One of the best things about driving to a vacation is that you don’t have to stress about making a flight. So after we woke up Saturday morning and had breakfast, we packed up and hit the road for the journey to Puglia. The exercise of departing did take us four hours but we didn’t forget anything!
The drive to Ostuni was scheduled for five hours, but with several pit stops and refueling etc. it took us 5 ½. We drove on the Autostrada for four of these hours and the tariff came to just under 27 euros. Can you imagine driving for four hours on a highway in the States and then paying the equivalent of a $40 toll to get off?
We drove through a rain shower on the way to the Adriatic Coast and just as we were reaching the Sea, the rain subsided and we were treated to a magnificent rainbow. The kids went crazy. It was truly beautiful, with a slight double; a nice omen for our vacation in Puglia.
It had just become dark as we approached Ostuni, so it was not easy to find the Masseria Boezio. When Josh called the owner for directions, he offered to drive out to the main road to meet us and guide us in. Masseria Boezio (www.masseriaboezio.it) was recommended to Josh by his friend, Genny’s, friend, Giovanni who lives in the Ostuni area (did you follow that?) It’s a lovely, small, Masseria with only four rooms one of which is a suite with a large living area. We booked the suite since we thought it would be best to have everyone together, but upon taking a tour of the property, I fell in love with the traditional rooms off of the charming courtyard, which had characteristic stone walls, and massive, domed ceilings. One even had an enormous bath tub – a small pool, really – that had been used for crushing the olives previously. So we’d stay in the suite tonight and move to two rooms tomorrow for the rest of our stay.
We were all excited to see the town of Ostuni. We saw how beautiful it looked lit up at night, up on the hill, as we drove to the Masseria. So we ventured to Ostuni for dinner. Josh had planned to meet Giovanni at his wine bar for a drink, and then he would recommend a place for us to eat. By the time we arrived at the bar, just off the main square in Ostuni, the Indians were getting restless so we had to skip the drink and go straight to dinner. Giovanni walked us to a ristorante that was tucked down a tiny alley. The place had only six tables and a very refined yet unpretentious ambiance. Should we chance it with the kids? There were no other guests yet so we decided to give it a try. The hostess did mention that the cook hadn’t arrived yet but would be there within 15 or 20 minutes. It’s 7:15pm!
The dinner started with a series of antipasti. Melanzane with ricotta and tomato, ravioli stuffed with artichoke, and veal “polpetine” (meatballs). All very yummy. Then we had an assortment of pasta: one with melanzane, one with artichokes and one with just tomatoes and ricotta cheese. For secondi, we shared a bit of lamb, capricola (a pig’s neck, and apparently a specialty of Puglia) , and chicken. And, we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine. The restaurant, called Sparacima, used to be an enoteca before becoming a restaurant so they had a large variety of wines and our hostess recommended one for our meal. Do you think we were stuffed? Apparently we were because we passed on dessert.
It didn’t take long for everyone to hit the hay back at Boezio.
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