37 Blog, Friday, October 11, 2024

We are now in Monopoli, pronounced just the way the game is pronounced. Trust me. I tried say it the way I thought Italians might say it: “Mo-no-po-lie” with long o’s. Nope. Just Monopoli. We are here for 10 days and will be joined by Alistair’s son, Peter, on Monday, for the rest of our time here.

It’s refreshing to settle in somewhere for the longest stay of our sabbatical, to have a washing machine and the time to let clothing dry (very few homes have dryers here, as in the UK). Our street-facing terrace is currently covered in clean laundry that will dry quickly in the warm sun. I actually pelted someone with a clothespin earlier today by mistake. It made me realize how little we all look up when we are walking around, and often, so much is happening right above our heads. She was a good sport and had a good throwing arm and lobbed it right back to me.

We are renting an apartment in a busy neighborhood, close to a piazza with restaurants, close to the Adriatic Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean, and right now, we can hear an Elvis karaoke singer who sounds like he might have had one Aperol Spritz too many belting out songs. The last guy was really good, but this one, not so much…it’s Friday night in a coastal town and the piazza is hopping!

I really like the way the apartment manager describes our stay in their info: “Welcome home! We do not offer a classic stay, but a life experience in contact with local people in a colorful and full of smells atmosphere.” The funny translation cracks me—a ‘full of smells’ atmosphere! That is also a really accurate way to describe how I approach each city we have visited. Milan had a beautiful scent of perfume, a musky rose, that it seemed like every woman was wearing. But I had never smelled it before. Venice, of course, was the sea all around us. Rome was truffles (really, all of Italy is truffles—very distinctive smell!). Matera was damp rocks, at least our cave-room smelled kind of like a basement. And here in Monopoli—bread!!! That’s because we live up the street from a master pastisserie. Any time we pass by the bakery kitchen, the door is open and at least 6 bakers are in there, working away. The smell is divine. They make fine pastries, cookies, loaves of fresh bread. So yes, this is a ‘full of smells’ location. (Karaoke update: the whole crowd is singing along with Coldplay’s “Yellow”. Very loud.)
Perched on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, Monopoli was founded in 500 BC by Greek settlers who named the city Monos Polis, or Unique City. Amazingly, we are just across the sea from Croatia, which seems impossible to me, but I’ll include a map. It was once part of Venice’s empire, long before a united Italy existed. (Karaoke update: Now an Italian favorite—Volare!)

While I am still trying to figure out this respiratory thing, I managed to find a running route right along the sea, but the disappointment is that Monopoli has just two of the tiniest sand beaches, and mostly has very rocky, craggy shores. As the beach is not at all interesting to Alistair, I may have to wait until Greece to really swim in this beautiful blue water. (Karaoke question—why don’t more women sing karaoke? Also why don’t really good singers sing karaoke, or is that just the Aperol Spritz singing? Coldplay again ‘Viva la Vida’—Live Life!!)

Alistair’s observation is that the typical Italian pattern seems to be that there’s a historic center (Centro Storico) to many cities and, over time, the city becomes surrounded by modern neighborhoods and businesses. We are usually fortunate to be in the center of the old city, which we are right now in Monopoli. While the piazza nearby is part of the historic city—we were not allowed to bring our car into this area but had to park it about 15 minutes away—tourism has grown exponentially in cities near the sea, and Monopoli is a good example of that. (Karaoke update: Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer”. It was inevitable that we had a Swiftie song, right?)

Seafood, especially octopus, or polpo, is a specialty here in Monopoli, and on our travels by the shoreline, I saw a man with a bucket, and I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Apparently octopi must live pretty close to shore because he had an octopus in each hand—they were small enough to fit in his hands—and he was killing them, I think, by throwing them repeatedly on the rocks. I managed to snap a photo of him and he looked up at me with annoyance, but he kept throwing those octopi on the rocks, over and over. I think it must be tough to kill an octopus, but this did not strike me as the best way to do it. After doing a little research, it seems as though there are not a lot of humane ways to kill them quickly, and clubbing is one of the common ways. Rock-smashing is a version of that. I assume the man was bringing home some dinner as do many of the fisherfolk around here and this may be the way locals take care of their catch.

(Final karaoke update: the slurring of verses is getting a bit more pronounced but people are still singing with energy. We have been listening to Italian pop songs, which makes me happier somehow. Oh wait! Alistair called out for Abba before and guess what? Just as we are ready to close the shutters on the terrace—here is is!! “Dancing Queen” reigns on Friday night in Monopoli and Alistair is singing along now. All is well—except for our ability to sleep while this goes on.)

Blessings--may we all keep singing with the sincerity and dedication of these young people, no matter how talented we are. “Sing to the LORD a new song. Sing to the LORD, all the earth.” (or at least all of Monopoli….) Psalm 96

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