Variety, the most important attribute in picking destinations for this author (Still me, Ziggy). Something I gathered from experience, and TikTok. I would like to see and experience not only “different”, but all kinds of different. Different foods, nature, monuments, and anything unique that’s hard to classify (mechanical elephants anyone?). This explains why I like spending time in supermarkets in foreign cities, sometimes until closing or they call the cops, whatever comes sooner. On vacation I consume sodas, junk food and other things I dont usually eat at home. Old and new habits, like no longer eating something sweet in the morning, are out the window when I’m in Italy or elsewhere. All for the purpose of trying something different.
I had forgotten how easily I digress and start writing about food even when I dont plan to. The sad reality is I think about food even in inappropriate moments, like funerals, and sex (sorry honey, family), so this is not much of a stretch. But the point I’m trying to make here is that Italy has the type of variety we cant find anywhere else (Spain, Portugal come close). And Otranto, sitting on the heel of the boot, along with that entire Salento Adriatic coast stretch is an excellent example of that. While not exactly known for it’s cuisine (here we go again), its incredibly rich in man-made and natural beauty. You want to see pretty things, and take selfies near pretty things, you are in the right place.
This is why our day in/near Otranto was one the most memorable days of the trip. It had a little bit of everything. Jaw dropping scenery, beaches, great architecture, good food, and sunshine. What else do you need? Maybe rainbows and puppies (for the remaining TCI readers). Its a popular destination in the summer, but also an easy day trip from Lecce. Here’s a nice and easy day itinerary:
Cava di Bauxite – A beautiful quarry lake. Not a must as you can find similar quarries all over the world, but its quite picturesque and so close to Otranto, so might as well.
Otrano – Italy’s easternmost town is another white stunner. Its a popular beach destination for Europeans, but it wasnt overly busy when we were there. Otranto features an imposing castle, port, beach, a striking church, and a charming and clean old town. The problem with planning a day with multiple sites is that you dont get to fully enjoy the ones you want to stay longer. Otranto is exactly the type that makes you want to stay longer and explore.
SoFish in Otranto – One of the joys for me is finding exceptional food in places not known for it. Easier to do in Italy. For some reason Otranto, as with much of Solento (the greater bottom “heel”) is not really known for great food. Yet, we somehow managed to have some of the best meals of the trip on this leg. SoFish as the name implies is a hip, “Fast Casual” joint specializing in quick seafood. It appears that this is a relatively new fast spreading concept, started by the great success of Pescaria in Polignano a Mare.
The menu features a nice selection of seafood sandwiches, salads and particularly craft beer (Reminder: Italian craft beer is most underrated in the world). While everything we tried was good, the lobster roll is worth a dedicated blog post. Its one of the most outrageous Lobster Rolls I ever had. Pricy (for Puglia) but once you get it you see why. More like a well crafted lobster salad with huge chunks of meaty lobster and the rest of the lobster resting on top.
Baia dei Turchi – We opted to skip this beautiful secluded beach in favor of another one. But worth mentioning
Torre Sant’Andrea – Perhaps the jewel of the Adriatic coast in Puglia. Stunning white rock formations off beautiful, crystal clear water where you can swim. You want to spend some time here, and view the rocks from different angles.
Torre dell’Orso – While the best beaches in Puglia are on the opposite side of the heel, closer to Gallipoli, like Punta Prosciutto (make it stop!), you can find some gems here, with Torre dell’Orso perhaps the most famous one. We drove all over the coast from Bari to Otranto, and this was by far the most Caribbean-like sand and water we’ve seen. We ended up at Baia D’oriente to be precise with fairly easy street parking nearby.
Cave of Poetry – An enchanting natural pool where you can bring out your inner diver. After one dive however, I decided to retire my inner diver once and for all.
