Puglia

​We ate our way through Puglia today. For breakfast, I ate taralli, a Puglia version of a pretzel, with my yogurt. It was good but not so good I felt like I needed to buy a bag to take home.

Our first stop was Alberobello, the home of the trulli, peasant houses with thatched roofs. The houses were built with thatch so that when the tax collectors arrived, the thatch could be easily removed, and the farmer wouldn’t have a “house” to pay taxes on. 

We wondered the streets and alleys among the largest collection of trulli  houses in Puglia. Today they house boutiques, artisan workshops, coffee shops, and vacation homes.  

Then we jumped in the car for our next stop: Lorcorotondo, known for its white washed houses. There was a picture at every corner. 

We stopped at the famous, king of sandwich shops, Er Paninaro Er Più, for a prosciutto and burrata sandwich in the centro storico. The “chef is #1 in the area, the best”, and he will tell you all about it. Wes said it was the best 20 Euro spent on the trip. 

His hand written reviews hang from the ceiling to persuade everyone else that he’s #1.

Next stop was the sleepy town of Cisternino. It was so sleepy we were here less than an hour. 

We then drove to Ostuni, known for its white washed houses, pastries, and burrata.

We stopped at the town center for my new found favorite caffe affogato and Bellinis - what a combination! But when on vacation you do whatever you want. 

This hilly town was beautiful and picturesque. There were live musicians, and the centro storico had little shops for pottery, clothing, local food products, and cafes. We are bringing back pasta and olive oil so we can attempt to relive our Italian summer vacation in Tennessee.

I say the pastries were the best spent 5 Euro; these were better than yesterday’s nuns’ tits.

After seven miles of walking, we were back in Monopoli to our cute apartment for an afternoon rest. 

We headed to the pedestrian area for dinner. The boys had lobster. Keagan had a limoncello spritz and regretted not ordering them earlier in the trip. He said, “Mom, these hit just right.” 

Why do you think I’ve had 20 of them in 10 days?

The downtown area of Monopoli is great for people watching, eating, and window shopping. 

The waterfront is the perfect spot for watching the sun set. We missed it this evening, though. That lobster and that second round of spritzes put us a bit behind schedule. 

The guys are ready to head back home; I could easily do another week. But sadly our time is coming to a close. One more full day living La Dolce Vida.