Lecce
After a brief 2 year hiatus I thought it was about time I hopped back into this whole blogging malarkey. Partly because I missed it and partly because I think places like Puglia need to be shared. I say this now although I’m sure in a few years, when everyone has discovered the delights of Puglia and every man and his dog is going on holiday there, I’ll massively regret this statement.
I’d heard of its charms a few times, whispers here and there, and after a little digging of my own and a lifelong love of Italy I decided it should definitely be next on my list.
After very little persuading, the boy agreed that this would be the perfect spot for a week’s holiday. Plenty of places to explore along with some gorgeous beaches and delicious food, that pretty much ticks all the holiday boxes if you ask me.
Our first stop was Lecce and after a disgustingly early flight we arrived in Bari and set off to find our hotel. Being nosy and generally excitable we didn’t make it there without having a quick detour around an olive grove on the way.
But before too long we made it to Torre del Parco. It was recommended by a friend who’d stayed there on her trip to Puglia and after the quickest of perusals we decided it was very much up our street.
We arrived a little early for our room to be ready so after a quick explore of the hotel and a very dignified change in the loos we set off to explore the town. Stopping to grab some peaches for our ambling, which turned out to be the best peach I’ve ever had, warmed by the Italian sun we both grinned as the juice ran down our faces.
Beautiful old streets revealed all kinds of gems and leaving you to wonder what secrets they held.
We stumbled across a Prima Gallery and immediately wanted everything in there. Photographs by Roberto Tondi have been stored in a the basement room giving them a curiously beautiful mottled effect that can’t be replicated owing to the temperature and humidity conditions. After deciding it might be tricky to get one home on my easyjet flight i sadly left them behind although i’m looking into ordering a print.
After a quick and fairly unmemorable late lunch we ambled back to the hotel to check into our room and have a quick nap
Before taking ourselves onto the roof terrace with a bottle of wine to watch the sunset. we curled up contentedly, wittering about nothing in particular until we realised that people seemed to be arriving for some sort of wedding party and we should probably scram.
After a quick shower, we wandered out into the evening to Le Zie, a restaurant known for its relaxed atmosphere and great food.
It’s very small and cosy and feels slightly like you’re in your Nonna’s house (if only we all had a Nonna, right?) but the food is so worth a trip. Ridiculously the beans that came on the antipasti were my favourite part of the whole meal although H was rather partial to his horse stew…. I liked it but it was definitely too gamey for me, I was happy with just a taste.
After a slight disaster with the bill (their credit card machine wasn’t working and H got his card blocked at the cashpoint whilst I was held hostage for half an hour) we wandered our way home, only getting minorly lost on the way.
In the morning there was just enough time for a quick coffee, the local speciality of Ghiaccio con latte mandorla which is essentially a frothy almond milk iced latte (bloody delicious) before jumping in the car.
Next stop Ostuni!
Tales of a London Girl 