Charming Puglia

That’s what it said in the advertisement….and it is true ! This is a region in the southern part of Italy which isn’t very well known to mainstream tourism. One of the reasons which makes it so special! This is where Italians spend their holidays.

Monopoli, the beach

There are beaches for the beachbums, «spiaggas» where they have beachchairs, showers, umbrellas and restaurants, or discover deserted coves with crystal clear blue water. On the highway south you drive past olive trees for miles and miles, past olive groves with olive trees that are more than a thousand years old, with stems so thick you need three people to embrace them. There are tiny white walled towns on hilltops, looking out over the landscape and down to the sea, with narrow alleys going up and down, left and right, till you don’t know which way you are heading or if you prefer… there are flashy cities with incredibly beautiful buildings and churches ( to be honest they have tons of those) and modern shops. Or would you prefer small ports with cute little harbours filled with fishing boats in different shades of blue. It’s your choice, the options are endless.

Monopoli, the harbour

The Patrouille Suisse are famous in Switzerland !  They are a display team flying very precise and spectacularly  in the national colours red and white. This year is their 50th anniversary. They make it possible for the average public to see and experience the absolutely impressive skills of these F-5 Tiger pilots ( which are of course backed up by a high tech ground crew ).

Now I was “lucky enough”  to be sick and lying in my bed at home. See, they have to practise, and they usually do that over the Zürich Lake, on which border we live. If you don’t know they are coming… well, you will as soon as they arrive, the noise can’t be missed ! So at first I figured oh, it’s them practising. But curiosity got the best of me, and I got out of bed, camera ready and watched. This is prime photo position once again, they fly right over our house !!!