#mypugliaexperience

[gm-travel-designer]

Feel the summer breeze and allow yourself to surrender to the pleasure of calmness .....in the heart of Puglia countryside !! #happyday #traveldesigner #tailormadetour #pugliafood #primitivowine #mypugliaexperience #winetasting🍷 #cheesetasting🧀 #cookinglessons #streetfoodmarket #tours #ilovepuglia #pugliabedda #volgopuglia #handmadepasta #pugliafood #oliveharvest #oliveoiltasting #smallgroupstours #manduria #bari #fasano #brindisi #strascinati #matera #oldtown #countrysideandfarmlife #masseria #countryresort #countryhotel Have you already planned your next holidays? What about a fabulous Puglia !! For a exclusively tour in Puglia or for info please do not hesitate to contact us: Traveldesignergm@gmail.com m.brullo@diplomats.com @GMTravelDesigners @massimobrullo45 https://www.instagram.com/p/CB0G6a9nbCi/?igshid=1f5a1hruqgizs

[amnesiafe]

Somewhere only we know 🇮🇹 #puglia #putignano #pugliagram #igerspuglia #igpuglia #yallerspuglia #weareinpuglia #mypugliaexperience #visitpuglia #vivopuglia #thisispuglia #top_pugliaphoto #southitaly #amepiaceilsud #instapuglia #apulia #apuliatravels #suditalia #loves_puglia (presso Puglia, Italy)

[spacesecure]

Trulli @masseriasantalachicca • if you want to really fall in love with Apulia, this is the place. — #pugliagram #mypugliaexperience #weareinpuglia — . . . . . #naturephoto #main_vision #landscape_captures #awesome_earthpix #natureaddict #rsa_rural #awesomeearth #skyporn #sunsetsniper #skylovers #sunrise_and_sunsets #sunsets #sunset_hub #sunsetlovers #instasunsets #all_sunsets #ig_italy #instaitaly #igersitaly #loves_italia #fujifeed #myfujifilm #fujixclub https://ift.tt/2NzIBvG

[mimmosmouthfuls]

Superfarcitosamentevolissima focaccia #myfoodexperience #mimmogourmet #mymmogourmet #thecommensale #mingucciogourmet #breatheinpuglia #weareinpugliatour #lifestyle #echiaccherenoncenevogliono #EatBuyLearnShare #localguides #lovelymimmo #googlemaps #foodporn #foodies #italianfood #googlelocalguides #smellmyday #smellmylife #smellmykitchen #weareinpuglia #weareinpugliawithmimmo #ApuliaTasting #mypugliaexperience https://www.instagram.com/p/CFnN0UBiSh5/?igshid=1gtlemcgbgpc4

[greenalmonds]

#6 '...I'm sorry, when was this built again ?'

Dearest Puglia,

 I can’t help but get a feeling that my last letter could have offended you. With all the superlatives I’ve used to describe your dreamy features you could think that I am just into you because of your looks. Let me remind you, I was on the Arts & Culture itinerary with MPE, so I know how rich you are, inside and out. So much so, that I couldn’t even write down everything I’ve been told about you. So much information !

 Girl, you look good but you’re old ! What a heavy past, can you even remember everything that happened to you ? If I had had to write down all the informations flowing around, I’d have spent more time with my nose in my little black book than really experiencing, and this trip was called #MyPugliaExperience, right ?

So my brain & hand got selective, and I mainly wrote down the things that caught my attention, or that I thought were particularly interesting.

To prove it to you : I’m gonna share some of what I wrote with you. Just some, because it could either be irrelevant or inapropriate, and the rest, people should meet you and find out for themselves. This is just how real I can get.

 From El Castel del Monte, a mystic place : this was my favourite castle of the trip, and one of my favourite visit because of the magic surrounding the place. Federico II  was very curious man (therefore interesting) and had diverses hobbies such as mathematics, astronomy, sciences. 'He built El Castel Del Monte around the year 1200, accordind to astronomical laws. The 8 towers, representing the infinity, plus the circle form evokes the power of finite work combined with the infinite skies. Inside the central octogonal, you can see the path to a water point that could have been the path to purification. A scripture on the wall reads ‘Circulo Devilo’, which means in latin 'the devil's circle'. In the room behind it, there are squares and circles where men stood while wizards performed spells on them. Can you feel how cool this castle is ? Definitely the one to check out when visiting you. 

