Southern Italy
Budget Italy?
We really liked Italy the first time we went. And going back we wanted to see a different part of the country – and maybe the less traveled part (=less tourists). We flew from Stockholm to Barni, rented a car and drove south to Lecce, stopping in Ostuni on the way.
Quick facts: Driving in Italy is an adventure. Rules like stop signs, speed limits etc seems more like a suggestion rather than law. The most popular grape for wine is Primitivo, which makes sweet wine because of the many hours of sun and it growing low, close to the ground.
Trip highlights: The hotel and hotel pool. SA Suites was fantastic – so beautiful, so cozy, so very nice. Highly recommend.
Points: Wine 7.1/10, Food 7.9/10
SA Suites
So, when looking for places to visit in Italy – we started with finding a nice hotel. We knew the main goal with this vacation was to relax and enjoy good food, wine and each other. So we wanted to find a really sweet hotel where we could hang out. This was 100% that.
The hotel is run by a German couple – Anya and Nick, who bought the house and fully renovated it to make this amazing hotel. Their passion and personal touch makes this a very high level of luxury.
And oh yeah. They had a dog. A very sweet and excited dog named Dante. We loved Dante. Dante loved scratches – specially from Alex.
The room
High ceilings, modern interior, comfy bed, nice terrace, pool adjacent – I mean need we say more?
Lecce
20 min from our hotel, through the winding country roads, is Lecce. A small ivory city with a lot of small streets and many restaurants. Charming, kind of. Worth a visit, sure.Worth a longer stay, not really. But, if you go – go to these places:
There might be a wait so go early, but it’s worth it.
The best lunch we had in Lecce was a pizza place that served fried pizza with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce.
Also, gelato in italy is very gooood.
And there was a truffle store.
Osteria moderna Varius
Outside of Lecce we had our best meal, so good we went back. Classic south Italian food and great service. Highly recommend!
Alex and the new friends he made outside the restaurant.
Schola Sarmenti
When in Italy, you must visit a vineyard and do a wine tour. It’s the law.
We found one close to where we stayed that included a tour and lunch. Perfetto!
Our very nice guide.
Back to the pool
Reading.
Sipping wine.
Maybe there was a nap.
The dog wanted to swim too.
All together awesome.
DUO
Knowing us, you know we love great food, and we try to find a high end experience when we travel. This time we found Duo.
The service was great, room was lovely, decorations was.. interesting. Food was decent, not out best experience but still very good. Artwork was good through.
Dinner at SA Suites
We had dinner at the hotel a few nights, sitting outside on the beautiful terrace. The chef was Anya, and she is self taught – and a really good cook. She mixes her german roots with Italian cuisine and local produce. The menu depends on what she finds at he local market that day.
Nick parred the food with wine (or cocktails if you prefer that), and gave us some very nice Italian wines to try from local wineries.
They also invited us to a pre dinner drinks on the balcony, which featured a beautiful sunset.
Bari and
Ostuni
Let’s start with Bari
We landed in and flew from Bari. Renting a car is very easy and we recommend it even though Italians drive like crazy, or like Nick put it “Italians are like three year olds, no consequence thinking. They drive up to the brick wall and then think oh it didn’t move.”
We agree. Traffic signs, signaling etc are more of a recommendation than a rule.
First night in Bari, we walked to the old part of town looking for a wine bar and dinner. We found both and they were both very charming, although a bit crowded.
Food in Bari
We want to give two recommendations in Bari. The first is one we’ve had before, in Florence. The sandwich from All’Antico Vinaio.
It. Is. So. Good.
The second is a steakhouse. Very local with low proficiency of English, but very good steak.
Ostuni – the white city
On our way to the south we stopped for lunch in Ostuni. Out of the three cities we visited during our trip, this one is our favorite.
We had a lovely lunch with great views, then walking around, having a gelato before continuing our journey.
A perfect paradise
We did enjoy southern Italy, and SA Suites really is a paradise. But, as far as the food and wine is concerned we do prefer Rome and Florence. Before we finish this post we would like to thank Nick and Anya for being very gracious hosts. We highly recommend staying there if you are heading to the east coast of southern Italy.
The poster
