Two weeks under the Puglia sun (page 3 of 7)

Hi Isabelle

Welcome to Puglia, which is definitely much more pleasant off-season than in the middle of summer.

It’s great to see someone hanging out here 🙂 (I was feeling a bit lonely 😏). I don’t know if everyone’s just swamped or away on vacation right now, but there’s really not much happening on VF these days 😕

It’s one of my best memories of Puglia, Lecce. 🙂

But you know Florence, right?

Yeah. Florence feels like too much of a museum city to me.

Lecce is livelier.

And personally, I prefer its architectural style.

It's always interesting to get different opinions ;). And there are probably fewer people in Lecce than in Florence!

Yes, there were way fewer people in Lecce!

While waiting for the church to empty, we’re going to try the local specialty: the pasticciotto, a cake with a crispy shortcrust pastry filled with custard (personally, it reminded me of my mother-in-law’s Basque cake).

Where I come from, we call that a "choke-the-baker"

It’s not a very appealing name, is it? 😏

So nice to see someone hanging out here 🙂 (I was feeling a bit lonely 😏). I don’t know if everyone’s just swamped or away on vacation right now, but there’s really not much happening on VF these days 😕

I’m not missing a single bit of this trip to the heel of the boot!

Hi Isabelle

Welcome to Puglia, which is definitely much more pleasant off-season than in the middle of summer.

It’s great to see someone hanging around here 🙂 (I was feeling a little lonely 😏). I don’t know if everyone’s just swamped or away on vacation right now, but there’s really not much happening on VF these days 😕

Yeah, it’s true I haven’t been around much lately 😅... I need to come back more regularly to support you all 👍

That’s great, Bruno! 👍 .... but you could take the chance to share a few adventures from your masked trip ;) (since you didn’t keep a travel journal for this destination :p)

Let's finish visiting Lecce now that the wedding crowd has dispersed: The Basilica of Santa Croce inside,





outside,





and the Palazzo dei Celestini right next door



Back to the car to visit the Baroque cemetery… But no!!! It’s closed from 1 pm to 4 pm! (We really struggle to remember that *everything* you visit can close during midday hours, so we should check first!) Oh well! We head back toward the Abbazia di Santa Maria di Cerrate, a small church nestled in a rural setting. We won’t visit it (first, we’ve had our fill of churches for today, and second, the entry fee is barely less than Lecce’s monument pass).

To wrap up the day, we take a little detour through Acaya, a fortified (and sleepy) village with its imposing castle (which, of course, is closed since it only reopens at 5 pm).

Sunday, May 24: After all these monument visits, a bit of nature today! Off to the deep south, east side! It’s Sunday: Italian bikers, cyclists, and hikers are out in force! Beachgoers and sunbathers too 😎 In short, the roads are much busier than the previous days. We pick up the coast roughly where we left off Friday, south of Otranto: first stop at the Palascia lighthouse, the easternmost point of Italy. A small path leads down to it.



In the distance, you can spot (or rather guess) the Albanian coast (I even got a surprise with some Albanian data charges when I got back ).



Next (brief) stop: Porto Badisco.



We then drive through Santa Cesarea Terme, a (former) thermal resort as its name suggests, with its surprising Moorish-style houses. But since there’s no parking available… we continue to Castro. Another quick stop because… well, the visit doesn’t really inspire us.

Plus, it’s getting really hot, and we’d rather save our energy for the (short) hike to the Grotta di Cipolliane.

I’d spotted this hike in Biboun’s travel journal, and our host recommended it too—with good reason.



The trail starts with a view of il cielo and its bridge, where some daredevils jump in the summer.



It then continues along the side of the “mountain” by the sea.







All the way to the famous Cipolliane cave.



When we arrived, a group of Italians with a guide was already there. Apparently, there’s a lot to say about this cave.



But after a little while, we had the cave all to ourselves 🙂.



We took the same path back.

Next stop: the southernmost town in Puglia, Santa Maria di Leuca, best known for its monumental staircase marking the end of the Puglia aqueduct. We parked a bit randomly near the lungomare, and a boardwalk (landmark: the lighthouse) leads us to the foot of the staircase, passing along the port.





Didn’t have the energy to climb up there for the 😇 view!



We then head straight back toward Melendugno via monotonous country roads and a few crossings through small, charm-free towns.

Monday, May 25: We’ve got 2 days left here and only one day of sightseeing planned 😮. Scheduling mistake! 😇 (I’d only sketched out the rough outline of the vacation plan when I booked the accommodations). Well, let’s save the last visits for tomorrow and treat ourselves to another chill day today 😎.

Since we went south to Roca Vecchia when we arrived, let’s check out what the north and its natural pools look like. We park in the same spot as last time in a still-deserted Roca Vecchia and follow the cammino del Salento. Small aside: along this trail, sections close to the sea are off-limits due to landslide risks.





The trail eventually leads us to Santa Foca.



The coast is still less pretty on this side, and it’s the only place where I saw trash (likely brought in by the sea but not cleaned up 🏴‍☠️).

Santa Foca, which has clearly welcomed a fan of Buren 😎



The small town is, of course, just as quiet as its neighbors 😏



... but that probably won’t last! Here, the beach workers are in full swing



while some private beaches are already welcoming their first tourists

I’d love if someone could explain to me one day the pleasure of lying on those sun loungers for hours! Okay, if you’re in the front row, fair enough. But in the middle or at the back, where people walk by and sandblast you like a side of beef or slap you with their giant fries while yelling… 🤪

Anyway, this region is really lovely—your photos speak to me! 🙂

We did it once (I confess! 😇 😏), in Pelion, Greece. So, there were fewer sun loungers, and especially very few people, and it was really cheap (like 4 or 5 € for the day, but we only stayed a few hours). I admit that for reading, it’s way more comfortable than lying on the sand (I can’t do that 😅), and there was no pool at our accommodation. Otherwise, it’s true that when your neighbors are 20 cm away... 🤪

The worst is when the private beach also thinks it's cool to blast thumping music all day long... Guess relaxation will have to wait!

And in that case, it must be tough to focus on your book ;) And if you're also right between two private beaches blasting different music...🤯

Tuesday 05/26 Our last day in this region. We still have to explore the western part of the peninsula. On the agenda: Nardò, Porto Selvaggio park, and Gallipoli. But first, we're heading to Galatina and the stunning frescoes of the Basilica di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria. Yes, first, because this time we checked the opening hours—it’s closed in the afternoon until 4:00 or 4:30 PM, so it’d be risky to stop by on the way back. The basilica doesn’t look like much from the outside



... but the interior is definitely worth a look!