Lecce, Italy
For my last stop in Italy, I visited the province of Lecce on the Salento Peninsula. I was hosted for a couple of days in Galatina, and I was invited to a Christmas party. It was lots of fun, and I got to try some traditional Italian holiday dishes.
After Galatina, I went to the town of Lecce, I stayed in a hostel where I found some friends. We carpooled, and made a day trip to some of the nearby towns and points of interest. In particular, we saw some tidal pools, and took a short hike to a beautiful hidden lake called Cava di Bauxite. Finally, we went to Otranto, a city full of beautiful buildings. Mati, who owned the car, had to leave early the next morning, so he went back to the Hostel. Han and I stayed in Otranto and had dinner at a local restaurant.
Our intention was to catch the train back to Lecce, but it wasn’t running that night. There was a replacement bus, but it came much later. When the bus finally came, the ticket machine on the bus was broken, and the online shop stopped selling tickets five minutes before departure. The bus driver just let us ride for free (€2.50, score!)
After Lecce, I took a train to Brindisi and caught my ferry to Albania. The trip ended up being more interesting than expected…