Next we head down to Lecce. Actually the next masseria was next to Maglie but Lecce is easier to find on a map. We decide to take the shore road down so we poke along, stopping to picnic on more bread and oil at the shore. If you've even been to Old Orchard Beach in Maine in April/May, you can picture the coast here; a little past its prime but waiting for high season to come again. Did I mention that this was Sunday? Like in the US, Sunday means football and Lecce has a team. We know this because we drove through the hordes of soccer fans on their way to the game. Yup, we picked the road that ran in front of the stadium on game day. You know you’re in trouble when the cop who is detouring traffic asks where you’re headed and rolls his eyes. This is the reason when you learn another language you learn questions (How do I get to….) and more importantly, the possible answers( turn left, go straight 3 km) Between Ryan and I we get the directions for the reroute and get to where we need to be. Whew!

Masseria Appide is an 18th century country equestrian estate. Surrounded by tall walls, the estate was a world within itself. Nice room, albeit the hardest bed on the trip, beautiful grounds and a very friendly bar staff. Ok, that needs a little explanation. With dinner starting between 7:30 and 8:00pm we would start looking for a snack around 5:30-6:00pm to hold us over and the bars were the only thing open. Here, the girl in charge of the bar was exceptionally nice while the dining room and front desk staff weren’t. We spent more time with her and her hors d'oeuvres than in the restaurant. She made us what she called traditional Italian starters that were really yummy! (The wine was bad either)

We did a day trip to Lecce for a walking tour of the old city; really beautiful examples of baroque style architecture. Had ate lunch in this little place that every day at noon plays on a loudspeaker the voice of tenor Tito Schipa. Quirky. I love quirky! Our guide recommended a little town whose church was filled with frescos. Paige was interested so we went in search. After one too many detours for construction we gave up and went back to the masseria for nibbles and wine. On the plus side, we had a chance to see a lot of small towns that we wouldn’t have.

The next day was the coast. We went east to Otranto then south along the coast to the bottom of the boot. From the hills along the craggled coast you could just make out mountains that are Albania. The ride was very reminiscent of doing the PCH. Rough coastline, windswept vegetation but no crowds. Really nice! We pulled into the parking lot for Zinzulusa.( http://www.apuliatravel.com/Zinzulusa-Cave.html ) It is a naturally formed limestone cave near the ocean. Very cool. Literally. We’ve been through enough caves that even with the tour in Italian, we get what the guide is telling us. Like all tourist attractions, there is a stand selling gelato. Gotta have some! We head off to the very bottom of the boot, Santa Maria di Leuca. After visiting the lighthouse, we drove along the edge and there is a tiny restaurant at the tip. Hey, bet they have seafood. Oh boy did they! Seafood Risotto had more clams, mussels, squid and octopus than risotto! Probably one of the best and least expensive meals of the whole trip. Did I mention it was open air on the water? Yeah, beautiful setting and they had more gelato for desert! A nap would have been perfect about now but we still had Gallipoli to see.

Gallipoli’s old town is a world on its own. Literally. It's shaped like a tear drop, breaking away from the mainland with just a two lane bridge connecting it. We got luck and found a parking spot at the edge of the bridge leading to the old city. This gave us the chance to walk into the town, getting more gelato on the way, feeling like we walked through a time vortex. It has a really old, nice feel to it; lots of neat stores on twisty streets with little nooks and churches to explore. Fantastic wine biscuits!!! Had to buy two bags to snack on. I’d go back here to explore more because we only had a few hours to spend here and it was definitely worthy of more time at a leisurely pace. But, the next day has a long road trip to Sicily and rather than overextend ourselves before a big trip we decided to head back and get some rest. In hind sight, this was a very wise decision!