Partying in Puglia and Portugal

The Puglia tour was smashing - it's hard to go wrong in Italy I have to say. We ate more pasta, bread, seafood, cappocollo and burrata than we thought was humanly possible. We drank lots of Susumaniello, Primitivo & Negroamaro wine and our tour manager Max dragged willing participants out for post prandial amaro liqueur every night starting from the cheapest to the most expensive. They make so much olive oil and good wine there that everyone is good looking, happy and easy going. We spent the first half of the week right in the middle of the Baroque city of Lecce, surely one of the most gracious and captivating cities in the world.  The gastronomads enthusiastically embraced cooking classes, chic shopping, wandering through old palaces and churches and sipping the famous Caffe Leccese - coffee, ice, almond milk. Masseria Montenapoleone where we stay in the countryside was as enchanting as ever - like a world within a world where you feel you never have to leave. Family run by Giuiliano & Alessandra, organic gardens, olive groves, vineyards, delicious food, pasta cooking classes, parties, singing, dancing .... the fun is never ending. We have one room left for 2024 – details on the webiste HERE.

Portugal

My first ever tour to Lisbon and Evora in southern Portugal was a complete joy from beginning to end with lots of past tour guests joining us and newbys being inducted into what sort of behaviour is expected on a Peta Mathias tour - silly sense of humour, willingness to eat absolutely everything you are given (like barnacles), ability to overnight become a travelling choir (this group called themselves the Von Trapps), attachment to sensible shoes and a penchant for getting to the heart of a culture and the people through cuisine. And Portuguese wine is fantastic. We walked ALL OVER the romantic, hip city of Lisbon tasting street food like giant red prawns, roasted chorizo and pasteis da nata - custard tarts. All the while looked after by the gentle, kind locals. The Portuguese are like no-one else in the world - charming, saudade - nostalgic and nothing is ever too much trouble. A stranger would walk you back to your hotel in the middle of the night if you asked. The private Fado (sad Portuguese singing) concert in a tram as we rattled through the old neighbourhoods, made lots of us cry from the beauty of the music. The second half of the week found us in the stunning white medieval city of Evora, capitol of the Alentejo region - land of endless blue sky, olive groves, vineyards, cork groves and very staunch, relaxed, gastronomically sophisticated people. We tasted the mild, sweet, fruity olive oil, the complex earthy wines and the traditional dishes like cozido (meat & vegetable soup) and pig cheeks slow cooked in red wine. And they can sing! Fabulous a capella polyphonic choirs which of course the Von Trapps replied to at the last night bash. I'll be doing it all again next September – full details are on the website HERE.

Tours in 2024

Europe 2024 airfares are out and bookings are rolling in – so get your skates on and join us next year!

India – 4 – 13 March 2024 – TOUR FULL
India – 18 – 27 March 2024 – we have 1 room left!
Marrakech – 5 –11 May 2024 – TOUR FULL
Marrakech – 13 – 19 May 2024 – tour half full
Basque – 1 – 7 June 2024 – TOUR FULL
Uzès – 14 – 20 June 2024 
Puglia – 1 – 7 September 2024 – we have one room left!
Portugal  – 15 – 21 September 2024

Supper Club

The supper club in my Auckland apartment kicks off next week for the Summer until the end of April. On every Wednesday and Saturday I am in town, I take up to 8 people for a 2 hour cooking class usually of dishes from my travels, then we eat it all up on my floating inner city terrace. Usually about three hours altogether and if you refuse to leave, you're on dishes. You may burst into song or recite a poem, I may burst into song, I might do a book reading from my latest book on fashion & clothing 'Shed Couture' but one thing's for sure – you will learn something delicious to cook and you will meet really interesting people. More info and booking enquiries are HERE.

I am girding my loins for the long flight home. At the moment in Uzès we are enjoying adorable weather – chilly in the morning, hot and sunny during the day and cool at night. I am coming home to fabulous weather in New Zealand right? See you soon

Peta