I was anxious to show off Alberobello to the group; it is just about half an hour from our lodging in Ceglie Messapica. I had so enjoyed my time there a couple of years ago while studying Italian.

As with so many heavily visited places in Italy, parking was a problem, but after about a half hour of driving around from one sold out parking lot to another, both cars managed to find a space and met up near the main tourist area, the Monte dei Trulli.

There are indeed a large number of extant trulli in this area; trouble is, almost all of them are devoted to hawking tourist goods. We visited the town on a beautiful Monday morning, along with what seemed like thousands of other tourists. They are not all Americans like us; we heard what seemed to be a Tower of Babel mixture of languages—including English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. Most of us found a souvenir or two; but I mostly wanted us to eat at what had been my favorite Alberobello restaurant, Ristorante Pizzaria il Pinnacolo.

The staff was as surly and harried as I remember, but very efficient and the food was so very good and tasty. The setting was delightful; perched above the surrounding trulli, away from the crowds,and shaded from the sun but open to the breeze. It was another great meal!

After lunch we wandered around a little more, listened to music, and finished our day in Alberobello with gelato, as we so often find ourselves doing. I am just sorry that everyone’s lasting impression will be the crush of visitors & the souvenir vendors and not a sweet little Puglian town.