If you’ve read any of my blog posts over the past couple of months, you’re familiar with my rabid fascination with Puglia.

 

I seem to be a one-woman promotion machine, touting the beauty and benefits of this well-kept secret treasure – the heel of Italy’s boot. I should be on the payroll of their Tourism Bureau.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Florence, Rome, Venice . . . but those places are so entrenched as tourist destinations that little will change in the next decade or two. Definitely, go there some day, but there’s no great rush. I am passionate about recommending the places in the world that WILL change – not for the better – when they get discovered and changed and spoiled by tourism. The destiny of discovery is inevitable: overbuilding, high prices, crowds – and then come the inescapable Starbucks and McDonalds and Sheratons. Ugh.

Puglia will get spoiled one day. I’m pretty sure it’s already bloated with Europeans at peak vacation times. I’ve heard that Ryanair will fly you there from London for £9. But as of this writing, there are no commercial chain hotels, no fast food chains, no Starbucks spoiling an otherwise pristine ancient town square with its ubiquitous paper cups.

But don’t take my word for it. My colleague, Gabriel, returned from Europe last week with an armload of British travel magazines. Here’s a sampling:

 

from Conde Nast Traveller, May 2013, p. 37             writer: Lisa Grainger

Headline: “Somewhere for the Weekend?”

Sub-header:

“Rich with the tastiest picking from land and sea, Puglia is a languid, sun-baked region whose food secrets are too good not to be shared . . .”

Lead paragraph:

“Life goes on in Puglia as though the 21^st century had never arrived. People live as their grandparents did: a bit of farming or fishing in the morning, a siesta from 1pm to 6pm (it’s worth noting that nothing is open after lunch) and in the evening, a swim, perhaps a gentle promenade through town, and then a slow, hearty meal made from local ingredients.”

 

A search for “Puglia” at cntraveller.com reveals 26 stories. Check them out!

 

 

from National Geographic Traveller, UK Edition May/June 2013, p. 82              writer: Julia Buckley

Headline: “Olives, Oil & Sagre”

Opening paragraph:

“I’m sure they got my order wrong. I’m in Restaurante La Nicchia in Alberobello, and I’ve asked for an antipasto – Italy’s ubiquitous starter platter, which normally comprises cold cuts, maybe a few canned olives. Yet here, plate after plate appears: rich, stewed tomato, a slab of omelette, braised aubergines, broad bean puree… It’s a meal in itself, and it’s only when the bill comes I’m sure I haven’t been had.”

By the way, Sagre are food festivals.

Read the rest of the article here.

 

It’s not too late to join me on my WOW! Travel Club journey to Puglia and Sorrento/Amalfi in October.

OR, you can go there “someday” . . . I’m sure the Sheraton will be able to accommodate you. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you . . .