Foccaccia Barese – seriously delicious and easy to make

Posted on May 3, 2020 by PersonalPuglia

One of the things I miss most about living in the provincia di Bari – is the focaccia Barese, fatto come si deve (made how you are supposed to do it). In Monopoli it is a part of life, made … Continue reading →

Spring Property News In Uncertain Times..

Posted on April 25, 2020 by PersonalPuglia

Normally at this time of year I would be rushing around, finding properties for people and supervising work on houses bought earlier in the year.. Instead, almost 7 weeks into lockdown, the pace of life is somewhat slower and I … Continue reading →

Stay in the U.K and hoard toilet paper if you prefer, but you would be safer in Puglia!

Posted on March 8, 2020 by PersonalPuglia

I absolutely know that friends and acquaintances mean well, but if one more person asks if I am particularly worried, living in Italy, about coronavirus I will scream. Friends have shared, on social media, pictures of empty supermarket shelves in … Continue reading →

Puglia Property News, Winter/Spring 2020

Posted on February 16, 2020 by PersonalPuglia

You may be more likely to snap up a bargain in the winter months but, with the arrival of spring, now is a more appealing time for a visit to Puglia and still a good time to look. I have been trawling through estate agents, looking for interesting properties ready for my property finding trips later this month and during March. These usually last 3-4 days and are a combination of informal seminars about the buying and restoration process, exploring the local area and also viewing properties. There are still places on the March 7^th– 10^th and 21^st – 24^th trips – email personalpuglia@gmail.com for details. As always we can offer a full project management service on any of the properties below which need restoration. Continue reading →

Buying and restoring La Lanterna – a superlative sfida!

Posted on February 9, 2020 by PersonalPuglia

Kathryn, Fred and their daughter Kitty (one of four children) came on one of my Puglia property trips last February. We had spoken a couple of times and exchanged countless emails and two things were immediately clear to me; firstly … Continue reading →

15 years in Puglia…

Posted on February 4, 2020 by PersonalPuglia

Today I realised that I have now been in Puglia for 15 years, give or take a day or two. I moved here very fast, and on a complete impulse; I am still a thousand percent sure it was the … Continue reading →

Puglia Property News

Posted on October 29, 2019 by PersonalPuglia

I haven’t written for ages as I have had my hands absolutely full running the fabulous Palazzo Cairney, as well as restoring a charming property in Nardò for a family to use as a holiday home. I have decided to … Continue reading →

Where to buy in Puglia

Posted on March 2, 2019 by PersonalPuglia

Puglia, as a region, is very diverse . Historically, it was know as ‘Le Puglie’ – the Puglias. One of the things I love is that each little town has it’s own character, and its own signature dishes, which could … Continue reading →

A cardoon convert!

Posted on January 5, 2019 by PersonalPuglia

I first saw cardoons at the fantastic sunday veg market in Sant’Isidoro, a seaside fraction of Nardò, where I currently live. An entire stall was devoted to them and when I asked the stall holder what they were he said … Continue reading →

Puglia Property News – Winter

Posted on December 2, 2018 by PersonalPuglia

While there have been perhaps less properties coming onto the market in the last month or so, now is actually a very good time to look for property. Lots hit the market in the autumn for various reasons. Some Italians are … Continue reading →

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Gut Feeling.”

I first came to Puglia, to Monopoli in fact, at the invitation of my mother, Diane Seed, who had taken a group to a five star hotel there for a ‘culinary adventure’. At the time I was organising specialist holidays in the UK for families. Getting talking to the owners, they suggested I organised some trips there. So I did – coming back a further three times and, each time, falling more in love with Puglia.

On my third trip, I went into Monopoli with my mother who was thinking of renting an apartment there, to use as an occasional escape from Rome. We were outside an estate agents, looking in the window, when a man approached us and asked if we were looking for an apartment to rent. We went with him, into the centro storico where he showed us an apartment; the top floor of a house with medieval origins. My mother was not impressed – too many stairs, small kitchen, no bathtub. I stood on the roof terrace looking at the view (cathedral, church spire, church spire, sea) and fell deeper still in love.

I wanted that apartment so much it hurt but, despite the fact that the rent seemed impossibly low by London standards, I couldn’t justify it. Why on earth would I need a, small, apartment in Puglia? The following night I had a dream where someone sat me down and told me I was going to die much earlier than I imagined. It was very vivid and waking up, still half asleep, I believed it absolutely. The first thing I did was work out how old my three children would be when it was supposed to happen, my second thought was ‘right, I am having that apartment’. It felt right so I did it.

During this period I had split up with my husband and was finding alternate custody of the children very difficult. There were super cheap flights to Puglia at the time so, in my child free weeks, I would hop on a plane and go to my apartment… exploring Puglia and extending the number of holidays I organised for other people. A few months later, when things back in London were getting increasingly difficult, my downstairs neighbours in Puglia told me they were moving out.

It was an absolute impulse – I told the owner that I wanted to rent the ground floor as well, packed up everything in England and moved over to Puglia with my two younger children. At the time I still didn’t really know anyone there so it was a bit scary, but I did it.

Across a narrow street from me there was an elderly lady who, unable to get about much any longer, sat all day in her doorway framed by the open top shutters of her door, above which there was an icon of the Madonna, surrounded by light bulbs. She befriended us, and her acceptance made it easier moving into, what was then, a fairly closed community.

Provider of much local knowledge, recipes and herbal remedies (as well as arcane rituals involving bowls of water and oil to cure all that ailed you) she told me repeatedly that I had come to the right place and the Madonna had sent me to Monopoli. A friend at the time commented rather waspishly that he was not sure what Monopoli had done to deserve this…

It hasn’t always been easy and, in my first year, I was taken royally to the cleaners and lost a lot of money, one of the reasons why I am very committed to making sure that other ‘foreigners’ who want to buy or do up properties here are looked after properly, as well as being guided through the endless red tape and illogical rules which make up the Italian system.

I still think occasionally of the old lady, Nina, and it makes me smile. While it is never flattering to be compared to a plague of locusts, or similar it did feel, and still does, like I came to the right place….

Continue reading →

Gut feeling – how I ended up in Puglia…..