
It seems like ages since I have posted anything – in fact it is, but it has been insanely busy… I coped with the first lockdown in April 2020; 4 months with no work, a large project cancelled and zero … Continue reading
It seems like ages since I have posted anything – in fact it is, but it has been insanely busy… I coped with the first lockdown in April 2020; 4 months with no work, a large project cancelled and zero … Continue reading
This newsletter, will be slightly different in that I wanted to do a roundup of current villa availability, and rather than expiring on a given date all discounts will be valid as long as availability lasts. At the moment I am … Continue reading
First of all a belated Happy New Year to everyone reading this! I fully intended to get this newsletter out at least a week ago, but have been very busy with people coming over to look at property to buy. … Continue reading
The number of holiday villas in Puglia, particularly those sleeping 2-6, has increased at least ten fold in the 9 years that I have been here. The main holiday villa websites are packed to the gunnels with offerings and it … Continue reading
Requests for villas sleeping 9+ people, for 2015, started arriving in September. In Puglia, though, there is a great shortage of these. There is an embarassment of Trulli sleeping four people and plenty of 3 bedroomed villas, though slightly less … Continue reading
One of the challenges of project managing the restoration of a holiday villa and then equipping it – is to keep, not only the owners, but also all future holiday makers, firmly at the forefront of your mind while making choices and decisions.
Outdoors spaces are important, and a shaded area for dining, an outdoors kitchen with gas rings, sink and barbecue and, space permitting, another shaded area for lounging, all add to the desirability of the rental. A pool is pretty much essential. Continue reading
Here the weather is getting warmer – last week there were even (Italian!) people sunbathing on the rocks by the Porta Vecchia beach! I love this time of year and have been enjoying putting away my winter clothes this weekend. … Continue reading
This is the first newsletter since the April one – apologies to all subscribers but we have been very busy organising all of our planned activities for the summer, and also I have been helping some people to find and buy a house, get quotes for the necessary work and so on. In both cases I have definitely come up against the less pleasurable aspects of life in the South of Italy, namely the need to do constant ‘salti mortali’ (death leaps) to overcome layer upon layer of bureaucracy, red tape, and a, shall we say, flexible, attitude to time keeping or the need to make any decisions whatsoever within a set time frame!
No matter, nothing that a quick trip to the beach every so often can’t resolve and some of the lovely visitors whose holidays we have organised in this period have provided definite moments of light relief! Continue reading
The weather has been glorious here for the last couple of weeks and it is now warm enough to lie on the beach in a bikini though the water is still very cold. There have been a spate of last minute holiday requests from people desperate to get away from the lousy weather elsewhere but , although some have made it, the flights to Puglia often get more expensive at the last minute, rather than cheaper so, in an ideal world, you want to be booking at least three weeks ahead. Continue reading
Five of us, myself, three eighteen year olds and a thirteen year old, had an unforgettable week’s holiday at Trulli Vista, in the hills above Monopoli in Puglia. Despite the fact that the boys pounced in glee on the iPod … Continue reading