Puglia

I woke up a little later today. Still in my pajamas, I went outside to see how the cactus was doing. There were a few flowers yesterday, and it looked as though a few new ones were about to bloom.  I noticed two beautiful yellow ones. While moving closer to take the perfect picture, I impaled my knee on a lower leaf.  Ouch! That hurt! I pulled the needles out, one by one, but some broke off under the skin, so I still feel them.  I guess all artists must suffer for their art.

We returned late yesterday, after a fabulous dinner at Bros’ in Lecce. One of my friends had seen a recommendation in Forbes Magazine (“The 10 Coolest Places to Eat in 2017”), and I can tell you, it was worth it.  We had a five course tasting menu, which seemed to be about ten courses and somehow included four desserts.  It’s a favorite restaurant of Thomas Siffer’s (a well known  journalist from home), so a lot of Belgians have already discovered this unique and tasty dining experience.  If you go there, don’t be put off by the terrible exterior.  It is so unappealing, we almost didn’t go in.

My three friends love it here.  They have never been to the South of Italy, and every day has been a new and wonderful treat for them. On Tuesday we visited the Sassi of Matera, a place that was new for me too.  It is about an hour and a half drive from here, but a beautiful drive! First you pass through the Valle d’Itria, with all the Trulli and and stone walls and fields of poppies and olive trees.  And then you come into Basilicata, the county west of Puglia, which you see first from above in expansive views of wide open farmland, a completely different look and feel.

Matera is said to be one of the world’s oldest towns. The simple natural grottoes that dotted the gorge were adapted to become homes. The prosperous town was the capital of Basilicata in 1663 till the early 1900s, when the unsustainable increase of population led to the habitation of unsuitable caves, originally intended as animal stalls – all lacking running water.  By the fifties over half of Matera’s population lived in the caves – the sassi – sheltering an average of six children. The infant mortality rate was 50%. When this became more publicized, it was the shame of Italy! The Italian government forced the inhabitants to relocate to new government built houses, so the sassi were abandoned.  Our guide, Brunella, told us her parents had lived in the caves as children.  She told us that in the worst times, when they were near starvation, parents would feed their children poppies, to keep them asleep for days, both to shut down their bodies’ needs and to give them time to find food.

In 1993 the sassi were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site, and many of the caves have been restored and remodeled with electricity and plumbing and ironically are now homes to Matera’s wealthiest residents. But the beauty and feel of the original caves has been preserved, and that, combined with the town’s history of outrageous misery, has transformed it into Basilicata’s leading tourist attraction.

Since it looks like old Jerusalem, it is the scenery of many movies. One of them is Mel Gibson’s controversial film ‘The Passion of Christ‘ which shows how Matera has barely changed throughout the centuries.

What’s on our list today? Polignano a Mare and Monopoli, two beautiful cities half an hour up North.

Till next week!

Sophia

Thursday night.

It has been cold. It has been raining all day. It’s getting dark already, although it is 8 pm.

The only thing that can save me is food. Food that has soaked in the sun’s rays. Food that tastes like summer!

Luckily I can watch the happy and sunny pictures Marie made when she visited Casa Vita a month ago. In Italy everything tastes so much better. The mozzarella is so creamy and delicious. I usually choose smaller tomatoes, they have more flavor. And then I grill some vegetables: eggplant and zucchinis, smothered in olive oil from the region.

I would like to look more like Nigella Lawson, still working on it, it is my first appearance, right? 😉

What is so wonderful in our house is that there is so much to be found in the yard. On the front there is a big hedge of rosemary. The only thing I need to do is to take my scissors and cut some.

Grilled veggies with just the local mozzarella is enough for me. But if you need more, you can always also find a wide range of prosciutto or salami to go with it. Ideal for a light and delicious lunch.

I am very much looking forward to my next visit. This time four friends are coming with me. Or better said, we will meet each other there, because they are flying over from the US. I got to know them when we were living in the States for three years, and we met through our kids–Oldest was friends with their boys. We stayed in touch, through email, Facebook, and visits.  I went back to the States a few times – I never get tired of visiting New York!–and a few years ago we went to a Spa together. We laughed so much! It is always fun seeing each other again and catching up.  They came over to Europe a few times too.  We took the boys to Normandy to see the WWII historical sites and stayed in a small, deserted castle. While it was fun to have this huge estate to ourselves, playing cards in huge dining room, the strange noises in the attic fired our imaginations.  Our to trip Paris with our daughters was also a bit creepy. The small hotel we stayed in was the opposite from the castle in Normandy, small and dark but in the perfect location, across from the Notre Dame.  It was called Esmeralda, and old Esmeralda was still spooking around.

Oh, those sweet memories.

I am sure we will have fun again. And do lots of cooking in our new kitchen.

What is your favorite recipe?

All pictures in this post are made by Marie Bouly Photography

Have you ever visited Puglia? You definitely must!

I just got back last night after a busy Ryanair flight. I ordered a white wine to be a bit soporific and less sensitive to the disruptions of the noisy kid sitting beside me. On the other side was his father, who spent most of the time trying to calm his son down. When the father wasn’t looking, the boy sneakily pushed his feet onto my thigh. At first I tried not to react and stared intently into my book.  But then Paolo – the boys’ name I learned later – took one of his many stuffed animals and tapped with the nose of a groundhog on my arm and whispered: “Hello, I am Tippy!” I melted and laughed. We became friends. He showed me his achievements in the games on his iPad, and I gave him my napkin when his hands were full of melted chocolate. Eventually he calmed down. I fell asleep and woke up during landing, my head bouncing against the window. “Another Ryanair flight arriving on time!” reverberating through the speakers. Paolo applauded enthusiastically together with the rest of us who couldn’t bear the overcrowded, close quarters of the plane.

It was an animated week. I got some stuff done I had planned, painting furniture in the Sofia Loren room: the rack, bedside tables and metal beds. They are all white now!

The new Fermob outdoor furniture set looks lovely on the front patio! I chose olive green. We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast and lunch out there. Hubbie hung the swing chair on one of the big olive trees in front of the house.  I love the 1900 collection.
In the evenings I made dinner in my new kitchen, so cosy! Or we went out for dinner. One night we had a tasteful seafood risotto in a restaurant by the sea, in a small touristic spot, near the town of Carovigno. Continue Reading