The Puglia Trip I Didn't Take
(and the Itinerary I'm Giving You Anyway)
I should be in Puglia right now. (insert tear)
The plan was finished weeks ago. Two nights in Rome to shake off the flight. Then a week in the heel of Italy: five nights in Otranto, four in Monopoli, a car with the windows down, and a list of restaurants I'd been building since spring. It was part vacation, part homework.
Sidenote: I'm hosting a women's culinary retreat there in September 2027, and I wanted to eat my way through every candidate on the list before I put my name on it.
A week before departure, Dan and I ran into a problem with one of our business clients. The kind that doesn't wait. We talked it through the way we always do, and as much as it pained us, the answer was obvious. If we went, we’d spend the trip on our phones and laptops from a terrace, pretending to be present.
That's not Puglia. That's stress with a better view.
So we stayed.
The two things I'll miss most
There's an alley in old Bari where the nonnas set up outside their front porches in the afternoon and roll orecchiette by hand, and if you stand there long enough they'll wave you over and put you to work. I had it on the itinerary for a late afternoon with nowhere to be afterward, picturing us sitting on the porches, deep in life conversations, listening to the wisdom that can only come from those that have been on this earth a while.
There was also a dinner reservation, one I'd fought for, at a restaurant built inside a sea cave with the blue ocean water right there below the table. I have that one saved in my folders. I'm keeping it.
Both are going back on the plan. Puglia isn't cancelled. It's postponed.
The itinerary
I built this for two people who like to eat, walk, and not drive more than they have to. But also want to enjoy the scenic drive, stopping along the way whenever something calls to you. It is my gift to you. Use it as is, or send it to me and I'll make it yours.
Next year
Losing this trip did one good thing. It pushed my head into trip planning (because that’s the only way to get over a travel slump). 2027 is quickly filling up with the kind of travel I care about most: women, girlfriends, and a week that puts something back.
Puglia Culinary Retreat, September 2027. Being finalized now. Yes, the nonnas are on it.
Camino from Porto, October 2027. A walking group, at a pace that leaves room for wine, good food and naps.
Glamping near Glacier National Park, August 2027. Gorgeous mountain sky, luxury beds, laughter around the campfire.
None of these are open for booking just yet. If one made you sit up, join the newsletter below. That's where I'll announce them first..
