A great thing about touring with other people is that they can snap a few photos
If you had told me that ten days into my work/stay that I would be running a BnB and leading a week long, “Southern Italy Experience” I would have laughed. I have no business doing either of those things. However, when there’s nobody else to do it…
Giulia and her family moved back her house in Lecce to start the school year and live the big city life. There were only two guests slotted to stay for the following week - one of whom did a work trade for a free stay, and another who had done a yoga retreat here a few years back and was a returning client. Giulia assured Laura and me that it would be an easy week. She would come over to hang with the guests after the kids went to school and Giacomo would cook dinner for them every night. All I had to do was serve breakfast and help with dinners if I wanted. Sounded good.
Except that life happens. The morning the two guests arrived, Giulia informed me that she and Giacomo were breaking up, and that he wouldn’t be cooking them dinners. So the guests and I could just cook dinner together and it would be super fun. Also, she wouldn’t be around as much as she planned, so the guests were going to rent a car. Except they don’t drive stick shift, so would I be willing to chauffeur them around all week?
Um. Sure?
I mean, I had wanted to get out and see the country for sure, and I guess this was a great way to make it happen, but… it just seemed like a lot. And it was. It was also fun, but whew, it was a lot. In the end, I felt weirdly responsible for the guests enjoyment, which naturally fell short because I’m not an expert on the area, I don’t speak Italian, and they had been promised an all inclusive, authentic southern Italian experience. It certainly was authentic, but not in the ways any of us could have dreamed.
First off, when they arrived, and for the next two days, there was no running water. The pump in the well had to be fixed, and while it ultimately was, and the guests were cool enough about it, I bore the brunt of their witty and endless jokes about how nice it would be to have a shower, and, does this part of the experience cost extra?
Second, the fact that there were no organized activities meant that I had to come up with them. To be fair, I didn’t have to, but what else was I supposed to do? One guest really wanted to see Trulli, little hobbit looking houses common in southern Italy, because she saw them on Instagram. So Laura planned a really nice itinerary for us to follow to see the Trulli and check out a few nice towns in the area.
On Tuesday morning, after serving them a quick breakfast, the three of us set out in the little rental car and drive to Alberobello, home of the Trulli. We found the town (and parking!) without getting lost or hitting anything (go me!). We walked around the town of Alberobello which was very cute and quaint, with little circular huts everywhere that were peasant homes back in the earlier times. I did a quick scan of the Wikipedia page while we stopped for a coffee, but didn’t really get a chance to dig into the history of the place or the buildings, but it kind of had Disneyland vibes. Nevertheless, it was interesting and after a nice walk and lunch, we were ready to hit the road again.
Our next stop was Locorotondo, another medieval, walled city with mazes of narrow, cobblestone lined streets and more whitewashed houses. Per Wikipedia: “Locorotondo is listed as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy and it has been awarded the Orange Flag of the Touring Club of Italy due to the harmony of its shapes and the accessibility of the old town, as it can be easily visited on foot.” The foundation of the city dates back to 1000 AD and the area has been inhabited since the 7th century BC. Cute and ancient? Winner in my book.
Our third stop was Ostuni. We had considered bailing on the rest of Laura’s itinerary, but the first two places were so great we decided to continue. Ostuni is another medieval city where cars aren’t meant to drive but do anyway, and I felt like I was going to scrape the sides of the car on the house walls, or at least take off a side mirror, neither of which happened. The old walled city of Ostuni was beautiful and old and had a view of the Adriatic ocean, so naturally we walked around, had a drink at a cafe, and then headed home. It looked like there was a cool archeological museum with mummies or something in one of the churches, but the girls didn’t seem interested in going, so I put it on the list for another time.
I drove us home through rolling hills of vineyards, almond and olive orchards, as the sun sank toward the horizon. One of the guests requested a sunset swim, so although I was maxed out with driving and socializing, I stopped at a beach near Casa Giulia for a quick dip before we got home. One aspect of our day trip that I appreciated was the exquisite weather and timing. The weather was cool but sunny, and while particularly Alberobello could have felt like Disneyland, it was fairly uncrowded and enjoyable. Score one for southern Italy in September.
The next day I took the guests to Gallipoli, one because it was close and easy and two, because one girl loooved Christmas and I knew there was a Christmas store there she would like. You can just give me the award for best tour guide ever, now. After that we got panini and had lunch on the beach. The other guest looooved jumping off the rocks into the water, so after Gallipoli we went to Santa Caterina and found some great rocks to jump off.
The whole experience was pretty ridiculous, but all in all, fun. There were some awkward moments and by the end I was super burnt out, but I think I managed to keep all (ok most of) my snarky comments to myself. I don’t think I was cut out for the hosting industry. That said, both guests were grateful for my tour guiding and companionship, and I was happy to provide it. We had fun dinners together and got to see some cool places. In the end, one of the guests tipped me $200 and the other bought me a pizza.
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