Thursday, July 29, 2010

Puglia July 2010

A relaxing weekend in Puglia but all too short. Flew out late Thursday night - Alitalia via Milan - and arrived 01:30am Friday morning. 

It was a weekend free of maintenance activities but we still had plenty of stuff to do. Met with Pierdonato to top up the kitty for cleaning and management fees. Next on to the local hardware store to replace a couple of beach chairs that had been nicked by some opportunistic passer by. 

After lunch it was a trip down to Conforama (superstore at Fasano) to look for more sun loungers, replacement BBQ and cushions. 

The evening was a meal in our regular haunt, restaurant Centro Storico, calling in for a pre-prandial drink at Chris and John's on the way out. After the meal we strolled around the old town and sat in the Caffe Della Villa for some ice cream, live music and people watching.   

People watching at Caffe Della Villa, Locorotondo
People watching at Caffe Della Villa, Locorotondo

Saturday was down at the beach interspersed with lunch at Rotonda de la Rosa 2. The original Rotonda de la Rosa is a basic beach shack serving good food and Rosa recently expanded into a real restaurant on the outskirts of Torre Canne.  Similar menu but linen tablecloth and glasses instead of paper and plastic. Starters inc. deep fried moscardine (micro-squid), spaghetti con ricci (sea urchin) and a nice glass of Falanghina. Followed by siesta on the sand. 

deep fried moscardine
Deep fried moscardine

spaghetti con ricci (sea urchin) and a glass of falanghina
Spaghetti con ricci (sea urchin) and a glass of Falanghina

Late afternoon with met with an electrician to discuss lights. The uplighters set into the path round the building have proved problematic. They look pretty and provide useful light but the poor quality has meant the Allen-keyed screws have set solid and it is impossible to replace the bulbs when they blow. A major refurb. and recycling of the good lights is planned along with a new motion sensor light on the roof to illuminate the courtyard for al fresco dining and an additional couple of power sockets. Probably not cheap :-(

This weekend happened to be Divingusto - the Puglia Food and Wine Festival - held in Ceglia Messapica. You buy a book of tickets then wander around and exchange at the stalls for local produce. 

In the main Piazza del Populi a stage was set up for cooking demonstrations. Our friend Domenico 'Mino' Maggi was compere and also stood in for the chef of the Madrid Ritz who was not able to make it. 

Puglia Food and Wine Festival - cooking demonstration
Puglia Food and Wine Festival - cooking demonstration

Special festival guest was Carluccio who was wandering round mingling with the crowd so we all shook his hand. 

It was late by the time we got home. Sunday was basically get up, have breakfast and go. Still it is only four weeks till we go back out again. This time for the August bank holiday and a full week's holiday. Yay!
 
 
Trullo Azzurro logoTrullo Azzurro: beautifully restored trullo in delightful, secluded valley near Locorotondo, Puglia, Italy. Available to rent on a per week basis, sleeps 4-6. For more information visit http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/trulloazzurro

2 comments:

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Sounds and looks like you had a great time.

Stuffy said...

Was Carluccio in good form, I've a thing in my head about things being not so great for him recently ?