Category Archives: Puglia

Head for the Heel | A Night in Noci

Judith Schrut enjoys an evening of gastronomic joy with Noci’s legend of the larder, Marino Notarticula. We kept hearing that Noci was yet another historic and hospitable Puglian town renowned for  its gastronomy. But let’s be honest, we were going … Continue reading

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Head for the Heel | Yours Trulli, Alberobello

  Judith Schrut continues her adventures in southern Italy with a snuggly night in a traditional trullo cottage, a hearty breakfast and a dramatic visit to a cave. The trulli of Alberobello, Puglia: you’ve probably seen them loads of times … Continue reading

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Head for the Heel | Cycling the Appian Way

Judith Schrut continues her hiatus in Italy’s heel with an exhilarating cycle ride along ancient Roman roads, bike-friendly railway bridges and villages perched atop rocky ravines. Continue reading

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Head for the Heel | Magical Matera

Expect to hear lots about Matera this year, as it begins a prestigious reign as 2019 European Capital of Culture, the first place in southern Italy given that honour. Continue reading

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Head for the Heel

The heel of Italy’s beauteous boot might be summed up in three words: past, present and Primitivo. Just add pasta, panini and pasticciotto and you’ve pretty much got the main ingredients of this wonderful place. Continue reading

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Eat Puglia | Index

Here’s an index for quick reference to all of Judith Schrut’s posts in her Eat Puglia series. Continue reading

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Eat Puglia | Trattoria Terra Madre, Alberobello

Terra Madre (Italian for Mother Earth) is a bio-organic farm-to-fork restaurant, one of a growing number of such eateries taking Italy’s culinary imagination by storm. It’s set in the traditional trulli village of Alberobello, with the restaurant itself made from four beautifully restored trulli cones. Continue reading

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Eat Puglia | Itria Bonta Cheese

In charge at Itria Bontà nowadays is Giorgio Spalluti – aka “Big George”– who makes his cheese entirely by hand, using traditional methods learned from his father and grandfather with milk from the farm’s herd of Freesians. Continue reading

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Eat Puglia | I Pastini Winery

Judith Schrut has a taste of wine at I Pastini Winery on her tour of Puglia. It’s approaching early evening in Puglia’s lush Itrian Valley and time to enjoy that important Italian tradition known as aperitivo–  socialising over drinks and snacks … Continue reading

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Eat Puglia | Pescaria, Polignano a Mare

It so happens that Polignano has many seafood restaurants, and choosing where to dine can be  really difficult. We decided to follow the locals. And they were flocking to Pescaria. Continue reading

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Eat Puglia | Trattoria Il Brigante, Monopoli

It was our first morning in the bright sunshine of Puglia– leaving snowbound Britain a few hours before on a crack-of-dawn budget flight from Stansted– so I was understandably eager to savour and set my teeth into the local cuisine. Continue reading

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Eat Puglia

Certainly, with so much delicious food and drink to match picture postcard scenery and warm hospitality, your days in Puglia are sure to start and end with gorgeous gastronomy. Continue reading

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Pedals in Puglia

The sun is out, the sea deep blue, your sexy (e)bike is beckoning you! Welcome to your first morning on Contrasts of Puglia, Headwater Holidays’ self-guided cycling tour on the heel of Italy’s “boot”. Continue reading

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A Taste of Puglia: Craving for More

Did you have fun reading my series of posts about the great time I had visiting the boot heel of Italy? I certainly got a kick out of my trip! But such a short jaunt of Puglia only proved to be a tease, and now I’m craving to discover more about this sunny region. Continue reading

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Recipe: Squid and Chickpea Barley

Sometime during my recent visits to Sicily, Barcelona and Puglia the elements of this recipe starting fomenting in my ravenous mind. Once home with enough time to play around with my ideas, I was keen to create what’s turned out to be a really scrumptious dish: squid and chickpea barley. Continue reading

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A Taste of Puglia: Drinking

The last post in my Taste of Puglia series was about the best bites from the region. But what drinks pair well with all that excellent southern Italian food … wine … coffee? Sure! Puglia can be proud of its contributions to these two most significant liquid elements of Italian culture. Continue reading

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A Taste of Puglia: Eating

If a dietician were to design a food pyramid based solely on my most preferred eats, it would have giant tentacles extending from its based and wrapped around it to the top. Squid … octopus … cuttlefish: I had so much of it – along with all sorts of other bounty of the sea dishes – always sumptuously presented but with minimal fanfare while visiting Puglia … and at such low prices (from my gouged Londoner perspective anyway). Continue reading

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A Taste of Puglia: Sightseeing in the Salento

So as I alluded in the intro to this series about my time in Puglia, my aim is to share the best bits of my time there as well as highlight some Pugliese treats I’ve come across here in London. But where to start? I suppose at the source is as good a place as any, especially when it’s as beautiful as the Salento, the very bottom of the country’s so called boot heel. Continue reading

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A Taste of Puglia: Alluring and Suggestive

When travelling in Italy, my experience has been that the deeper south I go, the more beguiling the country becomes. This observation held true in mid May when I ventured to Puglia – the heel of Italian boot – for a whistle stop press trip and my first time in this sunny and rustic region. During my few nights visit, things often occurred in manners and for reasons beyond my comprehension. For sure, some of that could be chalked up simply to me being a dumbass. Still, a lot of it – much of it – had way more to do with the place, the people, and the culture. Continue reading

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The Nutty Way to Have Coffee in Lecce, Italy (espressoCrazy)

One of the perks of getting to travel as much as I do is the opportunity to have a peek at (and of course a taste of) local coffee customs. Recently, I was found myself in the Southern Italian city … Continue reading

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3 Supremely Sunshiny Reasons to Visit Southern Italy’s Salento (OneTravel)

Just back from a too short, but super sunny and fun-filled visit to Salento, I’m eager to rave about how wonderful this part of southern Italy is. Located in the region of Puglia, Salento is at the very bottom of … Continue reading

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