Puglia

The next leg of our trip would take us to Puglia, on the opposite side of the country.

The closest place we could rent a car was Salerno so we packed up our belongings and caught the first ferry on another stunning morning.

Audrey volunteered to carry the hats.

After three hours of driving we started to see the traditional trulli that are typical of the region.

Our little trullo was gorgeous.

The next morning we headed to Alberobello, a town which has one of the highest concentrations of trulli in the area.

The next stop was Martina Franca. We walked the streets, taking in the striking limestone architecture.

And the TINY alleyways.

Our last stop for the day was Ostuni, another picturesque town with amazing winding streets.

The next day we headed to the old section of Bari, which is famous for the women making pasta in the alleyways every morning.

And peering at inquisitive tourists.

We decided we needed a break from the heat so we went for a swim at the beach at Polignano a Mare.

They had just held the Cliff Diving World Series.

We started the next day with a breakfast of freshly-plucked plums from the tree next to our trullo.

We then headed to a local dairy farm/cheesemaker.

After a brief visit with the cows we got to see (and taste!) how the various types of mozzarella are made from a single batch of milk.

The next morning we discovered we had acquired a new roommate.

After freeing our surprise companion we decided to explore a local cave system, 80m underground.

After a great tour of the caves we went to the beautiful town of Cisterino for lunch.

I also found the first barbershop I’d seen since we left Siena.

So I took the opportunity to get a quick haircut.

The next day was time to leave for Sicily. Audrey and Polly said goodbye to the local kittens and we headed off.