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 Experience the east coast of Italy. Learn and discover the tastes of the 'other southern italian' cuisine. |
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- $2175 double occupancy
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$2495 single occupancy
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Session 1: May 5 - 12
Session 2: May 12 - 19
Session 3: May 19 - 26
Day 1
Arrival
Thursday:
arrival early afternoon
at Brindisi International
Airport. Pick up
by our English-speaking
guide and transfer
by bus to a beautiful,
recently renovated
16th-century fortified
castle/villa La Masseria.
Welcome cocktail.
Afternoon to rest
and relax or simply
walk around the villa.
Gourmet dinner with
a tasting menu. Overnight.
Day 2
Cooking
Friday: breakfast.
First three-hour cooking
session on "Cucina
pugliese e mediterranea".
Lunch at the villa
with local specialties
prepared during the
cooking class. Free
afternoon to explore
the surroundings of
this magnificent villa,
the tower, the 173-acre
olive plantation, the
annex church, the breathtaking
courtyards and terraces
and the brand-new outdoor
Olympic swimming pool,
which opens up to an
amazing view of the
entire valley. Gourmet
dinner (four courses)
and overnight stay.
Day 3
Excursions
to Ostuni and Alberobello
Saturday: breakfast.
After breakfast leave
for a daily excursion
to Ostuni (la citta`
bianca - the white
city -), splendid example
of Apulean achitecture,
with its incredible
total-white look, its
cobblestone streets
and its gorgeous 15th-century
Gothic cathedral. Free
lunch and afternoon
visit to Alberobello,
a UNESCO World Heritage
Site, to see the world-famous
trulli, stone-built
adobes. On the way
back stop to Martina
Franca. Return to La
Masseria for dinner
and overnight stay.
Day 4
Excursion to
Baroque Lecce
Sunday: breakfast.
Early transfer to Lecce.
Visit of the city,
its historical center;
admire the Baroque
architecture, which
makes Lecce the "Florence
of the south".
Your English-speaking
guide will explain
everything about this
less-known-to-tourists
beautiful city, its
Medieval and Romanesque
periods, its history
and architecture. Free
lunch. Afternoon visit
to a "laboratorio
di cartapesta" (an
artists' workshop where
cartapesta - a building
material made of macerated
paper and liquid glue
- is used to produce
sculptures and other
works of art). A visit
will follow to a local
food shop for a free
tasting of local products
(oil, wine, taralli,
bread etc.). Return
to the villa for gourmet
dinner. Overnight stay.
Day 5
Cooking
Monday: breakfast.
Second three-hour cooking
session. Lunch with
specialties made during
the class. Afternoon
free to relax in the
pool, enjoy the pergolato,
the inside-the-walls
courtyard for a "partita
a carte", a drink,
or a swim in the pool.
Gourmet dinner and
overnight.
Day 6
Cooking and
Vinery Tour
Tuesday: breakfast.
Three-hour cooking
session. Lunch with
specialties prepared
during the class. Afternoon
tour of the "Itinerario
europeo della terra
del vino" (European
Itinerary of the Wine
Areas), with visits
to vineries and olive-presses
at: Guagnano, Salice,Veglie,
Leverano, Copertino.
Tasting of local products
and lecture on the
most important production
techniques of oil and
oil-derived products.
Lecture on the production
of the most important
wines of the region
(Salice salentino,
Primitivo etc.) and
how they are aged in
cellars. Return to
the villa for dinner
and overnight stay.
Day 7
Cooking & Visit
to Otranto
Wednesday:
breakfast followed
by the last three-hour
cooking class. Lunch
and afternoon excursion
to Otranto and the "Grecia
salentina" (area
around Otranto, so
called for its important
history of Oriental
influence). Visit of
Otranto and its most
important sites (the
an Pietro). A visit
will follow to the
town of Sternatia,
important center of
the area, with a visit
to a 1600-century hypogeum
oil-press. Return to
the villa for dinner
and overnight stay.
Day 8
Departure
Thursday: breakfast.
Transfer to Brindisi
International Airport
and departure for the
US. |
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