Major bucket list ✔️

While each town is as enchanting as the next, Polignano a Mare is Puglia’s postcard town- a beautiful village of white and gold buildings spectacularly positioned right on top of some pretty dodgy looking craggy cliffs overlooking the crystal-clear Adriatic Sea… truly living up to its name as it literally couldn’t be any more ‘at sea’.

…brimming with shops hidden between white-washed alleyways, restaurants carved into cliffs, and an iconic, very photogenic, almost always crowded beach called Cala Porto…also known as Lama Monachile for the bridge that you must walk over to reach it.

We are by this stage familiar with the pebbly beaches of the Mediterranean, but this one was something else- more like river rocks and not the most comfortable to sit on.

So instead, we snagged a seat and a wine at Fly Bar, where we could overlook the whole magnificent scene from the comfort of our lounge chair.

The town itself is spectacular, and while the girls prepare for our big night out, I wander under the Porto Vecchio and into a maze of alleys…

…and continuously find myself on panoramic terraces, rewarded with stunning views down to the caves and beaches below.

Reluctantly I return to also dress for the actual reason we chose to visit this little seaside town besides it’s obvious beauty. We have a booking at the Grotto Palazzese- another bucket list ✔️.

Located in the historical centre of Polignano a Mare, the Grotta Palazzese Hotel, situated on the scenic cliff overlooking the sea, rests on the famous Grotta Palazzese, a natural cave that hosts the amazing restaurant considered among the 10 most exclusive outdoor restaurants in the world. It is a magical and enchanted place.

Well out of our budget, we had discussed this months ago before booking, and decided it would be an experience money cannot buy and so, well worth the expense.

On one side this stunning restaurant overlooks the sea, with a view of the coastal landscape and the marine horizon; on the other, towards the larger cave, the cave itself being composed of two caves of different sizes.

Even the bathrooms have a spectacular view.

The terrace can accommodate up to 150 people, in a place that, although outdoors, is sheltered by the vault of the cave. That was the theory anyway…but disappointingly not our reality as it was an exceptionally windy night… with chairs, glasses and serviettes being blown around and even one of our menus being flung into the wild seas below.

We were aware that Grotto Palazzese has many poor reviews about the food and service, but not being harsh food critics, we were expecting great things…and loved the whole experience.

I rise early once again but decided not to walk the town as we had such an amazing view from our own terrace. The town is slow to awaken as it takes quite a while for the sun to rise highly enough to be visible but the colours of the rocks and the buildings built on the huge rocks are stunning during the sunrise.