Naturally, my social algorithms kept giving me more Italian content: Pasta, Rome, and Views. I saved all of it to create a vision board and suddenly I found myself thinking how I could get to these places? I had to make it happen. I was in the midst of a new account at work, but I felt like I deserved this trip. Sophia and I made Miami happen, why couldn’t we make Italy happen…again? But this time I wanted to go to places that not all tourists went to. As much as I LOVE Rome, it can be severely overcrowded and you definitely need to go during off peak season to enjoy the best you can. No, I wanted to go to places that European tourists went to, or that Italians traveled to for their vacations. I didn’t want to fall into the American traps. So I did my research…
Sophia gave me a huge Italy book for my birthday. I’m talking hardcover, reviews on wines, mountains, history of colonization of other European countries, different pastas, meats, etc. So I made my itinerary: I was to travel East Italy down to the heel of the boot, Lecce. Then I would make my way into Sicily, a sought after island that I didn’t know much about, and make a nice layover in Naples, but not just for a few hours. No, I wanted to explore Naples. So here’s the beginning…
There are no direct flights to East Italy, so I figured I would just do a one day layover in Rome and take advantage of doing some offsite exploring and eating my favorite pastas. I stayed in probably the worst hostel I had been to. Maybe it wasn’t the absolute worst, but my roommates were some young American boys who had not showered for a few days. To my advantage, I stayed out of that room for the most part. I spent the day walking around and eating 🙂 the next day, I had to check out and so I left my bags at a locker site near the train station, while I continued to explore some Roman streets. Finally, I was 2 hours out from my bus to … Matera.
Now, remember, I still don’t have enough to stay in hotels or expense airplane rides all the time, so I figured I’d get an adventure out of it and book a bus ticket that departed at 11:30 PM. That’s right folks, I took a red eye bus ride. I arrived at Matera (or at least the outskirts) at 6 AM. I was tired, but I was so happy I woke up in time. I lugged my bags to a nearby cafe and had my macchiato and cornetto for breakfast. I charged my phone (because I had 6% of battery left) and then headed out once I got to 70%. Unfortunately, I could not find an uber to where I needed to check in, and there were no buses nearby to take me, so I walked. 20 minutes didn’t sound bad, until I had to roll 60 lbs of luggage with me up hills and down hills. To my surprise I had reached the end of the city center, but my airbnb was not there…nope. It was within the Matera old town. I really outdid myself by trying to immerse myself into the experience of “living” in the city. So I had to drag my luggage (more like throw them) down rocky stairs to my airbnb.
After checking in and taking a nice cool shower, I could not waste time and so I left the airbnb to walk around and explore. It was only 10 am. I swear, I think I survived maybe 4 hours, and then to not die of dehydration and heat, I took a nap in my air conditioned air bnb for an hour and then headed back out. I could not waste time! I had a one night stay here! After MANY photos, I reached a lookout point and witnessed the town light up at sunset. What a site. I had seen this on Instagram, but it was so cool to witness IRL.
Fun Fact: Matera is known as one of the oldest cities in the world. The Sassi inhabitants lived in ancient cave dwellings carved into limestone rock. This city dates back over 9,000 years.
My recommendation is that if you do have more dollars in your budget, take advantage of the boutique hotels within the Sassi caves, you’ll really immerse yourself in the place. Wear comfortable shoes, because there are hills and stairs. Also probably best to spend 2 nights minimum here to explore more than what I have to share.
I ate my delicious dinner with some local wine and then explored the city for an hour at night. They had nice lights set up throughout the plaza, so it felt magical. I then had to go back to my airbnb to get some sleep. I had to catch another bus to my next destination… Bari!
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