel on every corner, pasta drying outside and you’re in Bari. The best part? We were staying in the old town and even though we didn’t warn our host that we’re on our way, she came 30 seconds after we arrived, waving from the distance. Apparently, the mammamonitoring works well!

And when the sun went down and mammas disappeard from their chairs in front of houses, restaurants opened and all of the sudden streets are crowded. Especially on a Saturday. And it was cool.

Apulia is cool

When you’re on a plane and looking through the window, Apulia looks like a one big olive grove. And a vineyards. And an orchard. All at once. With mountains, sea and white towns. Add extremely blue sky and southern sun – amazing, isn’t it? Is there anyone who doesn’t like it? Go away. Apulia is beautiful. If only it had better roads…

Roads are terrible

They really are. I haven’t seen roads this bad in a long long time. It looks more like cheese, crater, grater (that’s a terrible rhyme), insert something else with an extremely uneven surface. The road from Polignano a Mare to Matera was awful. The firm suspension in our car wasn’t helping at all. Ok, if this road was bad, maybe the highway would be better? Not really. Road works with no workers, speed limit 40km/h.

Food is hard to find

It wasn’t an issue when I went to lake Garda. Food was everywhere. In Apulia it wasn’t that easy. In the south of Italy siesta is siesta and Italians take it seriously. In theory nothing is happening until 7pm. Nothing. But that’s just a theory. In fact majority of restaurants open around 9pm. Forget about grabing a calzone on the go during the day. Or maybe I was just unlucky.

Apulia is white

What goes well with a bright sun and the bluest sky you have ever seen? White buildings, it’s pretty obvious. Apulia is white and it’s one of the reasons why it looks so good. Well, that’s actually what you expect from a region in the south, right? Towns are white, funny round trullo houses are white. Love it.

Tourists are Italians

And this is a really interesting fact. The majority of tourists were Italians. Sure, we saw few Asian tours, some Germans and French, people from our plane, but it wasn’t as touristy as other parts of Italy. Maybe it’s the shoulder season (end of September), but it was a really nice and surprising change – hearing almost only Italian in Italy.

Conclusion: Apulia is great

And that’s it. See you later!

Artykuł Apulia – what to expect pochodzi z serwisu Worldwide Panda.