After
a short departure gate delay and a bit of confusion at the rental car counter, off into the
streets of Puglia. Where the real fun starts.
Chaotic is the best you can say.
The GPS says turn left, but there is no street … just somebody’s
driveway. Until they bring you around
again and you realize that driveway is an actual street. And it gets more narrow by the inch. Is it possible a car can really fit in
there? But we do, by sheer will and
exhaustion. And arrive in a piccolo
pezzo di paradiso.
Elisabetta,
an ex-Toscana is a bubbly, enthusiastic hostess who makes everything from
scratch. The fruits are from her family
farm, the limoncello and olive oil hand squeezed. Our morning repast is baked to order. As my sister
would note, I could marry this girl!
Took
a short walk from our apartment to the nearest piazza for a welcome prosecco
and then to the recommended trattoria for our 10pm dinner. Which was beyond belief. The cuisine here (more to come) is called
“cucina povera” … the poor kitchen noting that what you eat is available from the
nearby farms. In Marin, it is so
chi-chi, but here it’s what people do when they aren’t Bill Gates. Boiled
chicory and fava bean puree. Hand made pasta with ceci. How can such simple
fare taste so good!?
I
am either really tired or I just landed in butter. More to come after a good night’s sleep.