Michelle's Travel Adventures

Sunday, May 18

After the quick Madonna de Idris caveoso rock church visit in Matera, we hopped on the shuttle to take us back to our car (at TA&CO garage which is just outside the city of Matera). We then drove to Lecce which is about a 2 hour drive. We had debated about breaking up the drive with a stop somewhere but decided we just wanted to get to Lecce and explore. We found our bed and breakfast easily and the cherry on top was the free parking spot right out front! Lucky!

Italy parking tips: Blue lines = paid parking and you must pay at the machines.  White lines = free parking.  Yellow lines = reserved (disabled, commercial or government.  Do not park here!)

After we got settled in at LuxAttico B&B and met with our host Maria Luisa, we walked to the Basilica di Santa Croce. This church is a stunning display of “Lecce Baroque”. Lecce has over 40 churches, but this one is a must see.    Built over the course of the 16th and 17th century the face of the church has carvings of beasts, cherubs, sheep and dodos.

My favorite part was the massive circular window that’s framed by cherubs and flowers. The details have details…it’s so intricate!

Then we walked to the Roman Amphitheatre ruins believed to be from the 2nd century AD, only discovered in the early 1900’s by construction workers!!!

Another highlight of Lecce is the Piazza del Duomo which is another baroque spectacular.  The square houses the cathedral, the 72 m high bell tower, the Palazzo Vescovile and Museum of sacred art.

We were starting to run out of steam and getting a bit cranky so we decided to pull the plug on more exploring and head back to the B&B and chill out until our dinner reservation tonight.

For dinner tonight we’re at A’Roma L’Osteria which is a nice walking distance from our b&b.  We shared the stuffed zucchini flowers and suppli.

We shared an order of Carbonara (the star of the night!) and a Cacio e Pepe (delicious but not as good as the carbonara)

After dinner we had a lovely walk back to the b&b and called it a night.

Monday, May 19

Maria Luisa provides an amazing breakfast at her Luxattico B&B!  We started with a traditional hot Lecce pastry, a platter of sweet pastries, and fresh fruit along with coffee and orange juice.

I am very excited about today because we are visiting some of the sites that have been on my bucket list for years!  First up is the Cave of Poetry!  

It’s only a 35 km drive from Lecce and along the Adriatic coast.  TIP: There is a large paid parking area just before the site so you don’t have to try and cram your car along the side of the narrow roadway.  Because we were visiting off season we didn’t have to pay an entrance fee. We arrived by 11 am and I’d say it was moderately busy, not too crazy.  If you want to avoid crowds I’d suggest arriving earlier.

The water is the most beautiful turquoise blue and the surrounding coastline is rugged and dramatic.  There is a coastal watchtower that was built in the 1500’s 

The Cave of Poetry is a heart shaped limestone pool with brilliant turquoise water.  Legend has it that a beautiful princess once bathed in this cave and poets from across the region came to watch her and were so inspired they wrote verses about her.

People do swim in the pool but it wasn’t a  super warm day, even for us Canadians, so we decided to pass on the swim.

Then we headed to Beach Torre Sant’ Andrea, which is only a few kilometers down the road.  Which is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!  If you only have time for one stop, I would pick here over the Cave of Poetry.

The water is an intense turquoise that shifts to bright aquamarine in the shallows to a rich sapphire blue where the water gets deeper.  The water was so clear you can see down to the rocks on the sea floor. But it’s not just the colour of the water that makes this place so special, it’s also the dramatic honey coloured limestone cliffs with unique rock formations, arches and the faraglioni (rock stacks).

There is a paid parking area and from there it is easy to find the walking trail that takes you along the cliffs.  It was pretty easy climbing some of the cliffs to get closer to the water.  Torre Sant’ Andrea was definitely less crowded than the Cave of Poetry, which was nice. 

Along the trail on the other side of the road we meet these lounging goats and a donkey!  And when we got back to the car park a guy was selling pecorino cheese out of the back of his van.  Only in Italy!

From here we drove to Baia dei Turchi.  Well, as close to Baia dei Turchi as we could get.  What we didn’t realize was just how far the actual beach was from where you have to park your car.  It’s about a 30 minute walk from the car park.  Part of that walk is a nice easy pathway, then it heads into a wooded trail (which is tricky in flip flops) and then the trail emerges from the woods but it’s literally along the cliff edge (which have warning signs about rock slides!!).

