Despite the comfort of our lazy lifestyle sunbathing and spritzing in Gallipoli (see last Friday’s post here), we managed to drag ourselves away from our sun-lounger and take a road trip down the coast to explore more of the delights of Puglia.
Our first stop was Otranto, a lovely little port town in Salento. This town has been host to the Greeks, the Turkish and the Italians and so boasts some really interesting historical sights and buildings.
The sea front in particular was really beautiful.
Although you can’t see it, the Adriatic and Ionion seas meet here…so we thought it only fit to stop for a drink and stare out to sea to see if we could detect the seas intermingling!
Having had our fill of culture we drove on to Alimini, a beautiful sandy beach, to top up our tans. Flanked by crystal blue waters on one side and lively bars on the other this was a great place to spend the afternoon. And although a bit of a drive from where we were staying, it was a lovely change to have the sand between our toes rather than the pebbles on offer in Gallipoli. We weren’t there at the right time but I understand the beach parties on this beach are pretty legendary…something to go back for then!
Happily sunned for the day we hopped back in the car and continued to drive down the coastline. The views (which I sadly failed to capture) were beyond stunning and it was amazing to catch glimpses of the diverse history of the area, such as this Turkish bathhouse.
The final stop on our day out was Santa Maria di Leuca the south-eastern most point of Italy. Known for its white cliffs and amazing views we made sure to be here for sunset.
Stunning…so naturally I got a little snap happy.
I was so glad we took ourselves out of our comfort zone to explore the area a little more…there’s so much to see in Salento alone. Although clearly a very popular destination for Italians, Puglia still seems relatively undiscovered by the tourist hoards and I will definitely aim to come back before its delights are discovered by the masses.