Brochure Puglia
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Best of Puglia Tour Why travel with us How we create memorable experiences Italy With Pleasure is a specialist provider of small A careful selection of a range of activities and visits group tours to Italy. allow you to have genuine contact with local people....this is what memories are made of. Our tours are a balance between being informative (historical details, examples of the culture and We cover destinations that would be difficult to reach lifestyle) as well as having everything that makes for on your own, and you get an insider's perspective in an enjoyable trip (long lunches in good restaurants, a each location. relaxed pace, free time in places we visit). As well as the organised excursions, we leave some free Tours are always fully guided and in a small group time each day for you to explore at your own pace so context, giving a more personal touch and flexibility you can get a sense of how it is to live like a local. where needed. We are a hands-on company. Family run. A small team. We have a maximum of 14 people in our groups. This means that we are genuinely interested in the success and enjoyment of your tour, and your time here We guarantee the departure of all our tours. in Italy. www.italywithpleasure.com Best of Puglia Tour Why you'll love this tour Puglia is a must see destination, a region boasting Discover how the range of civilisations that have settled wonderful food, a rich history, beautiful towns to in Puglia have all left their mark. For example, within visit... and a few surprises!. But being the road less walking distance you can find a Spanish palazzo, a travelled it can still be challenging to navigate Byzantine church and a Roman amphitheatre. independently. A culinary focus - we try recipes handed down through See the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Alberobello the generations and allow you to connect with this (with its conical trulli houses), Matera (with its cave ancient wisdom. Match this with Puglia’s wonderful houses) and Castel del Monte. burrata cheese, and with wines found only in this part of Italy – this is a food-lovers’ dream. Later in a Visit key locations such as Ostuni, Polignano A Mare, masseria (a 16th century farmhouse), a chef helps us Lecce, Trani, Martina Franca, Locorotondo. cook a fantastic final meal together. We stay for the week in one place, the town of Experience ‘living traditions’, such as visiting a 4th Locorotondo. Here people have the time to share a generation olive oil producer, and a convent where the smile or a chat in the piazza – and by the end of the nuns make biscotti in a centuries old manner (which we week you’ll be greeting the locals too! sample of course). www.italywithpleasure.com Accommodation Living like a local In Puglia we stay in the charming town of Locorotondo. The historic centre is lined with elegant old buildings, evocative lanes amongst the whitewashed buildings, and piazzas with the traditional ‘passeggiata’ in full swing each evening. You stay in what is known as a ‘scattered hotel’, this is a new concept that is becoming very popular in The rooms we use in Locorotondo some Italian historical centres. Our accommodation is provided by ‘Sotto Le Cummerse’. With a central reception (& free wifi, rooms serviced daily, etc.), the rooms are in historic buildings. The rooms are tastefully presented, spacious, with high vaulted ceilings and the ubiquitous limestone paving adding to the sense of history. For this week, you live amongst it. Elegant baroque detail, Locorotondo www.italywithpleasure.com About Us How it all began Italy With Pleasure emerged from a marriage of be the particular way they make their pasta shapes in ideas (the traditional marriage came later). To their village. explain, we need to wind the clock back to the time And what were our own travels in Italy are now the when the founders of the company, Antonella and tours that we offer to you - Italy With Pleasure was Malcolm, were embarking on what became Italy With founded specifically for this purpose. Pleasure. We collaborate with a group of like-minded individuals Malcolm was working as a winemaker in Puglia, who are our Tour Leaders - Andy and Anita, Richie and southern Italy. Discovering new flavours, but more Roberta, Mark and Wolfgang - who will lead your significantly the depth of history and culture all group for the week and provide insights into this land. around. Nearby was Antonella, studying for a masters Our guiding philosophy in designing the tour itineraries in literature. Together we embarked on an is to do so with the care we would in planning a exploration