Friday, July 23, 2004
It's all go... I'm just back from Puglia where I have had three blissful days in 40 degrees of dry sundrenched heat lying on white sand with the Ionian sea as my bath. Now it's packing and off to Blighty to pack and move and, I hope, complete on my house sale. In the interim I'm back in Naples for the weekend, allowing me to pack here too, as I am moving from this vile damp pit to a 4th floor brand new apartment.. .with terrace...! The downside is its in a far less salubrious part of town, but at least its a nice apartment, which means I shall happy to be a prisoner there during the hours of darkness.
Puglia then to start with...
I stayed in a place you won't find on a map unless you have spy satellite photographs. it is cryptically entitled Castellaneta Marina.. This means it is not Castellaneta (which is the hometown of Rudolf Valentino) and nor is it near the station of castellanete Marina. It is instead near GinosaMarina, not Ginosa.
The reason for this inexact location is, I suspect, because it is a resort of second homes belonging to Italians from all over the peninsula. In summer the population can swell to 40,000. In winter its 200, yes two hundred. Now bear with me here.... This comune of 200 people has a racecourse, tennis courts, swimming pool, and the latest addition, a ast IMAX theatre. It is of course shut in the summer as all Italian cinemas are, so Im not quite sure of the point of it is.
Castellaneta Marina also has miles of fantastic beaches, and no Brits. All this could change as I write the next ten lines.
The 'hostel' in CM, is not a hostel in the usual sense of the word, but a residence. For the heady sum of 12 euro a night I got a 3 bedded flat, and extra 2 euro a day got me a bicycle and another 2 euro got me alift from the nearest train station at Ginosa. Now that is a bargain. The woman who runs the place was bemoaning the fact that she is only fully booked in August. WHy??? So Brits who want a cheap as chips holiday, book the hostel... but you will need to learn some basic Italian cos they dont have a word of English. Be warned. And dont be expecting 5 star luxury. On the other hand, if its good enough for Italians it will be clean enough for any Brit.
Puglia then to start with...
I stayed in a place you won't find on a map unless you have spy satellite photographs. it is cryptically entitled Castellaneta Marina.. This means it is not Castellaneta (which is the hometown of Rudolf Valentino) and nor is it near the station of castellanete Marina. It is instead near GinosaMarina, not Ginosa.
The reason for this inexact location is, I suspect, because it is a resort of second homes belonging to Italians from all over the peninsula. In summer the population can swell to 40,000. In winter its 200, yes two hundred. Now bear with me here.... This comune of 200 people has a racecourse, tennis courts, swimming pool, and the latest addition, a ast IMAX theatre. It is of course shut in the summer as all Italian cinemas are, so Im not quite sure of the point of it is.
Castellaneta Marina also has miles of fantastic beaches, and no Brits. All this could change as I write the next ten lines.
The 'hostel' in CM, is not a hostel in the usual sense of the word, but a residence. For the heady sum of 12 euro a night I got a 3 bedded flat, and extra 2 euro a day got me a bicycle and another 2 euro got me alift from the nearest train station at Ginosa. Now that is a bargain. The woman who runs the place was bemoaning the fact that she is only fully booked in August. WHy??? So Brits who want a cheap as chips holiday, book the hostel... but you will need to learn some basic Italian cos they dont have a word of English. Be warned. And dont be expecting 5 star luxury. On the other hand, if its good enough for Italians it will be clean enough for any Brit.
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