Pulia: a sea paradise for real Italians

Pulia is a very beautiful region in the south of Italy, but rather poor due to the lack of production. It is much warmer than in other areas, if you do not take into account Sicily, in addition, Pulia has a beautiful sea and good beaches. Despite the fact that it takes a long time to get there, my Italian friend and I chose this place for a summer holiday.

We pre-booked a house in Alezia, a small town near the sea, met at the airport of Venice and immediately left. Ten hours by car across Italy - in the heel, or rather in his stuffing! We drove all night and half a day, at first this prospect did not please me, but then it turned out that this was the only correct solution: at night there are almost no cars, which facilitates movement, and at night it is much cooler: during the day the temperature reaches + 35 ... + 37 degrees.

We arrived there barely alive, no coffee, no music, no talk. The house we shot was charming: a hanging bedroom, a living room with sofas, a TV and an old fireplace, a kitchen next to it. A house with amenities, in a quiet area, with a grill and a gazebo in the yard. On the first day there was only enough strength to disassemble suitcases and have dinner. next town. For Italians, it is normal to dine in another city: small towns are literally "glued" together, there are no long distances, and you can not even notice how one city is replaced by another. This is not Russian territory!

The first day on the beach can hardly be called successful. We arrived in a coastal town, but instead of sand there were stones. The danger of the stony beaches of Italy is that the sea floor here is covered with irregularities, which means you can easily slip and break something yourself. So I had to swim in the pool.

Over the next two days, we found some great swimming spots, but only went to the nearest one. During the day there were few people on the beach: mostly Italians swim in the morning and in the evening. They don't like the midday sun here. Everyone swims. It's normal to meet a grandma over eighty in a swimsuit.

Among other things, for art lovers in Pulia, there are many interesting historical places that have well preserved their architecture, painting and sculpture.

The Italians are quite hospitable people. The owners of our house came to us every day, because in a small pen they kept chickens that needed to be fed, and constantly invited them to dinner. When it became indecent to refuse, we surrendered to the victors. The family that sheltered us owned a beautiful villa with olive and grape plantations. They treated us to seafood, grilled meat, some delicious sausages, and meat again. We drank beautiful wine, and after dinner, the men missed a couple of shots of grappa (grape vodka) of their own production.

The bullet is far from all major airports in Italy, so there are quite a few foreign tourists, and you can not meet Russians at all - under the eyes of new acquaintances I felt like an alien : However, it was a wonderful holiday!

Important points: motorways, that is, long-distance routes in Italy are paid, when leaving for them there are large checkout booths in which you need to take (for now free) tickets. When this operation is completed, the barrier rises. At the entrances to settlements there are approximately the same booths in which you need to pay for the road by presenting a ticket. The cost depends on the distance.

It is equally important to remember that if you are going to travel in Italy as savages, then you need to book accommodation in advance, ideally 2-3 months in advance. So you will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of price and quality. If you rent a house, you need to rent a car, or a bicycle, or some other means of transportation: in small towns there is no public transport, and going anywhere, if you do not provide the wheels yourself, will be problematic. It is better to search for apartments and houses on the websites of the country - this will be cheaper. In apartments, as a rule, there are towels, bedding, detergents and dishes, but not in all - these moments need to be clarified in advance. The owners need to rent the apartment in the same condition in which they were rented.

Ekaterina Isakova