MEDITERRANEAN DIET TOUR

This trip is targeted to registered dietitian-nutritionists, health professionals, culinarians, friends, and family who want an authentic, hands-on Mediterranean diet, lifestyle, and cultural experience in the heart of Southern Italy.

Hosted by award-winning culinary nutritionist and author Layne Lieberman, MS, RD, CDN, LDN

Tour Operator: Arrivederci Puglia Travel

Guides, experts and chefs are from the region of Puglia
Puglia’s diet, with emphasis on local olive oil, whole grains, vegetables, fresh cheese and fish has drawn attention as a prime example of a healthy and modern Mediterranean diet. Spend an unforgettable week learning the secrets of a deeply passionate food culture in an authentic region of Southern Italy. There is openness and rustic charm in Puglia that is reflected not only in the warmth of the people, but also in the sharing of food and dietary secrets. Local dishes are simple yet flavorful and have stood the test of time as they’ve been passed on from generation to generation. This unique “hands-on” trip is a celebration of healthy cooking and the Mediterranean lifestyle, and offers an insiders’ view of a culture that has maintained biodiversity in its growing regions for centuries.

Pending Pre-Approval by CDR: 33 Continuing Education Units for Registered Dietitians

From Thursday October 26th to Wednesday November 1st, 2023   (7 days and 6 nights)

Minimum number of attendees: 12   /  Maximum number of attendees: 16 

US Dollars 3,800 per person based on double room occupancy (Euro 3.540)
Supplement for single occupancy US Dollars 590 per person (Euro 550)
(We can match you with a roommate with similar sleep habits)

The deadline for booking the Tour is March 15th 2023, however it’s recommended to book early as this trip sells out quickly! 

To register for this trip please contact us at: antonella@arrivedercipuglia.com
For questions email Layne Lieberman: Layne@WorldRD.com 
 

ITINERARY

Day 1 Thursday, October 26: Nonna’s Pasta
The group arrival transfer will depart from Bari Airport around 11:00 for all the guests arriving on the ITA Airways flight from Rome (Correct at the time of going to press, but subject to variation in airline schedules).
From the airport, we will visit the center of Bari, including its fascinating old quarter known as Bari Vecchia. Here the local ladies still make pasta by hand sitting outside their houses. Their speed and precision will amaze you!
Then we’ll enjoy lunch at one of the city’s best fish restaurants, Antica Santa Lucia restaurant. After lunch we will transfer you to your first hotel, Ostuni Palace in the heart of Ostuni. Layne will present the itinerary for the week and go through the details of our culinary adventure. You are free this evening to rest and settle into the rhythms of Southern Italy. Your local guide will be at your disposal for the guided tour of Ostuni, the white-washed city on a hill known as “La Cittá Bianca”. Welcome to Puglia!

(L) Overnight: Ostuni Palace, Ostuni

Attendees will see:
a) The technique for making orecchiette ear-shape pasta by hand with two simple ingredients
b) How pasta is handled, traded and sold on the streets of Bari Vecchia
c) The different sizes and cultural practices like why you may receive 1, 3, or 5 - orrechiette gigante thrown in the batch.
d) Whole-wheat pasta and traditional semolina flour used in making the pasta 
e) Learn about other traditional food items that are sold from the homes in the old city 
f) Taste and experience a traditional seafood and pasta meal with local wine as you learn about the local ingredients and types of preparation from one of the best restaurants in Bari. 

Experts: Antonella Susca, tour guide and owner of Arrivederci Puglia Travel tour operator; Francesca Caldarulo, owner of Antica Santa Lucia Restaurant.


Day 2: Friday, October 27: The Bread & Matera UNESCO site
Today, departure at 8:30 am to the town of Altamura (2-hour drive), the most famous city for its wheat and DOP bread production. Our first stop in Altamura is at a local coffee shop for a quick coffee and restroom stop. Then we visit the Artisan Flour Mill to see the process of local organic and indigenous flours being milled. Then into the bakery, where we will learn about the ancient way of preparing the dough and rules of baking DOP bread using the wheat of Altamura. We will of course have a tasting and understand why this bread stands apart from any other bread in the world!
Then we head to the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site Matera, perched high on a beautiful hillside and only recently seen by foreign eyes. You will have a guided walk of the town’s stunning Sassi (ancient cave dwellings restored for current use as homes, shops and restaurants). Afterwards we will shuttle you back to Ostuni. Dinner at the Hotel’s restaurant.

