A perfectly executed plan

The plan was to drive out to the Gargano peninsula to Manfredonia in the morning and then move onto Mattinata in the afternoon for a swim.

If one is looking at a map of Italy the peninsular is the spur about 2/3rd down the eastern coast or slightly south east from Rome on the Adriatic coast.

The distance to Manfredonia from Foggia is approximately 35 kms and the drive is mainly along a 4 lane highway (2 in each direction) through what is rather barren countryside

We parked the car at the first parking area we could find and then walked into Centro, a walk that gave the impression that we had made a mistake coming here but after a kilometre we found the Main Street which extended for around another 1 km. It was a well kept area in comparison to central areas we have been in recently and there was a nice buzz in the street with a lot of boutique shops 

The city is a port city so the Adriatic is on its back doorstep which adds to the environment.

A resident is obviously moving out of their home and using an external lift like this is the only practical option 

As the shops started closing early afternoon and the streets went quiet we returned to the car and headed further around the peninsular to Mattinata in search of one of their beaches and parked up beside Spiaggia di Piana di Mattinata which is a stretch of around 800m of stony beach again with areas being managed by various concessions supplying umbrellas and sun loungers at a cost.

There are areas where those who don’t want such luxuries can drop anchor and we did so and took to the very clear and cool ocean - it was an excellent refresh.

 When I say the beach was stony that is no understatement but some of the stones had interesting colouring 

We arrived back in the apartment late afternoon to complete a satisfying day.

As a side note we are in the region of Apulia, sometimes called by its Italian name Puglia, and it is the region that forms the heel of Italy’s “boot”

Kms driven to date 3740

Kms walked to date 527.2

Spent on Diesel €226.02

Highest price paid to date for diesel €1.699/L Verona

Lowest price paid to date for diesel €1.479/L Freiburg

Spent on tolls €72.70 (should be more but not our fault 🤨)