Polignano a Mare

Arriving in the white-washed centro storico of Polignano a Mare several hours later only served to reinforce our decision to take a relaxing seaside weekend before the whirlwind of our first study trip. Polignano a Mare is a small town about 34 km south of Bari, perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking a grotto with the most crystal clear blue and green water I've seen in Europe. The cliffs are dotted with caves, some of which reach to the centre of town, and many of the wonderful restaurants and hotels are built into them. Polignano is thought to be one of the most important ancient settlements in Puglia and ended up being invaded by everyone from the Huns to the Normans at some point. There is rich history everywhere you look.

I'd booked us into a b&b found on the internet and it turned out to be absolutely perfect. Carlo from Casa Dorsi met us at the main piazza, and led us through the archway dating from 946 AD into the centro storico. Coming through the maze of little streets, we burst out onto a look-out point overlooking the swimming cove.

Our bed and breakfast was just around the corner. Up a steep set of narrow stairs, our quarters were three stories high, including three bedrooms and an amazing rooftop terrace with an outdoor shower and huge stone picnic table. We spent many hours over apertivos of prosecco and local olives, looking out over the Adriatic.

Our mission being to relax, we relished some long, drawn-out meals - most memorably the one at a trattoria in the centro storico where I first tasted burrata, a creamy raw-milk cheese that is a near-religious experience.

As part of that meal, we also sampled the local fresh pasta variety, orecchiete or "little ears", and I tried my first whole fish.

Not only did I love it, so did the little cat we adopted sometime during our meal and dubbed "Principessa". She devoured the fish heads quite daintily, and the owner of the trattoria was so amused by the experience that he gave us a bill for the cat...

The three of us essentially took the time to wander aimlessly, take ridiculous amounts of pictures, gorge on seafood at restaurants with spectacular views over the ocean, swim as much as humanly possible in the cool sea, and enjoy regular naps. We even rented a paddleboat one afternoon to explore a little further.

All in all, we rejoined our classmates on Monday morning at the Bari airport with huge smiles and the beginnings of a suntan.