 From Bari, 'funny' story : The Castello Normanno & Svevo – Federico II (him again, who re-built the castle in the 13th ) invited St François d’Assise for diner, and offered him a room in the North East tower, where a naked woman was waiting for him. Federico was hoping to try out François’s faith but François didn’t cave. Still, the guy was strongly tempted : he decided to lay down on a bed of burning ashes to keep his hands off of her… A bit extreme don’t you think ? And, for some sexist reason : the girl apologized for her ‘enticing’ behaviour and light manners( not for being used as an instrument by manhood, no).

From Bari again, (less interesting but kind of amusing) : Today we ‘learned’ how to make orrechiette, traditionnal pasta of Puglia. The lady doing it was going so much faster than me – I apparently expected myself to be a pasta genius – It was so hard, I felt like I ruined her bash of dough. I did.

  From Alberobello, a legend : This house is the only house with a double roof. One says that two brothers fell in love with the same woman and decided to join their house to share her. Obviously : she left both of them soon after.

 From Grottaglie, the city of ceramics & street art : About the painting of ceramics : Each color comes from a metal, and changes its shades when put in the oven. Pink is iron and turns red ; Lilac is cobalt and turns blue ; black is mangenese and stays black. I have a things for colors.

www.giorgiodipalma.com : website of one the great ceramist found in Grottaglie, also co-creator of the street art festival of the town. I bought a light green ceramic tape from him. 

CONFESSION : There are some others things that I wrote, but to keep on the honesty track, I’ll admit that it was more to look like I was paying attention when I was goofing around with my travel mates. For example, when the guide caught me spraying Evian water on Laura’s face (not just to refresh her but for fun), I suddenly asked her a question. Asking a question has always been my got-to trick in class.

‘When was this built again ?’

The answer is : from 1518 til 1695, and it was about la Basilica di Santa Croce of Lecce. You can find other lonely dates  or facts in my notebook,  I can’t make sense of some of them : ‘Pumo like a flowerblossom’ (if anyone knows what this is in reference to, please let me know) I did fancy La Basilica Di Santa Croce, because looking back on it, it is definitely the most beautiful church we saw – in my opinion – but it was our last day, our last day all together, Arts&Culture folks, and we were a bit un-concerned, excited, feeling like we needed to enjoy the time together we had left. Perhaps we decided to use whatever space we had left in our brain for memories, smiles and laughs. No room available for dates and facts.

  So, dearest Puglia, you are not just a body. You’re also a brain. Got the whole package. How could I not give in to you ? I knocked on your perfect door and discovered a palace of rich stories, where modern art exist on old walls, ancient ways practiced by men and women of today, time leaving proud scars in the present.

Grazzie : for sharing parts of your story with me, and allowing it to be now, a part of mine.

Do I dare quoting Josh Groban ? Yes. You raise me up.

[gm-travel-designer]

Feel the summer breeze and allow yourself to surrender to the pleasure of calmness .....in the heart of Puglia countryside !! #happyday #traveldesigner #tailormadetour #pugliafood #primitivowine #mypugliaexperience #winetasting🍷 #cheesetasting🧀 #cookinglessons #streetfoodmarket #tours #ilovepuglia #pugliabedda #volgopuglia #handmadepasta #pugliafood #oliveharvest #oliveoiltasting #smallgroupstours #manduria #bari #fasano #brindisi #strascinati #matera #oldtown #countrysideandfarmlife #masseria #countryresort #countryhotel Have you already planned your next holidays? What about a fabulous Puglia !! For a exclusively tour in Puglia or for info please do not hesitate to contact us: Traveldesignergm@gmail.com m.brullo@diplomats.com @GMTravelDesigners @massimobrullo45 https://www.instagram.com/p/CB0GZ_Nl8t_fmrMxqBdt2SiswvNdj6v6a9zLR40/?igshid=1oefgwuabod6h

