Author Gayle

There’s a place in Puglia where you can dine in a cave. But before you start conjuring up images of the Flintstones and brontosaurus burgers, let us say the Grotta Palazzese isn’t just any cave, it’s a posh restaurant in… Continue Reading →

According to the teaching of the Catholic church, Purgatory is where the souls of sinners go to be purified before they enter heaven. (There’s a common thought that the Catholics did away with the idea of Purgatory in the 1990s… Continue Reading →

From our base here in Monopoli, many of Puglia’s major towns are an easy day trip away. Bari, for example, is only about half an hour to the north. Puglia’s capital is a busy port city with a population of… Continue Reading →

As you’d expect in a fishing port, there’s a lot of great seafood available here in Monopoli. And it’s all, literally, fresh off the boat. Octopus, mussels, prawns and, of course, fish … the choice is seemingly endless. We often… Continue Reading →

Last week we set off for a few days of exploring. As well as tootling around Puglia, our travels took us south into the other two regions at the foot of Italy, Basilicata and Calabria. It was a trip marked… Continue Reading →

It’s estimated there are up to 60 million olive trees growing in Puglia. That’s right – 60 million. It’s a number that’s hard to imagine, even as you watch from the window of the car or train as kilometre after… Continue Reading →

Puglia is a region on the Adriatic coast in the area often referred to as the ‘heel’ of Italy’s ‘boot’. Described variously as a ‘hidden gem’, ‘underrated treasure’ and ‘best-kept secret’, Puglia isn’t one of the country’s most popular destinations. For… Continue Reading →

Last weekend Greg joined 15,000 screaming Chainsmokers’ fans at Unipol Arena in Bologna for the group’s only Italian show of their ‘Memories … Do Not Open’ world tour. Here’s Greg’s ‘Access All Areas’ report. I’d be the first person to… Continue Reading →

Before we left Australia many people urged us to visit Lucca in Tuscany. I’m pleased to say that finally we managed to get there and friends, you were right, Lucca is a beautiful city. In fact Greg and I found that… Continue Reading →

Today in Rome it snowed. An Arctic storm swept across Europe overnight dumping several centimetres of snow on the capital, and this morning Romans woke to the rare sight of their city blanketed in white. The last time it snowed… Continue Reading →