Charlotte Canda was a young high society debutante in the 1840’s. On February 3rd, 1845 while coming back from her 17th birthday bash, she was flipped from the horse carriage and died. Her death, and its circumstances shook New York. Charlotte herself designed some of the features of her own tomb in Green-Wood. Her father, who served under Napoleon, utilized some of Charlotte’s elements from the memorial of her aunt which Charlotte helped design a year earlier. Her grave is 17 feet high, 17 feet long, and her statue wearing 17 rose petals circling her head. 
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to write posts like this considering everything that’s going on in the world today. Fires in Australia, mayhem in Iran, Hong Kong, impeachment, and this dude is writing about some beach in Anguilla. But this is a place worth writing about. And as I get older and wiser its becoming more and more clear that in this fragile world, a beach and even looking at pictures of a beach (which I dont do enough) has crazy healing powers. Numerous recent studies 
Rendezvous Bay (special shutout to the person who invented copy and paste) simply put is the perfect beach. Just like most such beaches, you may not find it at its best behavior when you first see it. The winds can get too strong, and sometimes it may feel deserted for a reason. When we first saw it four years ago we werent impressed. But after spending a week at what looks like its best side, we understood. It’s one of the most walkable, most swimmable, and most perfect size beaches we’ve seen. But most of all, its almost empty! From my vantage point, best seat in the theater, one person walking by every 20 minutes. It’s one of the best sheer beauty to people ratio in the Caribbean.
One of the cool things about this bay is the lack of hotels. You got CuisinArt in the west as the lone major resort, and a few boutique hotels. One of which is the reason for the post. 
Its that time of the year. The time we look back, reflect, and look forward. The time we argue about the spelling of Hanukkah, and wonder how impeachment works exactly. The time we look back at the wonderful things we ate during the year all over the world. The time to call your mom, and watch vacation pictures. In that order. Yes, call you mom, and buy her something meaningful this time. A puppy, a food tour, a trip to Anguilla. Something that will change her life.
When I was watching the Washington Nationals beat the Astros for their first title in the modern era (post iPhone), I never imagined that two days later we would be trapped on Constitution Ave, trying desperately to swim out of the Red Sea (parade crowd). We spent roughly 24 hours, which was also the amount it took me to plan for this last minute getaway. Arlington and Indian – that was pretty much my base, the starting point for this trip. I’ve never been to Arlington, and I got sick and tired of hearing the praises of Rasika.
3:48 PM – We peep out like Meerkats and it looks safe to come out and walk outside. After a Starbucks emergency (for Coffee…), we are off to walk the 2.6 miles National Mall, arguably the greatest outdoor museum and memorial in the world. The plan was to check out the National Museum of the American Indian (Free), but long lines and… jet lag kicks in. It was a 3.5 hour drive after all. From the outside the museum resembles something that belongs in Bilbao. Thats a good thing.
1:30 PM: We have important unfinished business in other states, so bye for now
This is it folks! The moment none of you have been waiting for you. Fresh, off the boat, Cinque Terre pictures that look the same or worse than the millions of CT pictures out there. It took me 8 trips or so to finally see the famous five villages – Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza, Rick Steves, Monterosso. Its not official yet, but as you can see, there’s a strong push to rename one, so I’m just one step ahead.
Ahhh, Genoa! The name that triggers no emotion, confusion, and even anger sometimes. Why is this guy writing about Genoa now. What happened to Venice, Rome, and that Cinqua Terras place that he supposedly visited and only wrote about 
Instead of boring you with the usual Best of Umbria this or that, or random tips on Umbria, I will bore you with an award ceremony.
The Milton Snavely Hershey Award. Given to the best Chocolate – Urbani truffled truffles in the Urbani museum
Another incomplete North America National Park visit in the books. Still, no bears. Just like with the elusive sea turtle after hundreds of snorkeling sessions (ok, more like 15), this is starting to feel personal. We even got stuck on two “Bear Jams” between Yosemite and Banff and nada. A Bear Jam is when traffic builds up on a road because bears were spotted. Its the National Park version of a NYC accident on the other side of the highway.
