Words & photos by Stephanie Tumampos
Since I’ve lived in Europe for some time now, I decided to find out what makes Italy such a tourist magnet. So one summer, with a meager budget, I dragged along a friend to explore Italy. Off we went to our first stop: Puglia.
I’ve been to Bari in 2019, only as a jump off point to Dubrovnik in Croatia. I have a very vague recollection of how Bari was like, but visiting it again, I realized how precious it was—a place overflowing with history and good food.
A few hundred meters from the old moat, in a small archway called Arco Alto at the edge of Bari Vecchia, I saw women sitting on the small alley while they their hands rolled out fresh orecchiette pasta. The orecchiette is called such because its shape resembles a pig’s ear. We wanted to have a taste of the real orecchiette, so we headed to Ristorante El Pedro, a local canteen which has been serving the delicacy since it opened in 1968.
Satisfied, we went down south to see the trulli houses of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These 14th century houses have cone roofs made out of stacked flat rocks which could be easily demolished. At that time, this was intentionally done so that homeowners could avoid paying taxes on new settlements.
At that point, we wanted to see the Adriatic Sea and experience what it was like hanging around Puglia’s beaches. So we took a bus ride to Polignano a Mare, a small coastal city in the region. The city has breathtaking cliff beaches, and its restaurants served mouthwatering octopus sandwiches, and the famous Apulian focaccia—bread is topped with various cheeses, tomatoes, meat, and sauces.
Italy’s Campania takes pride in its many attractions. In Naples, pizza is a staple and I’m not quite sure what they put in it because everywhere we grabbed a slice, it was invariably delizioso. Pizza in Naples is magical and I surmise that it’s because making pizza is engraved in the heart of every Napolitano.
Campania is also the site of one of the most violent volcano eruptions which destroyed and buried two ancient cities—Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79. As a history bum, I loved how I could finally see with my own eyes the sad ending of once vibrant cities which were ahead of their time.
Many people think that visiting the famous beach towns of Positano and Amalfi entails a lot of money but interestingly, one could buy a 10-euro all-day bus ticket. We used this to hop on and off whenever we felt like a certain beach area was crowded. In summer, the Amalfi and Positano coasts can be the perfect place to just chill under a colorful parasol.
And since temperatures can soar during summer, it’s advisable to get a glass of Amalfi’s signature drink: lemon granitas. It’s a semi-frozen dessert made up of shaved ice, sugar, and their surprisingly huge lemons!
Visiting the crescent-shaped strip of the Mediterranean coastline was truly a dream come true for someone who loves both food and beaches. Home to the famous Genovian cuisine, and the beautiful, centuries-old fishing and seaside villages, Liguria is a haven for travelers who want a taste of Italian life overlooking the Ligurian Sea.
I love pesto and when it was time to eat, we went straight to a restaurant called Trattoria Delle Grazie. I appeased my cravings by ordering pesto lasagna and pasta with mussels. Since Genova is a coastal city, seafood is something one shouldn’t miss so I eventually ordered fish and chips, the Genovian version.
However, the most interesting part of this food experience was the dessert. First, we had the tiramisu. Then we had panna cotta, which should not be missed in Genova. Here, the unassuming dessert is made of sweetened cream, thickened with gelatin, and topped only with strawberry syrup. It tasted heavenly!
But there are more delights in the Italian Riviera. The colorful villages that cling to the steep cliffs and terraces in Cinque Terre were an enchanting sight. Cinque Terre boasts of five villages and traversing the way on a 19th-century railway heightens the beauty of the dramatic coastal sceneries as we traveled through each town.
On the beach, while looking at the beautiful Ligurian Sea, I took the opportunity to take it easy. I laid my towels on the gray sand beaches of Monterosso al Mare to bask under the sun. People say Monterosso al Mare is the least quintessential compared to the four villages, but it was nonetheless the only village which has a proper stretch of sandy beach kissed by the sparkling sea.
Many travelers wrongly think that to be able to enjoy life’s finer pleasures, one needs to have a lot of money. But as I tilted down my sunglasses to get a good view of the Ligurian sea, I realized that a great summer is possible on a shoestring budget without taking away all the joys and pleasures. It was truly an Italian summer to remember.
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