I tried to blog everyday but I failed. Since we left Sunday for Rome, we have had full days and by the time evening rolls by, I am dead tired. I am now too. But I told myself that I had to, just HAD TO blog about this evening’s meal before I forget the names of everything. So here goes.

Have you heard of Bitritto? Neither have I till today. I knew that we have cousins here but I was always told that they were in Bari. Well, technically they could be in Bari as Bari is only a mere 6kms away. I like Bitritto for it size and relative suburban feel. Also for the fact that it is a mere 6kms away from the big city. We have been busy catching up with the cousin and his family so no pictures of the town. Anyhow, you should come to visit it on your own too. Not a city like Bari. Just a small centre. Its centre and surrounding houses remind me of the back streets of Siracusa, Sicily.

Luckily I insisted we get to the gym today and our cousin’s son was so kind to arrange for us a day pass for a really nice gym or rather a fitness and health centre called Villa Camilla. Exceptionally beautiful. If you are ever here in this part of the world for business or holiday get yourself to Villa Camilla. Indoor, outdoor pools with indoor, outdoor jacuzzis, deck chairs dotting the pool area, hammams, saunas and the gym of course. Then, they also have all the massages you could ever want to relax and forget the day’s worries. Beautiful place. While there, I ran 5.25kms in 40 mins. Writing this down because I chose by mistake an old treadmill that doesn’t have the Nikeplus+ settings, so my run was not recorded. Dang it! And I have just signed up for the “3 runs a week” challenge.

Ok, ok. I realise I am getting carried away. The result of having so much to say but not blogging. I am sure you are looking forward to what the title of this post is supposed to be about. I am getting there! 😛

So, after gym we came back to our B&B to shower (we didn’t bring anything to shower there) and get ready for dinner. Finally got picked up at 9pm. Yes, they eat late here in Italy, especially in the south. We made our way to Ranch, the restaurant way out in the middle of the olive tree fields. But they were closed. Which in the end worked in our favour. We made our way to another little restaurant in the town centre know locally as “Il Papillion”. Hopefully that is the correct spelling as there are no signs outside this restaurant to indicate that it is even a restaurant or that it is even there!

We were greeted by Stefano the amazing chef and owner of the place. Because we are almost family, the feast began!! First and foremost, fried olives!! @_@ OMG!! They were so good! Never have I tasted fried olives! Then came plate after plate of amazing stuff. There was also a plate of ricotta cheese with orange marmalade! Yes! you heard me right! Orange marmalade! And homemade too!! Yummeh!!! The other dishes were different versions of parmigiana. One was with zucchini in white sauce, zucchini covered in cheese and oven baked. Another was a “fritelle con tonno” basically fried eggs with tuna covered in cheese, tomato puree sauce, oven baked. Normal parmigiana which is made with eggplants sliced thinly and layered like a lasagne (all parmigianas are layered like lasagne) covered with cheese and tomato puree and oven baked. A plate of mozzarellas which is a staple together with a huge plate of “prosciutto crudo” which is smoked/cured ham. There is also a plate of tripe in tomato sauce.

Then came the chef’s infamous coffee pasta. It was tagliolini type pasta in white sauce with coffee. I don’t know where he added the coffee but the aroma of coffee permeates throughout the dish. It was amazing!! To top off the already exploding (my stomach, of course) dinner, the chef tops it all with a homemade dessert. A amaretto, tiramisu like dessert! It was out of this world good! Like our cousin says, we should start all dinners with desserts and work our way back. 😀

I had to take a coffee to help my digestion along. I was already exploding before the pasta came along but greedy me had to try everything. I am now typing this in bed with my laptop on my lap but the tummy protruding and resting on the edge of my computer. Huge mound that is so hard to ignore. 😦 I hope tomorrow’s hotel has a gym. I should check.

Before I go, I will leave you a few photos of today’s dinner. Thought that I would leave you to your imaginations? Nah…the photos are coming right up!

Here you go!

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Toodeloos people! I now have to somehow try to sleep and not have nightmares from a full stomach. urrggghhh! But, no regrets!