of firstly Puglia, where we were living, personal trip with a close friend. We've maintained the and later further afield around the many and varied spirit of those early days, almost 20 years ago now, regions of Italy. Everywhere we went we would seek back when we were driving around Italy with hands out the local cuisine, traditions tied to the land, places stained from the intense primitivo wine being made off the beaten track. back in the winery. We’d always try to find the essence of what made each place unique: maybe it was a local artisan, We invite you to come and uncover some of these maybe it was part of an ancient Roman road, it could special places for yourselves. With pleasure, of course. www.italywithpleasure.com Testimonials What people say about our tours “Puglia is one of the real hidden treasures of Italy I “The itinerary was well organized and done at a think. Not too crowded or filled with tourists... I travel comfortable pace: touring in the morning followed by independently and had NEVER done a tour before. mouth-watering lunch featuring the specialties of the This was just fantastic. Thoroughly recommend. area as well as fine wines of the area. All of the Plenty of spare time and wonderful personal touches. restaurants were excellent as was the food. A rare treat.” Puglia is a beautiful area of Italy and offers a wide variety of exceptional scenery and beautiful towns. We “Everything was perfect! They packaged the hotel, all visited a number of UNESCO world heritage sites, did meals, daily tours to a variety of very special and some wine tasting and olive oil tasting in a masseria interesting sites, and handled all of the myriad of and a cooking lesson. details seamlessly. It was a wonderful week and I will have many fond The agency is very customer-service focused and was memories of my stay.” a pleasure to work with.” “Believe all that they say in their brochure... family run, “This was our first time in Puglia, and we were hands on and very professional. Their standards are looking for a small group tour that catered to our love high and they are very responsive to everyone’s needs.” of architecture, history, scenery and food/wine.” - see these and other reviews on TripAdvisor, TourRadar and Google www.italywithpleasure.com TOUR DATES Best of Puglia Tour 2020 19 - 25 April 2020 TOUR INCLUDES: 3 – 9 May 2020 17 – 23 May 2020 All Accommodation is included 24 – 30 May 2020 Meals as listed in the itinerary: breakfast every 7 – 13 June 2020 morning, plus a main meal each day of 3-4 courses 14 – 20 June 2020 including wine 21 – 27 June 2020 All costs/entry fees for activities listed in the itinerary 30 Aug - 5 September 2020 are included 13 - 19 September 2020 All transport during the tour is included. Travel is in 27 Sep - 3 October 2020 our van/minibus with a professional driver 11 - 17 October 2020 'Italy With Pleasure' provides a tour manager for the duration of the trip TOUR PRICE: €2400 * Price is denominated in Euros * Prices listed are based on twin share * Single supplement of €200 for solo travellers www.italywithpleasure.com ….crafting wonderful tours of Italy The Best of Puglia Tour – Itinerary Day 1 – Buongiorno Puglia! We meet in Bari at 2 p.m. Bari is the main city of Puglia, and f rom here we start our discovery of the region. Our first stop is Ostuni, known as “la città bianca ” (the white town). Ostuni is a cluster of whitewashed buildings perched on a hilltop overlooking the coast . Walking through the narrow streets of Ostuni is like being in a forgotten time, evocative and ancient , looking out over an expanse of olive trees. W e advise keeping your camera at the ready! Ostuni T his part of Puglia is dotted with charming towns such as Locorotondo . The historic centres of these towns are lined with elegant old buildings , evocative lanes amongst the whitew ashed buildings, and piazzas with the traditional ‘passeggiata’ in full swing each evening. Over the next few days you'll have plenty of time to explore Locoro tondo at your own pace. Tonight we dine together, having our first introduction to Baroque details the cuisine of Puglia. Throughout the week m eals are in restaurants designed to showcase the region’s cuisine, with the specific venues all carefully selected by us . This is in order to provide a variety of food styles over the duration of the tour. Meals: Dinner (4 courses including wine) Day 2 – Into The Fairytale Lanes in the historic centre We depart for our first stop, Alberobello. The picturesque Alberobello , a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a unique town with streets lined with 'trulli' . I n fact it is known in Italy as the “Capital of trulli”.