Thursday, May 24th -- We met Georgio for coffee at Martinica at 11:00 am before heading off to the market to buy cheeses, bread and meat for sandwiches to take on our day trip to Otronto, a small picturesque seaside community on the Adriatic with a very long history. We made sandwiches for a lunch picnic and met our driver for the trip. We now what it means to have what Silvestro referred to as a low flying car in southern Italy. Our driver (we believe he's a transplanted native American Indian) had long black finely groomed hair, drove a 7-passenger van, and maneuvered it through the most narrow streets of the old city as though he were driving on a deserted city street in Bellingham. No honking needed as pedestrians simply eased over to hug the walls as we passed by. Once outside the city walls and onto the "expressway" to Otronto I watched as the speedometer registered 130 kph (80 mph).  And of course he was doing that at times while talking on his cell phone. Daniel and I were able to put on seat belts, but I'm not sure how much protection that would have afforded us at that speed.

As you can surmise from the fact that you're reading this, we did in fact survive the trip (in both directions). We picnicked on a prominence on the port of Otronto overlooking a most picturesque harbor, clear turquoise waters, and surrounded by finely restored buildings, some dating to the 12th century. We saw the castle where Silvestro's fiance's family spends their summers, an ancestral home (something we have few of in the States, especially castles). we spent a pleasant afternoon walking the streets of the city, ending with gellato before being picked up for our return ride back (well buckled up I might add).

Horse meat at maket

Horse meat types

Boats at Otranta Harbor

Otranto Harbor

Picnic Lunch at Hrbor

Silvestro Bicycled to Otronto

Castle in Otarto (Silvestro's future Inlaws Summer Home)

Otronto Harbor

Us at Otronto Harbor

Old City from Castle Wall

As we were on our own for dinner, we chose a recommended restaurant a block from our hotel where we had a rather non-descript dinner with a bottle of wine. Gellato in the town square and then to our hotel before 10:30 pm.  Last day's cooking school is tomorrow.