October 24 -26th Another gorgeous day as we head down the coast, the goal being to visit Santa Maria di Leuca on the southernmost tip of the Salento peninsula. On the way, we will be passing through a number of small towns geared toward the fishing and tourism industry. As well, the area around Otranto…Continue Reading “Otranto …our last few days in Puglia”

October 23 rd Today we are heading to the heel of Italy, Otranto some 150kms south of Martina Franca is our destination. A warm and sunny day, our intent is to stop en route, in Lecce, as our AIRBNB check-in is not till mid-afternoon. Lecce’s history goes back a long way – you can still…Continue Reading “Martina Franca to Otranto…..and the heel of Italy”

October 22nd It is a sunny day with the promise 0f 20c plus by mid-day, the game plan is to visit Lorotondo, however, after looking at google maps we decide to include Cisternino as well. It has a population of about 12,000 and like its sisters, Cisternino, boasts a small, utterly charming old town center…Continue Reading “Locortondo, Cisternino….and some more Trullis”

October 21 st For a change of pace, we are going to visit the seashore first stopping at Monopoli (and no, the name has nothing to do with the game) a 45-minute drive from where we are staying. Still another lovely day with temperatures peaking at 23C. An uneventful drive first through the countryside and…Continue Reading “Monopoli and Polignano a Mare ….a bit of change of pace”

October 20 Our primary purpose in coming to this area is to see the trulli (plural, trullo is singular) which are the traditional homes in the Itria Valley of Puglia. A few words about the trulli > they are constructed from roughly worked limestone excavated on-site in the process of creating sub-floor cisterns and from…Continue Reading “Alberobello, Martina Franca & Locortondo ….a triumvirate of Trulli towns”

October 19th We leave Vieste refreshed and ready to take on more adventures, it has been a nice stay and our AIRBNB was very comfortable…having a balcony really ups one’s game. The weather continues to hold with sun and more sun. One last look at Vieste and the drive begins… It is about 4-hours of…Continue Reading “Vieste to Martina Franca…by way of Monte d’ Saint Angelo and Trani”

October 15th A lovely morning with temperatures forecast to be in the mid-’20s. Today we are staying in the vicinity of Zagarolo with a visit to Palestrina which is situated about a 39-minute drive. Back in the day, it was a summer resort area for Roman nobles with the likes of Horace, Pliny, and even…Continue Reading “Zagarolo…..a visit to Palestrina & onwards to Puglia (Vieste)”

October 14th A lovely morning, hearty breakfast of eggs, etc. and we are off to Tivoli….it is a short drive and we are parked and are good to go before 10:00. Today we are visiting Adrian’s Villa (Hadrian’s Villa) and the weather is ideal for our sightseeing tour. To add some context: Hadrian was Emperor…Continue Reading “Tivoli … an ancient Villa and some Gardens”

October 11th Cool morning and sunny we are pumped ..Laura arrives exactly on time and ferries us to the parking lot …nice lady, we say goodbye and we are off. It is approximately 150 kilometers or some 2.5 hours to Zagarolo which is a suburb of Rome. The drive is pretty good as we use…Continue Reading “Todi to Zagarolo (Rome)…..and a very cool adventure”