A day out and Pasta Making in Puglia, Italy

A day out and Pasta Making in Puglia, Italy - A fabulous day organised by the Nicolaus Group starting with coffee then on to Visiting a 120 year old bakery, A Farm visit, Visiting an Art Gallery,  Countryside drive, Seeing the building of a trulli and Pasta Making!

This is part 2 of my blog post about my trip to Italy with Bookings For You and Raro Villas. You can find Part 1 here.

On the Wednesday of our trip, the Nicolaus Group organised an excursion followed by a pasta class later in the evening. Our day began by being chauffeur driven to San Michele, where we had coffee in the cutest little cafe - Central Bar. We were then escorted outside and met by none other then the Mayor himself in the famous large square (Piazza Marconi). The feel here, like much of Puglia was very relaxed. We were made to feel very welcome  and almost like celebrities (lol)! The team expressed that the people of San Michele were very proud of their town and were very appreciative that we had come to see them and were going to be writing about them. Their love and passion for San Michele really shone through despite the language barriers.

The square pictured below is where local people gather to chat and you will see people huddled together on benches throughout the day. I can't talk about the square without talking about the beautiful and large church (the Archangel) situated in the top corner of the square right next to the main school of the area. Our choice of transport for the excursion above and the cafe where we had 'the best coffee ever' (according to my hubby). I'm a tea drinker. 

We then took a short walk to the 120 year old bakery pictured below that uses only mother yeast and bakes all their bread in a wood fired oven. The bakery very kindly made us the most delicious focaccia. I have to admit, usually i am not a fan of focaccia but i loved this one!

From there we went on to a local Art Gallery where we were able to view work from local artists.

The Mayor!

We then on to a short drive around the beautiful countryside where we were lucky enough to see a trulli mid build. Perfect for my husband who loves to talk about all things building!

Next it was onto a farm where we met the animals and saw/took part in some cheese making!

From there we were driven to the Nicolaus building and watched a short presentation about the company. More info can be found here.

Then it was back to the villa for some down time before our pasta class later In the evening. The chef specialised in traditional italian recipes and demonstrated how to make a variety of pastas (10 in total). The class were also able to take part in attempting to make some pasta. The chef then went on to make 3 dishes using some of the pasta she had made.  My favourite was a very simple one made using a sage and garlic oil, a little chilli, herbs and tender stem broccoli. So simple but so delicious. A recipe will be coming soon!

Demonstrating the 

I hope you have enjoyed my posts about Italy. Thank you once again to Bookings for You and Raro Villas for making it possible.

I felt like going to Puglia was like stepping back in time to how things used to be where neighbours were like family and food and community was so so important. Food is such an integral part of Italian culture. The focus is definitely not on shaming or fads. It is routed in warmth, sharing and community and I love that.