In Puglia, on the southern tip of Italy, the whole family can spend happy holidays
What are you looking forward to? ", My husband asked as we whizzed towards Bari. "To the surfing!", Said Lasse (9), who had packed his little swimmingboard for it.
Photo: De Agostini Picture Library
"On the Italian kitchen, " I enthused, "that should be particularly good in Puglia. And the gigolos ... "I winked at my husband. "They can be stolen from me, " asserted our daughter Alexa (7), "I want to see the houses with the funny pointed caps. And the dwarfs who dwell in it. "" There are no dwarfs, "my husband told them. "These are Trulli houses, formerly the shepherds lived there. So I'm looking forward to the churches, the ancient ruins, the many museums ... "" You can go there alone, "the children protested, " we want to go to the beach! "" Me too, "laughed my husband, " Admire bikini beauties. "We all got our money's worth. The region of Apulia, which forms the heel of the Italian boot, has at least 500 kilometers of beach. Every day we could choose a new one - one more beautiful than the other. But the greatest gigolo was my husband - and I, he said, at least, his bikini queen.
For dinner we went to the little cantinas. Many make their own pasta. Apulia is the cereal chamber of Italy, wheat fields everywhere. And from durum wheat semolina and wheat flour are the delicious pasta made. We enjoyed Orecchiette, which looks like little ears, Lagane, which resembles lasagna, Lanache, a kind of tagliatelle. In addition there were beans, tomatoes and aubergines, refined grilled lamb and the green gold of Puglia: finest olive oil. Not to mention the heavy red wine from here. I particularly liked the Negroamaro with its hint of currants and cherries.
Even the children were persuaded to culture. This was due to the Castel del Monte, the mysterious castle of the legendary German-Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250), who built the building with an octagonal plan and octagonal towers at Bari. The castle is even compared to the pyramids of Giza. And the children, who played noble knights, did not want to leave. But we still had to look at Alberobello, trulli houses. The whole place is full of them and they really look like cute dwarven dwellings with their pointed roofs. There will soon be a trulli house in our garden. Lasse and Alexa want to build it. As a reminder of our beautiful time in Puglia.
