We came, we saw, we ate and ate and tomorrow we will be back in Britain. ‘Back to old clothes and porridge,’ as one of my relatives famously said. Our Puglia adventure started 2 years ago when I found this little Trulli online and bookmarked it as a dream home for Laura and I to visit. When Laura passed, my parents decided to treat my sister and I to a vacation and Puglia was somewhere we had never been.’Our’ little trulli originally belonged to Isa’s grandparents.  She expanded it over a decade ago adding an indoor bathroom, lounge, terraces, solar panels and water recycling system. The 2 bedrooms are in the original part of the house because Isa likes to sleep under the white stone domes.  At first I worried that  if one of the stones got loose I would be asphyxiated under a heap of rocks. But now I am used to the snug, womb-like feel, and these cave rooms are conducive to extraordinary dreams.

Everyday I swing in the hammock, looking at the vine draped terraces, the bees and the swallows and send up a little prayer of gratitude for Laura, my family, my wonderful old and new friends and the love and kindness in my life.  These last 2 weeks we’ve feasted off the bounty from Isa’s garden (cherries, nespoli or loquat as they are called in English) and herbs. Later in the year, Isa will make her own olive oil and wine.  ‘I trample the grapes myself ,’ she says. But first she washes her feet with tomatoes (a natural sterilizer because of the acid).

One thing we’ve not done is sample the local delicacy ‘donkey rolls’. My sister’s children shrieked in horror when they first saw donkey on the menu.  I couldn’t bring myself to try it. There are more than enough wondrous things to eat here.