Gallipolli - Palazzo Presta

During the second leg of our Salento trip, we moved our base from Otranto to Gallipolli, a historical charming little city where we found the perfect place to nest, a Palace decorated with exquisite taste.

While I stay in different hotels on regular basis, my hotel listing is not as broad. Simply because I try to keep it short and around truly remarkable places, like Palazzo Presta [WEB] a gem you can't miss in Gallipolli, particularly if you are a sucker for interior design like MOI.

Let's start in the sunny terrace, that doubles as breakfast spot. Options are limited but sufficient. There is a calm vibe, low key convos and educated people - completely the opposite I tend to experience around SE Asia hotels filled with groups of Chinese tourists. Every morning we would peel & cut our own fruits, kind of meditation for the day.

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Salento - Sant'Andrea

Sant'Andrea remains on top of all the spots we visited around Salento. Pristine waters, unknown swimming spots, great snorkeling and breathtaking rock formations along 500m coastline, with easy access to great food options like Babilonia or Confine Raw Bar - better for dinner.

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Salento - Frisella romance

I am not a foodie or even a person who cares much about food, yet I had this clear memory of a lunch at Babilonia when we visited Salento for the first time, 3 years ago. This small familiar restaurant in Sant'Andrea is the place for great friselle, a tradition in the south of Italy which is basically hard bread, put in water for a little while, topped with simple things like diced tomatoes, tuna or mozzarella.

Located right in between the amazing swimming spots in Sant'Andrea is the perfect pit stop.

Frisella is known as the bread of the Crusaders due to its ability to preserve over time, it favored the provisioning through the journey of the Christian troops. Frisella has always been a traveling bread. The origin of bathing it in sea water comes from the fishermen, who also used it as a base for fish or mussel soups, used during fishing trips that lasted several days. Maybe coz I'm a bit nomad, but this is hands down my summer go-to lunch.

For those who need a bit more (or would like to share) schiaccine, some kind of round sandwich in pizza base, is there to save the day. PSA: Enrique could not finish half, so we kept it for the day after, one triangle was enough as lunch for each of us.

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