[luciaiaiao]

A confondere i miei sogni e la realtà e questo veleno ormai è la mia medicina se cado dal cielo mi prende e mi riporta ancora una volta in cima ☁️🌊✨ #pantonePuglia #whatitalyis #goldenhour #Puglia #mypugliaexperience #weareinpuglia #sunset #seasunset #cloudscape #vsco #slowlife #livefolk #exitstrategy #goldenlight #lighthunter #gargano #lesina #musicquotes #frahquintale #gravita (presso Lido "La Sirena" - Lesina Marina)

[mimmosmouthfuls]

Tubettini al minestrone #myfoodexperience #mimmogourmet #mymmogourmet #thecommensale #mingucciogourmet #breatheinpuglia #weareinpugliatour #lifestyle #echiaccherenoncenevogliono #EatBuyLearnShare #localguides #lovelymimmo #googlemaps #foodporn #foodies #italianfood #googlelocalguides #smellmyday #smellmylife #smellmykitchen #weareinpuglia #weareinpugliawithmimmo #ApuliaTasting #mypugliaexperience https://www.instagram.com/p/CFm_mCii-fG/?igshid=1spayjt42lezh

[greenalmonds]

#4 Letter 'I'll sleep in the bus'

Dearest Puglia,

I’ve had the weirdest dream about you and #MyPugliaExperience – or MPE as we folks say now – a few nights ago. All the storytellers got into Castel Del Monte, only it was like Hogwarts : it was a school about you and magic, which go hand in hand. Vincenzo Foresti was Dumbledore, probably because I found him to be so wise, and we relied on him so much. Arts & Culture were Gryffondor, obviously – it’s obvious because it was my dream, and I also think we rocked. We all had a crazy loud diner, looking a lot like the one we had on our first night, but we were in the octogonal room with the open roof of the Castel. I also daydreamed a crazier version of this, Game of Thrones style, but it didn’t end well …(some of us got their heads chopped off for a piece of foccacia)

So besides proving how much of a geek I am, it goes to show that I think about you so much, I link you to imaginary places that I’ve fantasized about. However, Hogwarts and Winterfell are not real, you are. I’m dreaming now because I didn’t have much time for that when I was with you ; your reality was so enchanting that I fought against sleep.

You need to know something that you probably didn’t get when we were together : I am what some would call, a sleeper. If I didn’t have to have a life and, well, ‘do stuff’, I’d easily sleep 10 hours per night. We went to bed from 2.30 (earliest) til 4.00, 5.00, and woke up from 7.30 to 8.30 at the latest. From there, you can see why I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding how I’ve survived an entire week with you. What’s up with you Puglia, literally ?  ‘Why did they go to bed that late ?’ you may wonder. It wouldn’t be fair to blame it on late diners, it was YOU. Maybe our bodies screamed for rest, but our minds were still very much awake and eager. We wanted to live each moment, each minute, to the fullest. Even though I think we couldn’t completely comprehend how incredible you were, we still had an idea, and we didn’t want to miss out on anything.

After visiting castles, entering churches, eating like ogres, discovering cities and enjoying beaches, walking around with our faces looking-up, we’d get into the bus. Ah… the MPE bus … Our resting spot you’d think ? We thought so too.

- What time is it ? - 3 a.m. - What time do we have to be in the lubby ? - 8 :30 - With breakfast.. - Already taken, yes. Short silence. - We’ll sleep in the bus.

NO. YOU WILL NOT.          

Besides Laura, no one was ever really able to sleep in that bus. Our vessel, driven by the very calm Roberto.  I’m saying calm because traveling in that bus, made everything feel like a school trip. We didn’t draw on Laura’s face because we are too civilized, but still asked Roberto for music - if we were in the middle of nowhere without radio we’d exhaust the speakers of our phones, tablets, or even sing (mostly choruses because no one knew the complete lyrics of anything besides Wonderwall.) The bus could have been called the Instagramming- Bus as well : we’d scream out for the wi-fi password (at some point the sea water erased it from the device and we spent a long time figure out if a 6 was a 0 and a Q a P or an O) and use the drive to post pictures taken throughout the day. Funny enough, in our group, the guys mastered Instagram and taught the girls many tricks. (and also simple stuff like how to focus. Thanks Tobi.)

