After a few relaxing days in Lecce, my favourite person and I decided on a day at the beachside town of Otranto, about 45kms from Lecce.

The bus stop for the summer bus service was just around the corner from where we were staying. Armed with our bus timetable that our truly amazing beyond Airbnb super host had given us, we arrived at the bus stop about 15 minutes early.

The disinterested ticket lady (who could blame her, it would be hot sitting there all day) sold us our tickets and there we waited. We’d been there about 10 minutes and an American lady asked if we were catching a particular bus? We said no, but that we could help her as we had a timetable. Then another couple came up and asked for timetable information. It seemed we had a piece of information everyone coveted.

Only in Italy could there be a bus stop and ticket office with no timetable!

We tried to help our fellow travellers and then our bus, No 106, came and off we went for our day at the beach. The trip was easy, taking about 50 minutes, to get to Porto Otranto.

It was hot, as it had been for all of the days since we’d left Adelaide on a cold winter’s day in early July. Our plan was to have an early and long lunch in one of the restaurants that Trip Advisor rated highly. The one we chose (Ristorante Piccanto Di Vino) was a little off the tourist path, located in a narrow street behind the cathedral.

Lovely and shady with a cooling breeze. It seemed a good choice confirmed by the welcome glass of Prosecco and gorgonzola tart. We settled in for a leisurely lunch of local produce and local Fiano.

With lunch taken at a leisurely pace we went for a stroll around the narrow winding streets of Otranto, finishing back on the sea wall above the beach for an afforgato in a shaded and surprisingly inexpensive cafe.

The port and beach are definitely the towns highlight but the cathedral is not to be missed. We entered through the crypt, a previous Roman home and church and then up the internal stairs to the main cathedral. The cathedral floor was just a mass of mosaics depicting stories from the Old Testament, beasts of medieval times and more. The mosaics date back to the the 12th century and were incredible

From there it was back to our new favourite cafe for an Aperol Spritz before visiting the oldest church in the town – the church of San Petro. Again what was inside was amazing, A little church filled with byzantine paintings including a Saint special to us because of her connection to Sicily, Santa Lucia.

By then it was late in the day and so we headed back to the bus stop. Again no timetable but we were prepared. After a short wait, it was on the bus and home to Lecce.

Travel Tips

• Be armed with a bus timetable. The timetable isn’t posted at the bus stop or on the website – http://www.provincia.le.it/web/provincialecce/trasporti

• The bus service is excellent but only operates in the summer months.
• The churches in Otranto are not open all day. Check the opening times as both churches are definitely worth a visit
• We couldn’t find a public toilet in the town, so if you need to go, it might need to be accompanied by a coffee
• We continue to find Trip Advisor recommendations the best way to choose a restaurant and often more reliable than hotel suggestions. The restiarant might not be the top rated but the reviews usually give a hint of what to expect and whether its our style.

Be on the other side of the world when your football team is playing badly!