Puglia - Italy - La Dolce Vita Road Trip

In the last couple of years I learned to appreciate the advantages of living close to Italy. Rome, Naples, Toscany and Cinque Terre were on my list the past years. I wanted to see more of the country and decided to go way down south. Flying from Graz via Munich (short Hofbräu-Beer stopover) it only took me around 3 hours to go to Bari. 

Bari itself is not really a place you want to spend to much time. I mean the city is kind of nice but somehow it didn't blow me away, since I saw all the other pictures of Puglia online. My AirBnB was nice, affordable and located in the city center. I arrived at night so I decided to do one full day in Bari before I get my rental car.

I seized the day to explore what I found on travel blogs. So there are some spots I can recommend. Bari vecchia (the old town) invites you to get lost pretty fast.  The weather was beautiful and warm, the narrow streets are offering wonderful shade and you can watch old local ladies in the alleys preparing pasta. They nicknamed it "Strada delle Orecchiette" - "Street of the little ears" cause the homemade pasta, the ladies are creating is looking like tiny ears. 

Piazza Mercantile used to become my place to be on this day - pretty much all the streets are leading from or to this place, where you find some nice cafes, small restaurants and bars. It invites not only for dinner but also to enjoy a sundowner in the evening. What I really loved in Bari was the long walk on the promenade. I found it perfect for an evening walk. Just start at Theatro Margherita where you can also take some cool pictures of fishermen and their boats and walk on the Corso Trieste all the way up till you reach a sandy beach.

The next day I got my rental car and was about to start the real journey. My first stop would lead me to a place called Monopoli about 40 kilometers from Bari, where I was about to get my first real homebase on this trip. I checked in an accommodation in the city center and spent the evening near the harbor where you can find tons of good restaurants and tiny little wine bars. I loved it there - if you get the chance to stay near or in Monopoli you should definitely give it a try. Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi might be a good start - Fresh seafood, Antipasta, Pizzas (oh sorry Pizze) and all kind of crazy good pasta awaits. I especially recommend a restaurant called: "In Piazzetta" wonderful Antipasti and great local wines.

Alberobello, should be my first stop on my „Let‘s explore Puglia“ trip. As expected this place was packed with people, I tried to avoid the masses but was shortly after stuck in a crowd, which was fine for me, I just sat down, ordered an Espresso and enjoyed the hustle and bustle. The "city" is world famous for its over 1,500 Trullis. These white round houses with conical dry stone roofs (without mortar) are an UNESCO world heritage site and mostly date from the 16th to 18th centuries.

In some of these white huts, people are still living in, so I accidentally took pictures in a woman's garden and she was not really happy with that. I was so sorry and tried to apologize a hundred times but I think she was just fed up with tourists, what I really understood. So make sure to take care where you're going and try to respect the privacy of the locals.

Make sure to explore every inch of this town since you can find some really nice shops with handcrafted stuff or little cafes in some of the Trullis. All in all this place should for sure be on your bucket list, make sure to bring enough water and suntan lotion - it‘s hot as hell in this little village and shade is really rare.

My next stop led my to Locorotondo, I can‘t even discribe what made this place some kind of special, I guess for Italians it‘s just another ordinary old city but I fell in love the moment I went into the oldtown. Hard to describe, I just love these narrow streets & alleys with white stone everywhere. Had lunch with two old ladies from Belgium and we were having a blast talking about in which crazy situations Italian wine brought us over the years. Besides those wonderful white houses you can find tons of churches in Locorotondo. Not really my thing, so I just strolled through the alleys, got some coffee, some sweets, had a limoncello and enjoyed "la dolce vita".

When it comes to cities down in Puglia, Ostuni (La città bianca) might have been my favorite to visit. Located on a hill, round about one hour from Bari or 35 minutes from Monopoli the town with its 25,000 residents was really something. Coming there reminded me of Capri since you arrive at the bottom of a hill and have to walk up to see the city itself. Ostuni is a longstanding, historic fortressed hilltop town surrounded by wine and olive yards and I guess if you liked it in Locorotondo, you will love Ostuni.

To be honest, it was really crowded there, even though I arrived at around 8 am. I recommend to first check out Piazza della Libertà and start your journey throw the narrow streets from there. The place is packed with tourists so besides tons of cafes and little trattorias you'll find one souvenir shop after another.

I just wanted to suck in this wonderful Italian-flair so I took the first opportunity for a laid back espresso and a croissant at "The Pizzetta". From there, I did what I like most on my trips: Sitting with a coffee & spy and observe people. I know I'm weird, but this is just my thing and really makes me happy. Of course there are a lot of basilicas and hidden gems to visit, but for me, sitting, enjoying the hustle and bustle and consuming some typical regional products is what makes a trip special.

The next day I packed my shit, hopped into my rental car and started driving all the way down south. Lecce should be my new homebase for the next couple of days. Compared to the other towns down south, this place is kind of a big city. The spacious accommodation I found via AirBnB was located in the city center not far from all the sights. Still in a quiet area with a free parking lot only 2 minutes away. If you travel by car (which I think is the best way down there) make sure you always have a free parking possibility available, fees for parking can get pretty crazy in Italy. You need that money for pasta and wine!