If we were not singing or on our phones, we played Uno – but only once because your curves drove us sick. Wonderful to see, but hard to experience.  And finally, one of the best thing to do : looking out the windows, being amazed by the olive fields, the grapevines, the sunsets, the horizon… Our minds wondering where we were going to sleep, eat or reliving the day... Let’s not forget that all of this was a roadtrip. This is the main thing I’ve been telling people since I got back : you need a car. In Puglia, you cannot sit in one place. You have to visit Bari off course. You must see Peschici. There is no way you’re going without seeing Alberobello. Pulignagno. Cisternino. Trani. Monte San Angelo. Lecce. Gallipoli. You need to trust that your mind is gonna take over your body and that you’ll feel like seeing everything, enjoying everything, relish in Puglia bare handed like a beast thirsty for life, astonishment and wonder. That’s what I tell people Puglia, so be ready. They’re coming for you.

So I didn’t have a lot of sleep when we met. More than that, I felt like sleep was a waste of time and I blamed my body for requiring some. I blamed days for only having 24 hours and #MyPugliaExperience for only lasting 7 days. I do thank the sun for being with us and the team for giving us beach time : if we hadn’t got a tan, we may have ended-up looking like an army of zombies dancing in your streets. Probably was part of their plan all along.

So not a lot of sleep...Some people told me I was high on the excitement, others tried to use chemistry,  or even espressi, but we both know it was something else. The restlessness that comes with the early stages of love. 

[gm-travel-designer]

Feel the summer breeze and allow yourself to surrender to the pleasure of calmness .....in the heart of Puglia countryside !! #happyweekend #traveldesigner #tailormadetour #pugliafood #primitivowine #mypugliaexperience #winetasting🍷 #cheesetasting🧀 #cookinglessons #streetfoodmarket #tours #ilovepuglia #pugliabedda #volgopuglia #handmadepasta #pugliafood #oliveharvest #oliveoiltasting #smallgroupstours #manduria #bari #fasano #brindisi #strascinati #matera #oldtown #countrysideandfarmlife #masseria #countryresort #countryhotel Have you already planned your next holidays? What about a fabulous Puglia !! For a exclusively tour in Puglia or for info please do not hesitate to contact us: Traveldesignergm@gmail.com m.brullo@diplomats.com @GMTravelDesigners @massimobrullo45 https://www.instagram.com/p/CBn-bpvHVrg/?igshid=prr1obl1ji4n

[luciaiaiao]

Recita un antico proverbio cinese: "quann u mar è calma ogni strunz è mar'nar" Quante ne sanno sti cinesi 🏮🚣🏼 #PANTONEPUGLIA #whatitalyis #puglia #gargano #weareinpuglia #mypugliaexperience #summertrip #summerontheroad #sealovers #adriaticsea #deepblue #slowlife #livefolk #thediscoverer #somewheremagazine #pinklemonade #cosebellemag #cosebellebreak (presso Marina Di Lesina)

[mimmosmouthfuls]

#onion #cipolla bianca di Zapponeta al forno con crema agrodolce di uvetta passita di moscato #myfoodexperience #mimmogourmet #mymmogourmet #thecommensale #mingucciogourmet #breatheinpuglia #weareinpugliatour #lifestyle #echiaccherenoncenevogliono #EatBuyLearnShare #localguides #lovelymimmo #googlemaps #foodporn #foodies #italianfood #googlelocalguides #smellmyday #smellmylife #smellmykitchen #weareinpuglia #weareinpugliawithmimmo #ApuliaTasting #mypugliaexperience https://instagr.am/p/CAz6WxXC6F8/

[greenalmonds]

#Letter 2 / Why so scoppio ?

Dear Puglia,

I came to Italy, without any expectations about you, as I wrote before. However, I did expect to learn a bit of italian. I did learn, and in the name of honesty I’ll admit there were lots of swear words involved. Let’s pretend they don’t count. 

