The only time I sat in the front of the car during the trip was when I drove us to Fiumara from Margherita. For the rest of the time, I was sat in the back, enjoying the views or Tom's distress at being on Italian roads. I was sat in the back during The Terrible Incident (it involved Tom driving, the worst junction I've ever seen in my life, a tone of voice I've never heard before, a change of drivers, and a silent journey broken only by my poor attempts at conversation) which was probably the only time it was inconvenient for me to be there. It also meant that I could sneakily nap without disrupting the conversation in the car (and I needed a lot of sneaky naps...).
About 3/4 days in to the holiday, I realised I had taken next to no photos. I had the couple from our first night, and then one of the view from Fiumara but that was it. It was starting to look like I would come back with no proof I'd actually been... And as bloggers know, if you didn't take a picture, it didn't really happen. With that in mind, Tom and I agreed to start taking more photos. This photo was the start of that (and also the first selfie we took that holiday - which for us, is surprising). We were in Margherita - although not on the day of The Terrible Incident, this was before that - and on our way to go sunglass shopping. You'll notice that Tom has the most offensive sunglasses you've probably ever seen on his face in this picture (karma for pretending to be Dutch). We mistakenly thought they were okay... Until we were both forced to wear them at one point or another. Then we realised that they were not, in fact, okay. They were actually the sunglasses version of the back-up cars in Top Gear Specials. And we hated them.
Here is a nice picture of a stunning sunset in the Italian countryside.... and Tom giving you the finger.
There was one day when we were in Anna's car driving to Fiumara that really sticks out. I don't remember who was driving, when it was or even what song was playing. I know the song was upbeat and happy. I know that we had it loud enough that conversation was halted for a moment, that I had my window open and the wind was causing my hair to chase itself across my face. I had one on those moments when you properly feel in the present - I was looking out and it just hit me. I was in Italy. I was in Italy, driving past a constant stream of stunning sights, it was sunny, good music was playing and I was with two people I love. I felt so genuinely happy that I thought my heart was going to burst.
In a town right by the sea, the name of which I can't remember (but I think it looks like Biscuit), we visited my favourite cafe of the holiday. We sat on wicker chairs next to a stone wall and looked out over the Mediterranean. The view was insane. When the conversation between me and Anna (Tom slept through most of it) fell into silence, it was so peaceful to sit and listen to the water lap against the rocks just beneath us. I'm not sure how long we sat there but I was so sorry to leave. We couldn't believe how empty it was... If I lived anywhere near that place, I would have been there as often as I could.
I've said before but I liked being able to go back to places we visited last time, if only so I could see if it was just as good as I remember it being.. They always were. This place in Bari was no exception, although the rocks had been moved so we couldn't sit on them quite like McPake and I did. Props to Tom for the photos though, I love the one of me on the left.
Tom modelling his sunglasses that were not broken by me and it was not because they were lose in my rucksack. I'm not sure why he's wearing them seeing as he'd only woken up moments before I took the picture but it still makes me laugh to see them on his face. Mainly because once we realised it meant he was stuck wearing those awful sunglasses, he tried very seriously to see if it was possible to wear the broken pair (it wasn't.... obviously).
One of the more incredible moments of the trip: Tom was actually defeated by a meal. Yep, you read that right. The human dustbin actually found something he couldn't finish (no matter how much he wanted to). We had to take a photo because we weren't sure if anyone would believe us if we didn't...
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