Puglia August 2010

A week in Puglia is just not long enough. We flew out late on a Thursday and overlapped with our guests by one night. We kept as quiet as we could but they heard us and popped round to say hello. We chatted for a quite some time and drank a bottle of wine - each. The next morning I was not so sure that had been a good idea :-(


Ironwork and Chillies

We found the curious piece of ironwork in the niche in the courtyard - we think it might have been unearthed by Michele when he rotivated the garden. Then the guests had temporarily added the chillies for a splash of colour.

Friday was pretty hectic as it was changeover day - one set of guests depart, cleaners in, two tanker loads of water, next set of guests arrive.


Fixing the external lights

We used the occasion to get the electrician round to replace all the external lights. The original electrician had skimped on the quality of the first set of lights. The Allen screws had rusted solid so we couldn't change the light bulbs. So we ended up paying to have them all drilled out and replaced by decent quality fittings. I will be testing the screws every visit to prevent a recurrence.


Harvesting our figs

The figs were fully ripe and we had more than we could possibly use. Mary made a couple of jars of fig jam and gave a basketful to our neighbours.

We did get in a reasonable amount of relaxing and sunbathing sometimes in the courtyard and sometimes down at the beach. Every trip we try and get down to our favourite beach-side restaurant, or "shack" as Mary describes it - La Rotonda da Rosa - for a sea food lunch and siesta on the sand.


Lunch at the beach

It wasn't all relaxation, there was some maintenance work to be done: a section of the irrigation system pipework to replace and a cupboard to paint. Then it was off to Bar Fod in Cisternino where they have free Sunday lunch-time opera during August. We met up with Chris and John early enough to get a ring side seat and settled in for Pimms and culture.


Sunday opera with Chris and John

The artistes did about 90 minutes of assorted arias - the mezzo-soprano certainly had a big pair of lungs! That was followed by a long leisurely lunch at Osteria Sant'Anna with their superb anti-pasti. Mary kindly drove us home for a snooze and some relaxing followed by a quiet evening of pasta and red wine.


Opera singers at Bar Fod, Cisternino

Our last day was spent on the beach and we were planning a simple supper at home when we got a call from Carol and Mino. They have a small apartment down on the coast at San Vito dei Normanni and wondered if we were free for supper. A professional chef asks you round for dinner - Yes, we certainly were free :-)


Supper at Mino and Carol's in San Vito

A wonderful week of pasta and red wine but the bathroom scales say it is time for diet and detox.

Full set of photos on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157624816229477/

Trullo 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