‘Io sono scoppio’, (in english : I’m stuffed) is the very first thing that I learned. Or maybe the first thing I remembered because I used it so very often. By the end of the week I would just point towards my stomach at the waiter, and sigh like a whale ‘scoppio’ – (do pronounce the double p)

So, I was scoppio a lot, and yet I have quite an appetite. I'm french, food doesn't scare me : I always finish a meal, even more if I am at a restaurant and it's delicious…and still, there I was, sending back half-eaten plates, thinking how ashamed my parents would be. Why so scoppio ? you may ask… 

ANTIPASTI.  They are to blame.

WTF is going on with antipasti in Puglia, Puglia ? Am I suppose to look away when fried mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, kebabs, orrechiette con pomodoro, pasta with clams, fried bread (ohmyohmy), zucchinis, roasted peppers, bruschettas, taralli, capocollo, bombette, foccacia bread, and even freakin eggplant lasagnas, come my way ? And I am supposed to believe that this was just THE APPETIZERS ?! How the hell I am expected to have room for not one, but TWO pastas dishes after that ? AND then fish ? and then DESSERT ? 

 I also suspect it may have been part of the #MyPugliaExperience’s masterplan : getting us super-scoppio so we’d be calm and sleepy at nighttime. In that case, the digestives sabotaged everything.

‘Want a digestive?’

‘Sure.’

‘Amaro ? Limoncello ?’

‘Yeah, sure, whatever, bring it on.’

 And then we were dancing on rooftops or shouting out from little cars.

Jokes aside, having no expectations, again, was a great attitude to have towards food as well. I never had octopus before, but in Puglia, I went for it.  We had octopus in Peschici (aka Paradise on Earth), at our very first diner - oh no sorry, we actually just had antipasti in Peschicci, my mistake. Maybe I needed to have the most beautiful landscape ever and some Jack Johnson in the background to properly enjoy octopus. Helena Diffey suddenly screaming 'Oh my god I need to have another one' helped as well. It tasted amazing. I thought it was gonna be chewy but it felt like having some kind of chicken from the sea.

Thanks to you, Puglia, I now have super high expectations towards eating in general, and octopus in particular. And how about that foccacia ? That old man in Bari was a sort of food wizard sent from the Heaven's Department of Deliciousness. It is the best thing I’ve had all week. Even your crackers had me hanging : the 3 bags of Taralli I brought back lasted for 2 days. With you, Puglia, we didn’t just have mozzarella, we also had Stracciatella. When asked the difference to my italian camarades, they answered ‘oh it’s like the heart of mozzarella, creamier’ (!!!)

 But, above all the ‘I’m so full I’d sink to the bottom of the Adriatico right now’ kind of sighs, what I loved the most were the enthusiastic ‘How delicious !’ ‘Have you tried this ?’, the more agressive ‘You NEED to try this’ ‘What’s in this ? ’ ‘More wine per favore’ and so on…

 That is the sound of life, if you ask me.  

[gm-travel-designer]

Feel the summer breeze and allow yourself to surrender to the pleasure of calmness .....in the heart of Puglia countryside !! #happyweekend #traveldesigner #tailormadetour #pugliafood #primitivowine #mypugliaexperience #winetasting🍷 #cheesetasting🧀 #cookinglessons #streetfoodmarket #tours #ilovepuglia #pugliabedda #volgopuglia #handmadepasta #pugliafood #oliveharvest #oliveoiltasting #smallgroupstours #manduria #bari #fasano #brindisi #strascinati #matera #oldtown #countrysideandfarmlife #masseria #countryresort #countryhotel Have you already planned your next holidays? What about a fabulous Puglia !! For a exclusively tour in Puglia or for info please do not hesitate to contact us: Traveldesignergm@gmail.com m.brullo@diplomats.com @GMTravelDesigners @massimobrullo45 https://www.instagram.com/p/CBn9Seulk7m2-PflwR79uIbzzpOduzO-iUOyzA0/?igshid=1pn19rbphhwvt