We've only been here two nights and two days but Tara and I enthusiastically agree; we think we'd like to live here. The city of Potenza has a particular vibe, a quiet welcoming sort of quality about it which we both immediately noticed when we arrived (after we caught our breath). Though we can't exactly explain it, for whatever reason, this place feels somehow …right.

Of course, we're not going to settle down in Italy, at least not in this decade. Instead of apartment hunting, we spent the morning wandering around town, people watching and enjoying the sights of the decidedly regal city.

We passed many wildly gesticulating Italian men:

Recorded the comings and goings on one of the narrow shop lined streets:

Spied countless fur wearing women:

Wondered about the origins of this strangely framed brick:

Wished briefly that we didn't live on road so that we could have wildly colorful loads of laundry to dry outside our window (Tara):

…and finally, returned to our hotel room with a massive collection of cheap, delicious food for lunch:

After our gorging ourselves, we made (bittersweet) plans for leaving Italy. Tomorrow we'll start riding towards the port town of Bari. Soon we'll be on the last major ferry of our trip: to Greece!

One interesting note: today is our 300th day on the road!