An Intro to Italy, Ciao to Greece

I’ll make this short, as we’re playing catch-up at the moment with the blog. We had a brilliant send off, thanks to Dimitry and Daniela in Athens.

We made our way to Patra/Patras/Patrai (it’s listed as all three possibilities, so work with me) and found the scariest Bates’ Hotel looking hostel…Brrr.

So we found a restaurant on the outskirts of the city* and struck a deal of paying daily for electricity and water for our stay, plus having the added security of a fenced-in parking place.

They didn’t mention that Saturday nights in Greece is THE night out, that most people don’t even deign to step foot into a place until after 10 pm and they dance all night. It’s a weekly ‘thing.’ We were caught unawares the first time, but I decided to partake of the second Saturday.

I was told several things: The Germans hated the Greeks, because the Greeks were too relaxed.

The Greeks can be penniless, but they’ll enjoy themselves to the fullest because it’s about living life, not counting change.

And the most famous local dance was called the Drunken God, where you basically slide back and forth with semi-precise footing while waving your arms like you’ve lost your balance.

The ferry ride to Brindisi, Italy was uneventful. An Intro to Italy, Ciao to Greece

It was beautiful, mostly quiet and we mostly slept through the midnight cruise. A day or so spent in Brindisi, and we’re now visiting Paola and Lavinia (hope I’m spelling them right-!) in Puglia.

It’s gorgeous. They have specialized housing, called ‘Trullo.’ Check out: Trullo Houses Italy. I’ll go into more details about these fascinating constructs later, but at the moment I’d like to finish up with: