We make a lunch stop in Trani- with its stylish cosmopolitan feel and marvellous pink hued cathedral by the sea. Known as the pearl of Puglia, beautiful Trani is an elegant seaside town and fishing port with a sophisticated feel.
Colourful fishing boats share the space with gleaming white yachts in the well-equipped harbour, while medieval buildings and piazzas decorate the polished limestone streets of its elegant old town centre. The harbor is huge and is packed with traditional fishing vessels…
…yachts, and private boats. Surrounding the harbor are restaurants, gelaterias, and cafes galore…and we choose a little trattoria to eat pizza and feed my buffalo mozzarella addiction with caprese salad…enjoying a mesmerising view of the beautiful cathedral over the sea.
We take a walk through the historic centre with its medieval churches, glossy limestone streets, historic Jewish quarter and faded yet charming palazzi to get a closer look at the cathedral…the town’s most arresting sight…pale against the deep-blue sea that is its backdrop. Once again we forget it is siesta time and it is of course, closed. So we head off for our last stop before we leave the beautiful Puglia.
As we drive north we are surrounded by thousands upon thousands of olive trees… an integral part of the Puglian landscape, particularly in this area. There’s over 60 million olive trees in the region that produce about 40% of Italy’s entire olive oil production and with trees over 500 years old, Puglia has some amazing olive oil.
The roadside is also lined with masses of prickly pears that have been a constant throughout the photogenic countryside of Puglia…and you’ll never see a prettier cactus- laden with plump pink and orange prickly pears in bloom.
Vieste is a clifftop beauty- sitting on a white cliffed peninsula jutting into the azure waters of the Adriatic Sea…pure Puglian magic, strategically placed atop the steep Pizzomunno cliffs between two sandy beaches.
The old town is, once again an atmospheric maze of narrow alleys…
…pretty cobblestone streets…colourful piazzas and blanched buildings with flower filled wrought iron balconies…steep staircases with washing dangling from the simple white houses…
…patrolled by slinking cats and the odd friendly dog…authentic small town Italy.
It’s the perfect place to just wander. Whitewashed limestone walls encircle the town, and there’s a wide sandy beach extending each side of its iconic 25m limestone monolith known as Pizzomunno. It’s lovely coastline is lined with sea caves, grottoes and secluded sun-drenched coves waiting to be explored. Sadly we have no time for beach exploration as we only arrive at sunset
…but we follow a recommendation and end up in a tiny trattoria tucked away in a picturesque narrow alley in the heart of the old town…with a cave like interior. We sit instead under a shady grape vine that may well be older than our combined ages. Great food and an even better dessert that is by no means traditional Italian. 
Time for bed- our biggest travelling day tomorrow as we head north on the next stage of our big adventure
and I think to myself what a wonderful world 