Photos:  Sunrise in Port de Pollenca

2 caveats:

• I am no David Bailey
• These photos are misleading in that they do not show you the lightning and pouring rain that occurred 3 hours later!

With that said, here is the Picasa link to the photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110075170705323340117/SunriseInPollensa?authkey=Gv1sRgCPvH6Y6CjLmlygE#

Think Globally, Drink Locally:  Primitivo from Puglia

I am almost starting to believe that wines were never meant to be transported.  The Nero d'Avola that I have had at home, has never tasted as good as the wine we enjoyed with Sean and his family in Sicily.

In Puglia we sampled some delicious examples of Primitivo, the local speciality:

Here is a link to a somewhat better informed observer than me:

http://www.independent-wine-review.com/2011/08/wine-review-paolo-leo-primitivo-di.html

My worry is that for whatever reason, this wine will not taste as good once I return home - but I am looking forward to the experiment!

Fatty Batter:  Funniest Book This Decade?

I have just finished reading "Fatty Batter" by Michael Simkins.  The title sounds like a reference to the way that the Scots cook their Mars bars, but the book is in fact an autobiographical account of one man's cricketing misadventures.

The somewhat corpulent figure of Harry Baldwin (see below) was the inspiration for the book's fraternal band of cricketing misfits known as the Harry Baldwin Occasionals.

The Victorian spin bowler Harry Baldwin

I thought that in order to enjoy this book, you needed to be:

• an Englishman
• born in 1956
• with a passing knowledge of cricket

However Michele, who is reading the book now, ticks none of these boxes and - judging by the steady stream of laughter - it could just be that it is a very well written book. 

Paradise in Mallorca:  Postcards from the two Pollencas

Port de Pollenca and the nearby medieval town of Pollenca complement each other for a perfect holiday.

For sandy beaches and clear sheltered water go to Port de Pollenca:

For quiet medieval streets, travel a few kilometres inland to Pollenca:

Port de Pollenca offers a "Full English Breakfast":

while Pollenca contents itself with offering you an authentic thimble full of espresso, when you ask for a coffee.

In Port de Pollenca you can get the latest on Harry and Camilla by buying the morning's edition of the Daily Mail.  For lessons in Spanish you will need to take the bus up the road to Pollenca.

What both places offer is the benefit of the Mallorcan/Catalan culture.  The streets are watered down and cleaned every morning.  There is almost no graffiti.  Horns do not blare as I take five minutes to wrestle our manual Fiat 500 into a tiny parking spot.  The unfailing courtesy of the locals makes this a very chill place to visit.

Roman Rip Offs

I do not know whether it's Italy's Depression, but in Rome it feels like everybody wants your money for something - a stick for taking selfie photographs with, bottles of water, bus tours, being photographed with "centurions".

In some cases it seems that they are not too bothered about how they get your money.  In one restaurant, the waiter failed to charge us 30 Euros for a bottle of Prosecco that was listed on the menu at 13.  However he got us in the end.  When we asked for olives, he served up a load of thick gooey frozen pizza which we ended up donating to a homeless man in the train station.  Needless to say we had to pay for the pizza we had not ordered!  Not a big deal, but a bit of a drag to be always on your guard.

Italy:  Weird Weather but Wonderful Women

Soaking in the South:

Who needs to go all the way to Tofino, when you can get the same weather in Puglia?

Roasting in Rome

St Peter's Square

No matter what the weather, the women in my family are always wonderful!

Michele and I in the  ancient university town of  Lecce 

The family (less one conspicuous hard working exception - sorry Zack!) in the Piazza Navana, Rome

"This is not Italy - it is North Africa"

A Northern Italian's dismissive reference to the South of the country - provoked by this view of rental car, baby carriers.  Suffice to say that if you are travelling to Southern Italy with an infant - you might want to bring your own baby carrier.

Scariest thing since Savonarola:

Ryanair's baggage police:

Trulli Amazing:  your own Hobbit House for 50,000!

Forget West Van, you could have your very own Hobbit House for 50,000 Euros and hey, it's getting cheaper in Canadian Dollars by the day!

Alternatively you could do as we did and rent a "trulli" for the night.  This is the one that we slept in:

Visiting the Puglia region without seeing Alborobello's Trulli structures would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Mona Lisa (er, that would be me).

The most popular explanation for these strange structures is that they were built as a tax avoidance device.  The story goes that taxes were applied to houses.  These buildings, being assembled from dry stones could then be dis-assembled every time the tax inspector came round.

While I bow to no one in my respect for the average Puglian's tax avoidance instincts, I just cannot imagine them tearing down their own house every time the tax man called.  So for me the mystery remains.

General Montgomery slept here

A cynic would say that if Montgomery slept everywhere he was supposed to have slept, he would have been asleep throughout the Italian campaign.  Luckily I am not a cynic.  Michele was fortunate enough to meet the 96 year old "Nona" who owns the house.



Her house was requisitioned and used as a "Halfway House" (hence the graffiti) by Canadians and New Zealanders on the way to the horrific front around the battle of Ortona.  The allied troops shared their chocolate rations with kids who had never tasted chocolate.  They promised to return but were never seen again.  The graffiti in the picture was restored in memory of these troops by the old lady who owns the house.

Masseria Salinola

We have somehow ended up in this oasis in deepest Puglia.  I say somehow because we cannot afford to spend all year staying at places like this.  We got a seasonal promotion and we mentally convert Euros at par with Canadian Dollars.  That way we can enjoy the combination of zen like calm with historic luxury.

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While Spain has its Paradors, Italy has its Masserias.  Masserias are converted from farm manor houses under the country's "Agriturismo" program.  The concept is to bring tourism to rural areas. While the conversions are decadent, they are also sensitive to the context of the original buildings - e.g. using the same limestone for the renovated structures.  That, together with the inevitable Italian classy hospitality, has us postponing our departure by the day.

You can find more photos of this wonderful place at their website:

http://www.masseriasalinola.it/