A few days into the trip and we have toured our cooking facility at the Castello di Ugento. To form a bit of clarity, Ugento is the town in the province of Lecce where we are staying; Puglia is the entire region. The Castle has been around for many centuries and continues to be restored. Our cooking facilities are nothing short of beautiful with state of the art equipment lining the kitchen from wall to wall. How interesting it will be to bake in ovens temped to celcius and cook on induction burners. 

The weather here in January is unimaginable for the season I am used to living in. The weather has been upwards of fifty degrees which is so refreshing for this harsh winter month. New York was iced over last I left it and I don't miss that! But, instead of snow there comes thunderstorms which are still much more reassuring to hear compared to seeing snow. I can't wait for the rain to pass so I can sit in the garden after class and take the beauty in.

The courtyard is spattered with trees growing persimmons and tangerines. The paint on the trees is mixed with a pesticide to ward off insects like slugs and snails. There are also loose grape vines knit through the top of the walkway and bushels of rosemary on the perimeters of the yard. Our Chef has a vase of picked herbs and aromatics on her counter in the morning.

There are vibrant paintings all over the castle ceilings. It's so easy to look straight up and get lost in its 3D like designs. The small kitchenette above was built for the long ago castle prince. He complained of cold food so much it was best to build a kitchen nearest his room so he can have hot food served to him as soon as it was prepared.