(B, L, D)  Overnight: Ostuni Palace, Ostuni

Attendees will:
a) Breakfast and learn– taste and learn about a typical fast breakfast and how coffee drinking plays a role in the Italian culture
b) See indigenous wheat varietals being ground into flour at an artisan flour mill
c) Understand why the town of Altamura plays an integral role in the traditions of DOP bread making
d) Learn about the type of wheat grown in the region
e) Learn how to identify DOP Altamura bread and how it is regulated
f) Understand how the dough is prepared and how the bread is baked according to DOP
g) Taste different types of bread and learn about traditional bread products of the region ie: taralli
h) Hear why McDonald’s could not survive in this area
i) Visit a community of ancient cave dwellings to see how people lived over a thousand years ago

Experts: Giuseppe Di Gesù, bread maker and owner of bakery; Di Bendetto family, 4th generation miller; Antonella Susca, licensed tour guide and owner of Arrivederci Puglia Travel tour operation.
 

Day 3: Saturday, October 28: The Olive Harvest and the Farming Culture of Puglia’s “Masserie”
This morning at 9:00 am, check out of your hotel in Ostuni.
This day’s experience is a full immersion into the vital nature of olive oil and all it means to the Puglia region and the health of its people. We go in search of Puglia’s green gold – olive oil! Visit of a local olive farm to participate in the harvest of the olives and understand modern versus ancient techniques used for making olive oil.
Driving through the Apulian countryside we reach the Masseria Salamina.
The passionate owner will describe the harvesting techniques and take us inside a modern mill to see the modern-day pressing process. The estate’s passionate and engaging owner, Filippo (a renowned expert on olive oil) will teach us how to taste olive oil, like how we taste wine.
Afterward, the group will start with an in-depth tour of the masseria’s estate. The estate is rigorously organic and the cultivation of indigenous crops, fruits, and vegetables that in many other areas have died out. Cook Chiara will demonstrate the use of the product in the traditional cuisine of the area in a cooking class dedicated to pasta and focaccia bread. We will enjoy the food we made in a delicious lunch.
The agronomist and analyst Dr. Giuseppe Mezzapesa will meet the group to share information about his work on the project “Fooding”. It is a book made by the Italian Government in partnership with the Greek Government about the nutritional and functional local food’s properties of the Mediterranean Diet.
After lunch, transfer to Masseria Grieco hotel and check-in; here we stay for the next two nights.  
You are free to relax in this beautiful masseria. Enjoy the swimming pool, take a walk through the garden with its centuries old olive trees or just sit outside and relax with a cappuccino or a glass of Italian wine! You are free to dine at your hotel.

(B, L)   Overnight: Masseria Grieco, Contrada Grieco

Attendees will:

a) Participate in a farm tour of ancient crops on the masseria’s estate
b) Gain knowledge about ancient varieties of local fruits and vegetables from the Mediterranean
c) Understand the importance of biodiversity and why organic farming has always been a way of life
d) Learn about the use of local products in traditional dishes
e) Take part in preparing pasta and focaccia in traditional ways from Filippo (family member/manager of masseria) and Chiara (in-house cook)
f) Witness the modern day olive harvest and learn about the full range of harvesting techniques
g) See the pressing process at a local mill; and learn how to taste olive oil for freshness and quality
h) Understand the history of olive oil was how it was exported and used for lighting lamps
i) Learn about the different types of olives and oils; when olives are harvested and how the region monitors and cares for the most ancient olive trees in the world.

Experts: At the olive oil estate, the owner Filippo Angelini De Miccolis, 5th generation olive farmer; Dr. Giuseppe Mezzapesa, agronomist, and analyst; Antonella Susca, licensed tour guide and owner of Arrivederci Puglia Travel tour operation.

Day 4: Sunday, October 29: Burrata & Trulli Houses
This morning we travel 40 minutes to visit the UNESCO site of Alberobello to meander around the famous Trulli Houses with a guided walking tour along the picturesque Trulli district. Away from the mass tourism, we will show you the charming area of Trulli houses where local people still live.
Then we visit a local farm specialized in organic Apulian cheese. Mariangela, the owner, and cheese artisan, will demonstrate the art of making delicious fresh cheeses such as burrata and mozzarella at her farm. Mariangela will prepare a traditional family lunch with hand-made mozzarella and organic cheeses of course!
After lunch return to your Masseria Hotel and enjoy free time for relaxation. Tonight’s dinner will be an incredible treat: an 8-course tasting menu at the beautiful Masseria Il Frantoio where all the produce is grown on site.

