Sitting on the FrecciaBianca train back to Bologna, with seven hours ahead of me, trying to process everything that happened in the last to weeks. It’s not easy. So many things happened, people, places and feelings.

I didn’t know what to expect when I boarded the train in Bologna two weeks ago. Two weeks in Puglia by myself, without a lot of plans apart from learning about food and making this documentary about kindness of strangers, I thought I would have days sitting in a cafe somewhere, writing and working project.

The trip unfolded itself so beautifully. I had no expectations to begin with, but what happened in these two weeks definitely exceeded anything I could have expected for.

Especially all the people met, all those who offered me the Southern hospitality, all the kindness I received was beyond my imagination.

I am overwhelmed, and it is hard to find any words to express my gratitude towards all these people.

Thank you Noemi for the great beginning of this trip, hosting me and spending time with me even though she didn’t feel very well. Her friend Daniela who spent the afternoon with me in Bari, walking around and sharing stories with each other.

Thank you Eleanora, her mother Patrizia and her brother Maximilian, who offered me their hospitality after our short meeting in Bologna. They shared with me the interesting traditions of Pugliese food and we spent some wonderful time doing some food photography together. It’s so nice to spend time with someone like Eleanora, who share the same passion for food and photography with me.

Thank you Viviana and her family for having me and my friend Sara over Easter holiday, showing us the beauty of small towns in the area and cooking delicious food for us. They were so openminded and Viviana was so keen to learn about our cultures as much as we wanted to learn about her. I loved the mixture between traditional and alternative way of living they follow.

Thank you Sara, who once was the ‘stranger’ I became friend with, for being such a good company. I would never for get our excitement as we opened the little package of chocolate like children, or teared open a warm loaf of bread in the train station and stuffed our faces into it, ignoring the weird look people gave us. I cannot think of anyone else to spend these days in Altamura and share the same obsession with these crazy things like her.

Thank you Lorenzo, friend of Viviana and Domenico, with whom we drove through Altamura at night to get some sweets after dinner, got in a car accident together, and drove us to Trani the next morning. The random kindness and encounters I would never forget.

Thank you Miriam for a short stay in Ostuni on the windiest day. She showed me how to make orecchiette con cime di rape and made me feel so Italian it would have been impossible to tell she was German. Despite the bad weather I was glad I stopped by at this white city and got to meet her.

Thank you Andrea for being such a considerate and dedicated host, showing me around Lecce at night and shared with me the wonderful stories of both his town and is life, and a beautiful drive down to the deep South.

And thank you to Manuela and her family, the perfect ending of my trip, for welcoming me to the deep South with a lot of smiles and kisses. I was a part of this family and they showed me not only the beauty of Salento and its culture, but also the generosity, kindness and wonderful hospitality of the deep South. It’s impossible to put my feelings into words.

If someone ask me weather I would come back to Puglia again, I have my answer, without a second thought, on the tip of my tongue…