18,000
steps and only 30 kms of driving
Today
we visited 2 different towns that are close by to where we are
staying. Close by does not mean an easy drive here, tiny streets that
don't seem like you could ever have 2 cars meet each other, but
somehow it works. The stone fences on the side of the road add to
the excitement.
First
visit today was at Alberobello, a magical trulli town. We also found
where all the tourists are, they are visiting Alberobello!
We
lucked out and found a white line parking spot, white line means you
don't have to pay. Blue lines you need to figure out how to pay,
which is a little different in each town. Usually it involves a pay
meter that you enter your license plate number into and your money
and you are set. You can also pay online, which is great because you
can add more time when needed without going back to your car.
Unfortunately the app is not working on our phone, but we have only
ran into this issue once.
Trullo
(signular) Trulli (plural) made the town of Alberobello a UNESCO
world heritage site since 1996. You see these Trulli houses all over
this area of Puglia, not only in Alberobello, but has the largest
concentration of them. We are actually staying in a Trulli house for
a few days. Lots of rules now about making adjustments to the Trulli
or building new ones, like our heritage homes.
Alberobello
has many many of these trulli homes converted into little shops.
Some of the shops allow you to climb up onto their flat roofs for
panoramic views, we were able to do this at 2 shops, very nice.
We have heard different reasons for these houses, one was to evade the
tax man, we he came to town these houses were dismantled until he
left, then put back together again. No mortar was used in the
original Trullis. We also see lots of these in farmers fields, they
are used as shelters.
A
magical town, that made us think of Wendys sister Jill many times,
she would have loved it here. A couple of hours here and it was time
to move on. We had parked near the bus parking and most of the
busses have moved on now. We realize we did these 2 towns backwards
today, it would have been better to do Alberobello later when there
are less tourists around, we thought we would beat them this morning,
but we did not. We heard it isn't even busy until after Easter, glad
we won't be here then.
Second
part of the day. After visiting Alberobello we drove to Locorotondo
which was a short 15 minutes drive. It has a beautiful old town which
is perched on top of a hill. Walked around the small alley streets
and visited a few churches. Found a nice little place for lunch where
we had Lasagna and a rice, potatoes and mussel dish. Parking here we
found a blue spot, but it is really cheap here, we paid for 4 hours
even though we knew we wouldn't be that long, it was only 1 Euro.
Then
drove to our Trulli where we had booked a supper and wine tasting in
the olive gardens. They do this once a week and open it up to non
guests as well. We started with a tour of the vineyards and
explanation of the different grapes that they use for wine making.
The English people mostly stuck together, 2 from Australia, 3 from
US, and 2 from Malta which was fun for us to relive our trip there.
We had a multi course meal that everything was done in house
including the wines that came from their winery and limeoncello.
There was about 20 of us for supper inside and 10 more outside. Very
happy to be inside as it was around 10-12 degrees outside. It would
have been nice to eat outside in the olive garden, but not in this
weather. It was a 3 hour meal, lots and lots of fun. Wine tasting
is not my thing, what does it smell like you are asked? My response:
Wine....
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| Typical country roads around where we are |
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| What most trullu must have looked like 50 years ago |
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| Here in Alberobello they are mostly painted white |
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| Was on Wendy's list of place to go see but was not open. An ancient legend has it that the Siamese Trullo was inhabited by two brothers, the eldest of whom was the betrothed of a girl. She, however, fell in love with her younger brother, and the two became lovers, so that the cohabitation between siblings became unbearable. The eldest, angry, chased away the two lovers, and claimed the birthright over the house. But even the younger appealed to the right to receive his share of the trullo as an inheritance, so that it was divided into two parts, with all due respect. |
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One place had a construction permit, you can see what they looked like without white paint
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| The only trulli church |
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| The trulli dome |
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| This man lives on a one way street, here he is backing out |
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| lots of shops in the trulli |
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| How much the steps have been used out |
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| From one of the shops that let you go on their rooftop |
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| From the lookout next to the church on the other side |
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| Casa di Amore |
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| The Cathedral |
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| The largest trulli, a museum but we did not bother |
Now in Locorotondo
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| Restaurant in the middle of a vineyard on the edge of town |
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| The view from the circle road on the edge of old town |
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| 2 very large jugs of wine. |
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| Curved last supper painting |
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| Lots of small alleys, no cars in old town |
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| A small church with a barrel dome |
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| Earlier in the day, the local weekly market was in front |
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| There a legend here but I can't remember it |
Back at our trulli
