Puglia Cooking and Walking Holidays in Italy 2020
Here is a wonderfully different holiday experience for those contemplating Europe for 2020 . And if looking for something quirky outside the normal "tourist" regime, this one is for you! Also for fans of Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi she visited this area on a recent series she made covering her home country Italy. I have posted a bit more blurb, travel dates, pricings and few snaps of the area below;
The planned itinerary looks like this;
Day 1: Arrival Day
Upon arrival at Bari Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel where there will be time to settle in and meet your Tour Manager and fellow guests before dinner.
Day 2: Bread & Pizza in Altamura
Today is a day of bread and pizza! We’ll visit the local bakery where we can see how the area’s unique Altamura bread is produced, followed by a hands-on cooking lesson. Our cookery session will be followed by a tasty pizza lunch at Tre Archi, and in the afternoon, we shall walk to the Altamura Archaeological Museum before enjoying some free time before dinner in the evening.
Day 3: Antipasti & Gravina
This morning, we shall pay a visit to Mina’s Vegetable Garden to gather produce to create vegetable antipasti and side dishes during our cookery lesson today. We’ll follow this up with lunch and an afternoon walk into the town of Gravina, taking the route over the aqueduct for dramatic views of the town and valley. In Gravina, we’ll explore its hidden world of tunnels, cellars, stone churches and granaries before taking the train back to Altamura.
Day 4: Matera
A walking tour of Matera awaits us today. Our local guide will explain the history of this fascinating town, most famous for its extensive cave-dwelling districts. In the afternoon, there will be some free time to explore more at your own pace and soak up the atmosphere.
Day 5: Free Day
On our 7-night holidays, there is a free day when no excursions are offered. This is an ideal opportunity to relax around the hotel, walk independently or visit local places of interest.
Day 6: Desserts Galore & Local Exploration
Today’s cookery lesson tackles desserts – good news for anyone with a sweet tooth! Afterwards, we’ll enjoy lunch together at Tre Archi before heading out on our afternoon walk to explore the local area.
Day 7: Cheese Making & Italian Mains
On our final day together begins with an 8km walk to the cheese farm at Masseria Scalera, where we’ll learn about Apulian cheese production and enjoy a typical farmers’ lunch together before getting ready for our last cookery lesson. Today we’ll get hands-on with Italian main courses and then settle in for a farewell dinner to celebrate our week.
Day 8: Departure Day
Depart after a leisurely breakfast.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
-
52.5% Human-centred experience and communication
-
14.7% Critical thinking
-
30.1% Resilience and adaptability
-
2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Loading…