I T A L I A 2 0 0 6
PUGLIA
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Friday, 14 April: We arrived in Roma early in the morning after an evening flight from Chicago. We rented a car and headed five hours south to the town of Alberobello. It’s located south of Bari in the mountains of Puglia. The region is known for the “trulli”, a traditional round house built of stones that are white-washed white. This type of house exists nowhere else in the world. We had previously visited Alberobello but it’s definitely worth multiple visits. We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon. What a treat to discover we were staying in a former monastery still attached to an active church!
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Trulli homes |
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A street in Alberobello |
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A Trulli shopping district |
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Sant'Antonio (our hotel is on the right side of the structure) |
Saturday, 15 April: We decided to take a driving tour of the region, especially further south where we had not yet explored. We traveled small roads lined with ancient olive trees; obviously, what originally was part of the Roman road network. We stopped in several small towns and also made a stop at the Adriatic Sea. In the afternoon, we arrived in our southernmost destination, Lecce. Lecce was designed in a baroque style that makes it quite unique and beautiful. It also has a great Roman theater that was very well preserved. After seeing its sites, we returned to Alberobello.
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Lindy on the Adriatic Sea |
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Ancient Olive Tree near the village of Ostuni |
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An ancient Roman Theatre in Leece |
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The main piazza of Leece |
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A beautiful cathedral |
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Treasure of Puglia (some of which we enjoyed that evening for dinner) |
Sunday, 16 April: We celebrated our second Easter Sunday in Italia. It’s a wonderful experience!! We tried to attend mass at the small church attached to our hotel but the crowd was so large individuals were outside the door. We did walk to the main cathedral as we strolled through the town. Earlier we had made a luncheon reservation for the holiday. It turned out to be one of the best meals we’ve ever had! The restaurant, “The Terminal” did an outstanding job. We can’t resist sharing the menu below (and, yes, we ate it all!).
Olives
& Fried Lupini
Pane & Taralli
* * * * * * * * * * *
Smoked Salmon & Swordfish Sashimi
Mushrooms Stuffed with Crab
Hard-Boiled Eggs in Sauce
Crab Cakes with Cornmeal
Mussels
Individual Quiche
Wild Puglia Mushrooms
Stuffed Baby Octopus
* * * * * * * * * *
Risotto with Asparagus & Herbs
* * * * * * * * *
Pasta (similar to ravoli) stuffed
with eggplant puree and topped
with fresh tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
* * * * * * * * * *
Pork Cutlet topped with Onions &
Wild Mushroom Sauce
Baby Lamb Chops
Grilled Potatoes
Salad
* * * * * * * * * *
Fruit & Semifreddo
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Cake & Coffee
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1.5 liters of House Wine
1 liter of Water (with Gas)