Meghan Blosser and her husband, Tim, an American couple living in the Netherlands, have a great trip planned to Italy this summer. They’re going to Apulia – the heel of the boot – where they’ll
bike by groves of ancient, gnarled olive trees, stare out at dramatic sea views from the walled medieval center of Polignano a Mare, peek into old cone-topped stone houses and dine on fresh seafood and ear-shaped
pasta, all at prices unimaginable in Tuscany.

I can vouch for their plan, because I just followed it, after choosing Meghan’s entry as the winner of the “Plan a Week in Italy for the Frugal Traveler” contest.

Seth Kugel for The New York TimesThrough the arch, the old town of Polignano a Mare on the Adriatic.

Actually, I picked the “Plan a Week” winner in the same gluttonous way I pick gelato flavors: choosing two to combine on a cone…