BUT once you do make it to the actual beach, it IS a beautiful beach!  Definitely one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe that we’ve been to (for us it’s probably a second place to the beaches in Crete).  The sand is soft and white and the water is a beautiful turquoise colour.  

It was a very windy day and we were arriving midday so we had a hard time finding a spot on the sand that we could tuck into a cove for wind shelter because literally every sheltered area was already jam packed with people.  But we just kept walking until we found a space with some wind protection.

Also keep in mind that this beach does not have any facilities so if you need access to the bathroom…well there isn’t any.  So good luck.

We had such a large breakfast and we had wrapped up some pastries from the table to have as a midday snack on the beach.  Nothing like a sandy and flakey croissant on the beach hahhaha.

On our return trek back to the car, Makena slipped on a slippery rock and busted her knee.  A stranger tried to help her and she nearly fell too but her boyfriend caught her midfall.  So poor Makena had to walk 30 minutes back to the car with blood dripping down her leg.  Not fun!

Once we got back to our B&B we went to the nearest pharmacy to get something for Makena’s cuts on her knee.  You guys….I LOVE a European pharmacy!!! I may have purchased a few things from Caudalie that you can’t get in Canada. 😉

Tonight we are going to dinner at Trattoria Fiori di Zucca which was a recommendation from our B&B host Maria Luisa.  We didn’t really think through the logistics because it ended up a 30 minute walk and poor Makena’s knee was not feeling great by the time we finally reached the restaurant.

Trattoria Fiori di Zucca (which means Zucchini Flower) is a very traditional, family run restaurant.  The interior is pretty old school with rustic wood tables and chairs, lots of photographs and trinkets on the walls, but the lighting was bright and if you don’t know how I feel about too bright lights at restaurants…well I don’t want to sound dramatic but lights that are too bright and/or very loud/hectic noises can ruin a meal for me. Setting is important to me.

The vine covered veranda when you enter the restaurant is really cute and has a fun vibe and I think that is probably where we would have preferred to sit.

The menu focuses on traditional Puglian cuisine and fresh local ingredients. You can tell this is a local favourite, we were the only English speaking table.  And I’m going to be honest, it does have a lot of horse meat options on the menu, so we played it safe tonight and ordered vegetarian dishes.

Here is what we ordered to share: Zucchini flowers ( how could we not?!) which were the best I’ve ever tasted.  Spaghetti pomodoro, which was also very good.  And eggplant parmesan, which was the star of the night!!! I could have eaten 10!  Delicious!!! We also ordered homemade pasta and chickpeas and a spaghetti with garlic, oil and hot peppers which were both ok.

After dinner we were pretty tired and didn’t want to put Makena’s knee through a 30 minute walk again so we decided to cab it back to the B&B.

Tuesday, May 20

At breakfast this morning Maria Luisa asked us where we went the day before, and you really don’t need to wonder what her opinions are because she will happily share her thoughts and opinions with you. She said that Baia dei Turchi was not her favourite place and it isn’t a good spot with the prevailing wind (which we absolutely experienced) and she strongly recommended that we head to the opposite coast today.

Really who are we to argue with local knowledge? So we happily accepted her recommendations and set out to do just that.

We head to Maria Luisa’s favourite spot, Torre Lapillo Beach which is along the Ionian Coast.  The drive took us about 45 minutes and we found street side parking near the beach without a problem. The beach here is really beautiful with a long stretch of soft, white sand and shallow crystal clear turquoise water.  And we are definitely on the right side of the prevailing winds today, and we are loving the calm and sheltered conditions.

We are totally shocked that we basically have the entire beach to ourselves today, there’s hardly anyone here!!! 

We picked the beach club (Lido Max) that looked like they had the most comfortable lounge chairs and in the front row, closest to the water and settled in.  You have to pay for the use of the beach chairs but there are open sandy areas if you want to stretch out on your own towel for free.

At noon we went up to the club and ordered some Aperol Spritzes and then ate our breakfast leftovers that we packed with us.