(B, L, D)   Overnight: Masseria Grieco, Contrada Grieco

Attendees will:
a) Understand the types of fresh cheeses that are staples in the Mediterranean diet
b) Learn about how the less popular aged cheeses are made
c) Learn how to make fresh cheeses like burrata and mozzarella. To differentiate between the different types of local cheeses and learn how they are prepared and stored
d) Learn about burrata and how it originated from this region
e) View how cows are fed, milked and live happily on the grounds of the dairy farm
f) Learn about the architecture, history and understand lifestyle inside the ancient city of Alberobello (how it was in the 16th century and how it is today).
g) Tour the inside of a Trulli home to see and understand how families lived.
h) Experience a farm to table (0 kilometer) meal at an ancient masseria and tour the grounds to learn about the ingredients used to prepare the meal.

Experts: Mariangela organic cheese maker and dairy farmer. Armando & Rosalba Balestrazi, estate owners and bio-organic farmers at Masseria Il Frantoio. Antonella Susca, licensed tour guide and owner of Arrivederci Puglia Travel tour operation.
 

Day 5: Monday, October 30: Salento Vineyards & Lecce
We bid farewell to Masseria Grieco this morning. At 10:30 am, after checkout our driver will take us to visit one of Puglia’s most renowned wineries – Masseria Altemura.
After a fascinating tour with the vineyard’s expert oenologist, you will be treated to a private lunch and wine pairing. Our final destination is Lecce, the capital of the Salento Province. Known as the “Florence of the South”, the city hosts amazing Baroque masterpieces and treasures of Italy.
Afternoon and dinner at leisure in Lecce (free time for shopping or optional walking guided tour of the historical center).

(B, L)   Overnight: Risorgimento Resort, Lecce

Attendees will:
 a) Learn about grape varieties
 b) Learn about wine production in this region
 c) Find out how much wine is produced and how much is exported vs. sold locally  
 d) Learn how to taste wine like an expert wine taster  
 e) Why wine of this region is so robust 
 f) Find out about organic vs. biodynamic wine production
 g) Learn about pairing wine with food
 h) Lunch & learn- how to pair wines with a traditional Mediterranean lunch

Experts: The Zonin family has been making wine for seven generations, first in Veneto and now in Puglia. The family will host our visit and share the many details of their decisions on grape varietals, planting, harvesting, and blending; Antonella Susca, licensed tour guide and owner of Arrivederci Puglia Travel tour operation.

Day 6: Tuesday, October 31: Flavors of Gallipoli
This morning you are heading west, to Gallipoli on the Ionian coast. We will meet with renowned chef and cookbook author Anna Maria Chirone on Corso Roma in the beautiful old town for your cooking class and lunch. First collect some seafood from the local fishermen. The fish market is lively and captivating; and Anna Maria is a skilled teacher and will be happy to welcome you to her cooking school for some delicious local dishes and treats.
Return to Lecce for free time for shopping and relaxation. For our final dinner, we’ll enjoy a gourmet interpretation of the best Salentina cuisine paired with outstanding local wines.

(B, L, D) Overnight: Risorgimento Resort, Lecce

Attendees will:
 a) Understand why Gallipoli was a strategic city on the Mediterranean coast and the history of its ports
 b) Tour the old city and watch how the locals buy fresh seafood at the old city open air seafood market
 c) Spend the day with Apulian chef and cookbook author Anna Maria Chirone
 d) Learn how to choose fresh, local seafood at the market
 e) Learn Anna Maria’s techniques of healthy Mediterranean cooking and prepare a meal with Anna Maria and colleagues at a local cooking school in Gallipoli
 f) Learn and dine: experience Salentine meal in authentic local restaurant of Lecce

Experts: Anna Maria Chirone, dedicated food expert and chef, Antonella Susca, licensed tour guide and owner of Arrivederci Puglia Travel tour operation

Day 7  Wednesday, November 1: Check out and Departure
After our final group breakfast at the hotel, our team will shuttle you to Brindisi Airport and bid you Arriverderci!
According to current flight schedules the group transfer will arrive at Brindisi Airport at around 12:00 noon. If this is too late for your flight, you will need to make alternative arrangements. Our tour operator will be on hand to assist anyone with additional transfers. 

(B)