a week in polignano
Updated: Sep 9, 2018
2.6.2018 - 9.6.2018
Polignano a Mare, Italy
Polignano, the location I had looked forward to the most, and oh was it just as beautiful as I had remembered.
Dubrovnik > Bari
Via a 10 hour over night ship ride
A dream scene, Polignano is a small seaside town that hugs the Adriatic Sea. Days were spent in this magical pocket under the Italian sun.
We arrived on a Saturday which apparently was the busiest day so far this summer season. This time two years ago when I had visited, my cousin and I were the only ones swimming at the little beach. Obviously, a lot has changed since then. 'Bank weekend' bought sun bums from all over Puglia, leaving people fighting for their share of pebbles.
Of course we decided to join.
If you can't beat them, join them - they say?
We got lucky with our accom and managed to find an affordable little room in the Historical centre for the first five nights of our stay, and then one about a ten minute walk out of town for the last three. Both were surrounded by markets, pizzeria's and pretty houses. Walking home with nonna's perched out the front of their homes on chairs half their sizes was one of my favourite sites. The streets were filled with mouth watering smells of their ragù that had been simmering since the a.m. Here they would sit people watching and chatting for hours - not kidding, until dark.
Our a.m. Polignano ritual: Breakfast by the sea. Mornings begun with a walk to the fruit market to pick up Italian figs, apricots and bananas. Italian figs were first introduced to us by an old local. Andrea (87yrs), known to the residents as the 'guardian' of the beach. Each afternoon he'd wander the beach picking up every little piece of rubbish that met his eye, and gifting visitors like us with shells, sea glass and his decadent home grown figs.
I don't usually like figs, but these ones were different. They oozed a sweet juicy nectar and were nothing like I had tasted before.
Long hot days followed by: Pasta. DUH.
We learnt to make our biggest meal of the day lunch. Ordering from the lunch menu is often cheaper, so we generally stuffed our faces with pasta, bread, focaccia and pizza at midday and opted for something a little lighter like a salad or bruschetta for dinner.
This place was our favourite, and such good value. 'Zerottanta' was one of the more under-rated cafes in the old town of Polignano but they sure didn't disappoint. The only down side was that they served their food in plastic. This sucked but I guess the husband and wife duo that owned it were already running around madly, let alone if they were to add dishes to the equation.
Days felt like dreams,
Sweet memories Polignano x