Torre dell'Orso and Absinthe

Yesterday we went to the beach again. It was lovely. We took the bus to a place just north of Gallipolli called Torre dell'Orso, so named for the ruined tower that sits on the cliff overlooking the beach. It was absolutely packed, but we've come to expect that here.

I found an incredible spot on a bluff overlooking the beach. Byron and Sabrina and I climbed to the edge of the bluff to find two little sandy spots in the roots of the trees. They were like sandy little natural beach chairs! I spread out my towel under the spotted shade of the pine trees and read my book, glancing up every now and then to people watch or look at the sailboats in the bright blue of the water off the coast.

My new Turkish pants! No clue if I can pull them off but they're so dang comfortable I find myself not caring.

One of my glances yielding some goodies! I'm aware of how incredibly creepy and voyeuristic I seem for taking these pictures (and the 30 mins I spent just watching them). I thought this might be an ab competition but they were just normal guys hanging out.

Some of the men here are so attractive it makes me angry. How is that even real? Sometimes Italy really does live up to stereotypes.

After a few hours we headed a little further down the beach to "the best gelateria in Salento" Pasticerria Dentoni! It was incredible. I had Cannoli Siciliano, Caffe, and Panna Cotta. We sat on the steps outside and talked while we all hurried to lick up the gelato before it melted into a puddle.

When we returned from the beach we had a little time for dinner and then a couple of us met up with my professor Paolo to go to the Centro for drinks! It was so fun, we drank an talked for a couple hours at a nice little pub and then went to our favorite "sketch bar" for €1 absinthe shots! It was my first time and Paolo had one too- never in my life did I think my first time trying absinthe would be with my professor. That's Italy for you. Afterwards a few of us broke off to meet up with some Italians we'd met a few nights ago and we talked to them in the piazza for a while before wandering home, catching a fire show on the way.