FOODIE IN FLIP FLOPS

Bari is a major port city on the Adriatic and also home to the famous Nonna's making fresh pasta. The city seems divided into its' old town and the newer section which has grand promenades with sweeping sea views. It is a great place to stroll with a gelato in hand, or have an aperitivo and watch the world go by! The old neighborhood was where the grandmothers were making pasta by hand. They were just inside their doorways putting on a show for the onlookers. The two streets Arco Alto and Arco Basso behind the castle were lined with pasta cages. They make the traditional pasta orecchiette in different sizes and with different flours. It is traditionally not made with egg since this region was poorer and didn't have additional money for eggs. They sell the pasta for next to nothing! A two person portion was about $2 and pasta for two in Italy equates to enough for 3 or 4 people!! I guess that is not surprising.  They also make biscotti and cookies. We boug...

This is Polignano a Mare, a beautiful medieval but manicured town with winding streets and alleyways filled with shops and restaurants.  Behind this statute of Dominco Modugno, the Italian singer and actor born here, are stairs that lead to a rocky outcropping with perfect views of the town.   During June every year the Red Bull diving platforms are added to the corner building and divers put on a show. I would highly recommend avoiding that Sunday unless being trapped and smothered in a crowd is your thing!  The beautiful bridge that links the town together and looks out over the water.  This is the entrance that leads you to the cove.  This is the picturesque aquamarine cove nestled in between the rocks.  It is common to look down streets and see more turquoise sea at the ends. Enjoyed wandering the old town where we stayed, it was fun to explore. Shops and restaur...

The reason we chose to stay in Vieste was that it looked beautiful and it had ferries running to the Tremiti Islands. Unfortunately during the low season and winter, the ferry and helicopter only operate from Termoli a few times a week (the islands would not be the place to have a heart attack or stroke!!!) With our new free day, we decided to visit Peschici.  With Puglia being a top producer of olive oil, it was important to visit a mill. We visited Oleificio F.Ili Vieste and the son Rafaele Vieste greeted us enthusiastically with a tour of their operation! They were pruning the trees removing the old branches getting ready for this seasons fruit.  They will not harvest until October, so we saw nothing in action, but Rafaele went through all the steps with us. These are the granite blocks resting on a granite platform that they use to first press the olives. After the tour we tasted the olive oil, it was so fresh, and also a little spicy. The...