Italy Day 17 {Vieste on the Adriatic Sea}

Splashing toward shore, Peter and Joseph cool off in the  Adriatic Sea.

With the cliffs of Vieste behind him, Joseph builds sand mounds on the beach.

Drivers doing donuts on the sandy beach; our first glimpse of Vieste.

Fresh seafood and a room with a view awaited us in the seaside town of Vieste, along the shores of the Adriatic Sea in south eastern Italy.  A planned destination for rest and relaxation, Vieste delivered on both and then some. The quaint cliff-side town sprouted up from the sea shore like a barnacle, and since we arrived at the end of "low" season, the miles of beachfront hotel properties leading into town were still boarded up.  Odd to pass through the likes of a ghost town along such an amazing stretch of sandy beach on a gorgeous Friday evening!  A bustling social scene filled the streets of the center of Vieste, making our initial approach and search for a hotel somewhat challenging.  After a few unsuccessful laps around the town we found the first beach-front hotel open and inviting, as well as reasonably priced.  Our new home on the beach had a balcony with sweeping views (plus a much needed laundry line) and a breakfast offering cold cereal, a craved item.

Posing for the junior photographer at a viewpoint outside Vieste

More posing, more amazing views near Vieste along the shores of the Adriatic Sea in Italy

Altar and tabernacle at San Croce, Vieste, Italy

Barefoot on the sandy beach, we played in the (cold) Adriatic Sea and relaxed in the sun.  Finding sunscreen in the "off" season required great effort, and eventually great expense ($20US).  Hard to believe a few of us managed to get sunburned despite our "being prepared" for our day at the beach!  The sand claimed half of each boys' sandwich, and was found spilling out from our pockets for many days after our Vieste stop.  Sadly, the amount of litter on the beach was shocking.  We wondered if maybe in the "high season" the efforts at beach clean-up are better.

Vieste at night; glimpsed from an alley on our walk from Mass at San Croce to dinner.

The remains of a fish soup shared by Joseph and Tim for dinner.

Vieste at 21:41 (9:41PM); the temperature reads 21 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Carried into the restaurant's kitchen in an old bucket by a man in his 70's, the night's catch soon landed on the table in the form of an exotic looking soup.  Heads, tails, fins, shells; simmered together and served in a delicious, spicy tomato broth to the brave eaters at our table (Tim and Joseph).  Also served up (without being ordered) were what we mistakenly assumed were free extras: cold water and fresh bruschetta!  When the check arrived at the end of our meal, however, we realized that these offerings were actually charged to our tab at a cost of about $18US.  Laughing about how anxious we were of the Italian "pickpockets" we realized that consistently it's the restaurants that seem to be picking our pockets.  Cover charges are common at most places we've dined, and run about $3-5US per person just to sit down, water's not included. 

Noteworthy:

• Do feel suspicious if your 13 year old son, otherwise not very interested in (or perhaps averse to) photography offers to take a group photo on the balcony one sunny morning.
• It's your own fault if said photographer laughs and locks the door after the suspects, including you are in position.
• Do expect the joke to end quickly once the fun's been had and you've requested to be let back into the room.

Locked out!  And we thought Joseph was just being kind in offering to take our photo on the balcony!  Little did we know he'd been plotting... this boy really misses his play time!