Leece offers a varity of old sights. Piazza del duomo takes you back to a time when public squares weren’t just places to hang out but the literal heart of the city. Nearby you can visit old roman ruins which of course are not as impressive as the ones in Rome but still should be on your list. Also go and check out Basilika Santa Croce, especially in the evening this building dives into a wonderful light and for me was one of the most beautiful photospots in town. From there, just get lost in the narrow streets and let it go, the city offers tons of nice little spots to hang out and enjoy „la dolce vita“.

For dinner and or drinks go visit Piazzetta Sigismondo Castromediano, I was hanging there every evening, enjoying a good glass of local wine and of course to spy on people again. Since there where a lot of solo travelers around, this place was really nice to get in touch with other wanderers and lost souls to discuss day trips around the Leece area.

First day I drove to Faraglioni di Sant'Andrea, easy 40 minutes drive from Leece. On the way you pass wine vineyards, olive trees and heaps of areas with enormous cacti. I had to stop pretty much every 5 minutes to shoot some memories.

A huge parking lot right at sea-side will give you the chance to leave your car, when you arrive at the place. Start walking away from the city center, after about 5 minutes you'll reach the edge of the cliffs and will get a first impression of the wonderful view. The rock formations reminded me of the 12 apostles back in Australia, way smaller but still an eye-catcher. I'm not that typical "let's lay in the sun and hop into the ocean" guy but if you are, you should definitely bring your bathing suits, beach towels and for sure some sun tan lotion cause the sun is burning down heavily on this spot.

So this was kind of a pain in the ass getting there. You can check "Grotta Sfondata" on Google maps first, but there is no official road to this beach. If you are starting from Leece, take the road SS16 towards Otranto and change to road SP87, from there always keep heading towards the ocean. There are some dusty roads around the grotto but no official parking lot. I tried to park as close as possible on some random road that was not even marked on Google Maps. 

A 20 minutes walk on a bumpy, dusty path is up next. As mentioned, just always keep walking till you see the ocean. Once you are at the cliffs you oversee the wonderful blue and turquoise water of the Adria. Walk through the high grass till you spot a bay and keep walking this way. You can pretty much not miss the enormous hole in the ground where underneath the ocean dug a cave into the landscape.

A punch of people were sunbathing at the beach, it was hot, I was sweating like hell but had a huge smile on my face. Landscape-wise this was the highlight of this trip. Take your time and some pictures before you start heading closer the beach itself. There is some sort of a small bamboo forest right next to the ocean. If you walk into this forest you'll reach some paths (which are kind of tricky and will rip your shirt and/or your skin open) that will lead you down to the waterfront. Down there I enjoyed some Italian antipasti I bought on the ride there and just chilled in the sun for an hour. 

What I learned on my trips around the world is, that the most beautiful spots are not to be reached by just parking right next to them. Whether it was reaching Machu Picchu in Peru, the crazy trip to the small Island of Karimunjawa in Indonesia or walking through the jungle at Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona in Colombia. You have to put some effort into your trip to make it special.

My last destination on this trip led me to the inner side of the "Italian Boot Heel". I started the day off, by driving to a beach an acquaintance on Instagram recommended to me. The place was called Punta Prosciutto and man this recommendation was so worth it. 45 minutes from Leece you reach a place that could easily be in the caribbean. Turquoise water, fine sand, some small restaurants that sell ciabatta with cheese and tomato relish, espresso and cold drinks - heaven!

The road "Via Angelo Mosso" leads you directly to the main beach "Spiaggia Punta Prosciutto - which is kind of crowded but offers a restaurant, sun loungers and umbrellas. I instead recommend to grab something to eat and drink at "Lido Oasis Beach Cafe" first and then head down a little further south where it's less crowded and you can enjoy the beach almost for yourself. Highly recommend this place to you if you are in Puglia.

After a relaxing time at the beach of Punta Prosciutto I hopped into my rental and took the main road down south to a city called Gallipoli. The modern part of this place is on the mainland while the old town of Gallipoli is a small "peninsula". I recommend to park your car on the mainland and walk over the bridge "Ponte Papa Giovanni Paolo II" to get into the cool part of town. Besides the Castello di Gallipoli the centro historico offers a variety of hidden gems. 

I had lunch at a place called "Costa del Sud" (awesome Pizza) where I made friends with a woman from the Netherlands, she was kind of lost since she had no excess to the internet on the trip and was riding around in southern Italy only with an old school map.

As mentioned you really should make sure that you have internet excess since the roads down there make absolutely no sense at all. We had a nice chat about investing (since she used to be a broker), Austrian food, traveling alone and of course - Italian wine.  

After lunch I bought some homemade pasta and olive oil in one of the cute shops Gallipoli offers. If you are into olive oil you for sure should fill up your stock when you are in Puglia. Prices are more than fair and it tastes wonderful.

With a filled shopping bag I started to explore the narrow streets of the old town till I ended up in a restaurant / cafe called Il Faro which offers some snacks, coffee and the most wonderful view in all of Gallipoli. I enjoyed an hour, drinking coffee and just starring at the ocean trying to avoid the thought in the back of my head, that I had to fly home the next day.

• Explore the tiny towns of Alberobello and Locorotondo
• Visit the white city - Ostuni
• Have some pasta and a good glass of wine in one of the very good restaurants in old town Leece
• Explore the nature sights of Puglia, like Punta Prosciutta or Grotta Sfondata
• Enjoy an espresso with a wonderful view to the ocean in Gallipoli