By mid afternoon we decided we were ready to move on from the beach and we drove south to Gallipoli (a 35 minute drive).  Gallipoli has 2 main areas: a modern new town on the mainland, and an Old Town perched on a small island connected by a 17th century bridge.  And of course we chose the old town to explore

Gallipoli is famous for its beaches and Spiaggia della Purita is right beneath the old town walls!

You really get the best of both worlds here: beautiful, Caribbean like beaches combined with the charm of an Italian historic island village.  It’s a cool mix of history and culture with a laid back summery beach vibe. This would make a perfect home base in the Salento area of Puglia if you’re looking for an alternative to Lecce.

For dinner tonight we went to Crianza located in the historic center of Lecce.  It’s described as a place for food lovers so it sounded like a perfect place for us!  We would’ve sat at the outdoor terrace but it looked like it might rain so we got an indoor table.  The ambiance inside has a cozy and relaxed vibe with a great music playlist (also lighting was warm and on point).  It definitely has a more youthful vibe to some of the “older family run” restaurants we’ve been to.

Tonight we ordered olives and taralli (obsessed), a selection of cured meats and cheese from Puglia to share.  Makena and I both ordered the burger which was really good.  Macy ordered the steak salad and Stephen ordered the Iberian black pig.  Everything was really good and we really enjoyed the whole evening.

Wednesday, May 21

This morning we are hitting the road again and heading to Otranto, which is about 40 minutes south of Lecce and along the Adriatic coast.

It was an overcast day but the water was still a brilliant turquoise.  The waterfront is remarkably beautiful and has a long promenade that curves along the bay, perfect for walking and probably awesome at sunset. 

Apparently the water is quite shallow and sandy in the bay and people often wade in the water.

Today was the only time I didn’t have a lunch plan/reservation.  I was actually thinking we could grab a sandwich and eat along the promenade.  However I had to pee and NEEDED a bathroom badly so we ended up going into a random restaurant that looked like it would have a decent washroom.  Well, it ended up being our worst meal of the trip.  It was expensive and the food was not good, but it did have clean washrooms so there’s that at least.  The one good part of the meal was that Macy ordered her first Caffè Leccese – a traditional drink from the Salento region made of iced espresso and sweetened with almond syrup (or sometimes almond milk).  I didn’t even take photos of the rest of the meal because it grossed me out just looking at it.

After wandering the streets of Otranto we drove to the most southern tip of the heel, Santa Maria di Leuca.  Where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet.  It’s a pretty yet windswept town with a few grand villas and a dramatic coastline.  I loved the elegant villas which were built in the late 1800’s by aristocratic families.  These houses are so extra and I’m totally here for it!

I wish I took more pictures of all the beautiful homes! I’m obsessed!

We also stopped for a coffee and a treat at Martinucci Maestri Pasticceri dal 1950. An awesome spot with tons of pastry options, coffee and ice cream (and also decent washrooms if you need a bathroom break!). If you go there, you definitely need to try a Pasticciotto Leccese. It’s a traditional dessert from the Salento area, made of a crumbly, golden shortcrust pastry and filled with a silky custard. The classic filling is usually a vanilla or lemon custard. But you can find variations with chocolate, black cherry (amarena) or pistachio. We tried the pistachio pasticciotto.

The drive back to Lecce took about an hour however finding a parking spot was a whole other matter. After circling around a few times we dropped off the girls at the B&B and continued to search for a spot. Long, boring story short, it took almost an hour to find a parking spot that we could leave the car overnight. Very frustrating.

Our dinner tonight was at Ueme, which was walking distance! Yayyy!!! Ueme is a modern pizzeria and cocktail bar that has a fun and vibrant vibe. We decided to sit outside on the terrace tonight, which was the perfect decision.

The cocktails were delicious! Makena and I had the San Basil cocktail, an Italian version of a gin basil smash. It was very yummy. Macy’s cocktail was a Hugo Spritz.

We ordered 3 pizzas to share. The Riturnella, the Selva and the Vertigo. We loved all 3!

And that brings us to the end of our stay in Lecce and exploring the Salento region of Puglia. If we were to go back again we would probably not stay in Lecce, but I think we all agreed that a seaside location suited us better. Either Otranto or Gallipoli would be perfect bases for us – small seaside towns are where we’re happiest.