One Week in Puglia

The view at night from our roof terrace

Purple-headed raw red prawns

Prawn vs. Langoustine

Our daily tomato salad - they actually tasted of TOMATO!

Barbeque - we had many

Monopoli, on the coast

Raw squid antipasti at Osteria Perrucci, Monopoli - this was one of the highlights of an epic, gorgeous meal. No chewiness or sliminess, instead teeth snapped through soft, slightly crunchy lemon-spiked squid.

One of two shared pasta dishes, this was a favourite. Silky spaghetti with octopus, bathed in a rich tomato sauce.

The view from the passenger seat of our Fiat 500 as we tried to get our 9 mammoth takeaway pizzas home on the last night. Every so often a pizza-scented guff of steam would hit me in the face. It was an uncomfortable journey but it culminated in deliciousness.

It rained and thunderstormed for an hour or two. We got right stuck into the shots playing card games. We were all asleep by 10pm.

When 9 of us descended on our villa in Ceglie Messapica in Italy's heel, Puglia, we only really had one agenda. Eating well, partying well, and slouching around by the pool. We did this with (some) grace and fervour. Shopping at local markets for our fruit and vegetables, we gorged on flat peaches, soft apricots and heady-scented strawberries. Lunches and dinners would consist of a simple pasta, or barbequed meat / fish / shellfish with salads.

We ventured out one day, to Monopoli and feasted like kings at Osteria Perrucci, a tip I got from Greedy Diva. We left it as that, since navigating 9 people can be hard, and when it's a good 27 degrees sometimes all you want to do is flop by the pool, frosted beer in hand. Aside from a weekend trip to Venice, I hadn't been to Italy before; I fell in love with Puglia.

Food Stories has left some excellent tips on the region here. There's one thing I can add; don't trust Google maps to direct you down roads wider than your car if you're in anything bigger than a Fiat 500...

More photos, including the rest of the Monopoli meal, are here.