Puglia |

One month in the glorious region of Puglia showed me some fabulous places and some memories I’ll cherish forever.

Ceglie Messapica was mine and Jacob’s place of choice to spend our first month. From Ceglie we managed to sight-see to many other towns and enjoyed living and being apart of this small community. The people of Ceglie were hospitable and gracious. If you are ever there and in need of fresh vegetables and fruits visit Livia & Giuseppe on Via Sant Anna, they are the most lovely people and all of their produce is deliciously fresh.

Ceglie Messapica is comprised of two quarters. One being the more populated and built up and the other is called the old city. The history of Ceglie Messapica goes back 15 centuries before Christ, its origin is preHellenic, but traces and new finds, under archeological consideration today, might date back to 4.000 years ago. Its white washed paved roads and pathways are a sight to see, though a pair of sunnies might be needed as when the sun hits, the glare is almost blinding.

Ceglie has a vast number of shops to do your fair share of shopping, keeping in mind that most stores don’t really open until after the siesta hours from 12 till 4pm. The town is a late bloomer, granted there is hustle and bustle early in the morning but come 5pm the town comes alive and streets are full.

Taranto

A bus from Ceglie Messapica takes you straight to Taranto in fifty minutes. The city is full of hustle and bustle. Large promenades have been constructed through streets for ease of meandering through the stores and for admiring the architecture of the buildings.

The main centre of this city is beautiful, but as you make your way to the waters edge you have marvellous views of Castello Aragonese. (There are free tours through this castle regally)

Alberobello

I loved Ceglie Messapica and sometimes it was so easy to get caught up with relaxing and taking casual strolls through the old city that we didn’t realise that we really wanted to explore further.

Our method of finding a place we wanted to day trip to was; We’d open google maps, sift through the areas that were within our travel range, without being a weekend away, and then we’d google the top couple of towns that had taken our fancy.

Alberobello, a world heritage town for its unusual district of trulli, (the characteristic white-washed conical-roofed houses of the area) makes an interesting day-trip destination or a pleasant base for a few days. This town is perfect for taking pictures and seeing small adorable houses. There are many little trinket shops also. This little town does attract a lot of tourist and though we didn’t come close to peak season (we visited in May) Alberobello was very busy with tourists.

To those looking for a destination in Italy and don’t wish to go to the usual places most tourist go, I highly recommend Puglia. Although I didn’t get to visit half the places I would have liked to, like Monopoli, Gallipoli and Trani, those that I did visit were fabulous to experience.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

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