Trulli Wonderful

Eager to explore more of Bella Italia, I discussed travel plans with my beloved co-worker, Diego.  His mother is from the Puglia region and he prepared Tom and I an itinerary of ways to enjoy that region.  But first, let's have a quick geography lesson!


A: Naples.  B: Alberobello C: Fasano (Zoofari) D: Andria (Castel dell Monte)

 Naples is within the Campania region of Italy (one of 20 regions within the country).  We are on the front calf of the "boot."  Puglia (pronounced "pool-ya") is our eastern neighboring region.  Within Puglia, we stayed in the charming town of Alberobello, famous for their trulli cottages.  Trulli cottages are little, round, stone houses that are highly adorable. 

Tom's office decided that having a meeting at 4pm on a Friday was totally necessary, thereby destroying my departure plans.  (I was notably annoyed about this and made several comments like "MY office would NEVER have a meeting after 3pm on a Friday because they respect people's personal time..."  Despite these comments, Tom still had a 4 pm meeting.)  So at 5:15 pm, with our car loaded up with a remarkable amount of stuff and a thunderstorm pounding, off we went!  3.5 hours later, we were there!



We stayed in a trulli cottage, which was super cute!  Our first meal involved a number of "delicacies" which we didn't really love (including tripe and snails) and several others that we did really love (read my first meatballs in Italy!  Who knew they aren't as big of a thing in real Italy as they are in the American version???).  Each region also has their own unique types of pasta, orecchiette being the most famous in Puglia.  It was fun to see how food changes from region to region, the presence of different types of meat and vegetables that aren't popular or on the menu here in Campania.


We shopped and we shopped and we shopped!  From a trulli nativity scene (which I HAD to buy because it was SO ridiculous and hilarious!) to 3 new varieties of liqueurs (cactus-cello??  It's a thing!) to the requisite magnets and my beloved blue tiles, we shopped a lot!  The people were so friendly, just born sales people, they could sell you anything!  "Just looking?  No problem, please, come try!  You want to try this?  Please, come try!"  During a sudden downpour, we stayed in one shop for almost an hour, eating pizza flavors biscuits, trying (and buying) truffle spread to go on the biscuits (which we also bought) and then spicy salami wrapped in cavallo cheese.  Oh my heavens!  Everything tasted even better, wrapped in this blanket of absurdly friendly people!  When I thanked the shopkeeper for letting us ride out the storm she said "For nothing.  For nothing do you ever have to thank me.  It was nothing."  To the people of Puglia, I love you.  You are a breed of the kindest, warmest people I've met in Italy so far. 

Diego told me "Mrs. Lynne, you must go to Fasano to the Zoofari.  It is so funny!"  Skeptical that "funny" to an Italian normally means "super weird" to us, we went, me warning Tom the entire time "Keep your expectations low, this is sure to be weird."  Well, weird it definitely was!  But hilarious!  Oh my heavens!  The drive-thru zoo allowed you to feed animals whatever you like, an act which would result in any number of lawsuits in the US.  We had potato chips on hand and that was what we fed them.  From giraffes to zebras, camels and cows, our car was flooded with pushy animals, sticking their heads inside the windows or pecking at the dead bugs on the hood (damn emu.  I hate those evil birds!).  The actual park was a strange mixture of 1980's tiny theme park and assorted animals in fish tanks on wooden stands.  Parts were very sad and made me think of how the American zoos would be kinder to their animals.  Parts were really weird, like the pink castle ride with little heart shaped chairs, which turned out to be a scary ride with chain saws and cheesy Freddie Kruger guys.  "Why is it pink???"  It likely used to be something else, child appropriate. 

And then on Saturday night, we discovered that 7 fellow Americans were also in this little town and met up with them for dinner!  Tom discovered what "gnocchi nero" is (black gnocchi with bread crumbs and olives) and I discovered that I don't much care for it! 

Sunday, we drove to Andria to see the Castel dell Monte.  It was built for the Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick II in the 1240's as a hunting lodge (so some believe).  Later, it fell into disrepair and those stinking Bourbon's came in and stole all of the marble for... the Caserta Palace in Campania (about 20 minutes north of Naples)!  The entire castle is now empty, devoid of all ornamentation.  It stands atop a hill in the middle of a flat landscape, visible from 15 km.  The views from the hilltop, of the ocean, the countryside, the lovely little monetary, were breathtaking.  And then this monstrous castle!  Mamma mia! 

Our trip was like a dream.  I find myself sighing with the thought of the rolling hills, more vibrantly green than I could ever have imagined.  After living in the hustle and bustle of the city for so long, stepping into this quaint little farming town was like stepping back in time and I loved every moment of it! 

Until we meet again, Puglia, you'll remain in my memory ever so fondly!