Mei's Vakantie

Have pity on my liver. Suddenly, eight friends turned out to be staying in the area. So the chairs of B and M were still warm when S and M landed on our porch. The day before, we had lunch with K and M, and the day after, dear Jet (you know her, she gets more than just an initial) came with her beloved and her pregnant belly.

And when friends are nearby, you make plans again the next day. Meeting each other during your vacation gives such a different dynamic. Where you would otherwise meet each other dressed up in a restaurant, now you spend the whole evening teasing each other, get ice cream with their children, and catch up while both of you float on an air mattress. A lunch can easily last a day and it always ends with a dive in the Mare Adriatico. I just don’t put on mascara anymore, lost cause.

Because we come to Puglia every year and have quite a tendency for recidivism, we are pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone this year. Besides our great loves (Beachclub Coccaro, Vista Mare da Michele in Torre Sante Sabina), we have decided to only eat in unknown restaurants. My biggest discovery so far was found on the way to a furniture store in Bari. We were a bit early, so we took the exit at Poligano al Mare, we cruised along the harbor, and when we wanted to turn around, we suddenly saw a little tent in the bend. A bit weathered, a bit dilapidated. Right by the sea. The terrace was bordered by hammocks, and while we waited for our spigola and gamberi alla braccia, our girls floated in the hammock and we chatted with two gentlemen who were about to sail from Bari to Greece (with dog Otto!). There, I fished the mussels out of their shells while kicking off my shoes, digging my toes between the blades of grass, and feeding hungry mouths. Corona suddenly seemed far away, and a feeling of happiness gently unfolded over us.