Smart World Traveller

I just came from a quick business trip to London. I learned several important things on that trip: 1. London cannot be seen in less than 3 days (and that if you are running through the sightseeings and not enter any museum). It just has a lot to offer! My personal favourite sightseeing places are: Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London and is usually extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower as well. The tower is officially known as Elizabeth Tower, renamed to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012; previously, it was known simply as the Clock Tower. When completed in 1859, it was, says clockmaker Ian Westworth, “the prince of timekeepers: the biggest, most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world.” The tower had its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place. A British cultural icon, the tower is one of the most pro

Top local foods that you must try when visiting in Puglia (we tried them all for you) 1. Orecchiette  This amazingly delicious Apulian pasta is very popular in this region of Italy. It is ear-shaped white in color delicious pasta. Orecchiette (from Italian 'orecchia' meaning 'ear' and '-etta' meaning 'small') is traditionally handmade wheat pasta. It is traditionally prepared "con le cime di rapa" - with a local cabbage-like vegetable typical for Puglia. But there are also a lot of other ways of preparation that are even better in taste - like Orecchiette di Fagiolini, pomodori e cacioricotta or orecchiette alla crudaiola con stracciatella. Mmmm...  If in Puglia, do not miss Bari, where there is a whole quarter of women preparing this type of pasta right in front of their houses. It is not only amazingly delicious, but also a great experience to see them preparing it. Check our post for more ideas on what to do and see in Puglia. 

Here is our chart of the top 10 best beaches in Puglia that we visited during our holiday this year. Do you have your own hidden treasures? Please share these with us! 10. Spiaggia di Torre Pozzelle This beach can be described in two parts. The first more populated part is a small bay ending at a small sand beach. what is peculiar is that the sand on the beach feels not as natural, but rather as industrial sand. Also the layer of the sand is thin as well. So it is actually not very comfortable to lay there. The water was with green muddy color due to the clay on the bottom of the sea. Another negative thing were the few cliffs on the sea bottom, where you could easily hurt your leg if you are without swimming shoes. Just a few meters away (near the Torre Pozzelle itself) you find yourself in a totally wild and very beautiful seashore. There is no sand beach but some people prefer to lay on the cliffs and admire the wild nature. The sea water is stormier there so do not expect to

To fully enjoy your summer vacation in Apulia (Puglia), have in mind the below tips from our own experience. Read this article for a summary of our great trip to Puglia. Tip:  ALWAYS have coins in Italy  J  most of the street parking payment machines do not accept bank notes or credit cards. So do not be surprised if you have to pay 10 EUR or even more in coins. Also, as a recommendation do not test your luck by leaving your car without a parking ticket – because we saw quite on some occasions cars being locked and slips for wrong parking penalty being left on the driver’s window. Even on a late Sunday evening, at 21 pm there were some officers from the municipality who were writing tickets to the cars who had not paid for parking. Tip: If you go for the option of using your private umbrella, beware that due to the strong winds in entire Puglia it is recommended that you also have a rope to secure the umbrella in the nearby sand/rock so that it does not get blown away by the wind

Here we are! Backpacks are ready, the swimsuits, sunglasses and flip-flops are well packed. We are at the airport ready to start our summer holiday in Puglia, Italy... One of my favourite airlines - Wizzair will fly us there in about an hour... Let the adventure begin! Day 1: Bari Airport - Maglie We arrived at Bari International Airport in the early evening. The plan for the night was to get our rent-a-car and to drive all the way up to our first point of stay, a little cute village in Salento region - Maglie. In our previous travels in Italy we had enjoyed quite a lot the small and budget option of Fiat Panda - this car is a perfect combination of size and power for two passengers with their luggage, and most of all it was really easy to maneuver and park in the narrow streets of the small Italian villages. Of course a more expensive, but still a very good option for the Italian streets is a Mini. Nevertheless, being a smartworldtraveller I booked again for our Apulian ad