Living the Dream Puglia Travelogue July 2015

Waking up this morning we were shocked when we saw a really overcast grey day. It was also noticably cooler.

We were far from disappointed however as our plans involved doing as little as possible today. A day for recharging the batteries. Because of the dull skies we stayed in bed all morning except for going go outside to cook some breakfast and wash last night's pots and pans.

Well, I say "cook" breakfast but it was only toast with cream cheese and some strawberries with yogurt.

Whilst we were at the sink washing up Julie noticed a little bug on the worktops.

"Oh my God, it's a scorpion" she screeched. Yes, she was right, it was a scorpion. I wasn't aware that they were common in these parts. I carefully removed it to safety for it and us, and threw it into the field behind us.

"At least scorpions haven't evolved wings" I said "imagine that flying towards you"

It wasn't the only bug busy on the kitchen surface, an army of ants were busy making off with the few left over pieces of food from last night's plates. I watched as this basil leaf and garlic clove travelled from the sink across the worktop and disappearing up the wall. Were they making pesto?

It was incredible how the ants worked together as a team. They were making me tired just looking at them.

We didn't spend all day in bed. Around midday we drove down to Alberobello for some supplies and connect to the world again.

The mobile phone coverage at the house was poor so we sat outside Bar Tropicana with two mineral waters using their free wi-fi.

In other news there was also a car bomb in Cairo outside the Italian consulate which greatly disturbed Julie as we were due to visit in October. (In the end we cancelled our trip over safety concerns)

We did a spot of shopping buying burrata and mozzarella twists from an artisin cheese shop on the square and a few bottles from Paco Wines.

On the way we saw a local police officer who we thought was a piss take. We were looking around for the cameras. He had the exact mannerisms of a Sasha Baron Cohen character. He was so comical to watch.

We were also laughing out loud when we saw a Sedgway Tour operator and tried to imagine ourselves scooting up and down the the trulli district on them. That would have been both hilarious and a recipe for disaster.

Back in the car we shopped some more at yet another supermarket. This was called Conad and probably turned out to be our least favourite. It just seemed a little basic.

By the time we returned home the clouds had lifted and the sun was shining and it was time for lunch.

We had plenty of last night's panzanella left over which tasted even better today. I also had some big fat green olives from the supermarket which were really tasty.

The burratine which I had just bought was sadly very disappointing. It clearly wasn't ultra fresh and was just on the turn.

Julie was also left disappointed when she realised what looked like big fat juicy prawns turned out to be reconstituted crab sticks in the shape of a prawn.

After lunch I inflated the lilo we had bought earlier in the week. It was incredibly thin and I doubted that it would have the buoyancy to keep me afloat.

Getting onto the lilo wasn't easy. I resulted in having to push it under the water, step over it, straddling it, then launch myself backwards, hoping the inflatable would lift me and support me.

A few failed comical attempts I eventually got it right and once I was in position I loved it

I asked Julie to get me a glass of beer and that was me sorted. I stayed there all afternoon, floating around on a cushion of air. It was blissful.

Julie joined me in the pool swimming up and down whilst I bobbed around. I think she was a little envious and would have liked a lilo of her own.

Towards the end of the afternoon we brought our water based shenanigans to an end and turned our thoughts to supper.

I defrosted a portion of the aubergine bake I had made earlier in the week and re-heated it in the microwave.

We actually don't own a microwave at home. We would always re-heat everything in the oven. We would have been here all night waiting for the wood-fired oven to heat up so we were glad of the microwaves.

Julie had another one of those monstrous pork steaks cooked on the barbecue. This one was half the size of the steak she had on Monday but it still filled most of the plate.

I had a portion for myself and they had such a rich intense flavour that we simply never get from mushrooms at home. They were like Shitake but with a much nicer sounding name.

We so didn't want this dream to come to an end but we knew that tomorrow was to be our last day here in our little slice of heaven.