Having been grounded for so long due to the current situation really weighed on us. Yes, we were returning to Italy to spend time with family, but we decided to avail ourselves of some sites while here. In doing some research, we came across a beautiful town called Alberobello in the Puglia region of Italy. For those of you not familiar with the geography of Italy, Puglia is the region located at the heel of the boot. From my small town in Calabria (located at the top of the instep of the boot) the drive was approximately 3 1/2 hours.

We set out after breakfast to this UNESCO World Heritage site in search of the famed Trulli houses and we were not disappointed. I think that as Americans we forget sometimes just how young the country is; however, standing in front of these structures many of which were built in the mid- 1400s using limestone with conical roofs made of stone without any type of mortar, one can get a sense of life in another time. I use the word “sense” loosely here since this town has become quite the tourist attraction and there are people walking everywhere, but it is spectacular all the same.

We decided to stay here overnight for 24 hours. I’m sure that there are people that stay for longer amounts of time, but after researching the area, we figured we’d be able to see most of the sites in a day and as it turned out, we were correct. We arrived at our B & B around 1pm and although we were early for our check-in, we called and our host was happy to let us in because our room was ready. This was obviously fortuitous and doesn’t always happen so I must say do not factor this kind of luck into your plans. We presented our passports and COVID immunization cards, signed some paperwork, and paid the city tax. We had booked online so the room had been prepaid, however, most Italian cities do require a nominal city tax depending on how many days you stay. For our overnight stay it turned out to be less than 1 euro (€ 0,80 to be exact) which we paid in coin. Our host then spent some time going over the two-story Trullo we were staying in and some important sites on the town map, including a recommendation for lunch (which I will address in a separate post).

We chose a B & B on the outskirts of the town because Alberobello is small and we could reach everything by walking. In our years of traveling together, we have found that we prefer staying on the outskirts because we typically get more for our money and it makes it easier to see all of the town or city we’re in since we can basically cut it in quarters and explore. Alberobello was no different and quite frankly cannot be explored any other way since many of the streets have limited car traffic if any at all. The beauty of this town is looking at the Trullis, some of which are still residences that we learned are passed down from mother to daughter. Other ones contain shops boasting artisan wares and allow guests in to see gardens for free or climb to rooftop terraces. We did take advantage of some of these invitations to take some pictures and my hubby was even able to get some drone footage. (Let me add here that he is a licensed drone pilot in both the US and Italy and we purchased the proper insurance for both countries before our trip.)

The trick to spending limited time in a place is to do your research beforehand. We knew that in 24 hours we would not be able to experience everything, but we chose the sites most important to us and planned our routes for both the afternoon of arrival and the following morning before heading out to our next destination. There are tons of free places to get information about Alberobello which can be accessed by a quick search in your preferred web browser so there is no need for me to bore you with unnecessary information in this post. I always try to leave a little wiggle room in case something goes wrong, but in the end I’ve learned that even the best planning can lead to some disappointment. Thankfully in Alberobello, everything went right and we were able to accomplish everything we wanted and more.

I do, however, have some things to note. Firstly, I noticed that there weren’t many American tourists. I noticed it on the streets at first (listening to other tourists as they spoke to each other), then I started asking the staff in restaurants, bars, and shops. In fact, they did confirm that this town is more popular with Europeans than Americans. I’m not sure if the COVID restrictions have added to this, but I will say that most people in the service industry did speak English so for those people that do not speak Italian, it would be quite comfortable to visit this area without fear of not being understood or inability to get around. Secondly, just like many towns there is a main street lined with bars and restaurants. We did notice that prices were higher here and that better value was found in the side streets although in most cases you loose the beautiful view.

I guess that’s the crux of the situation when exploring sites on vacation. Do you plan for value and quality? Or do you relish in the atmosphere? I feel like we try to get a mixture of both, but here in Alberobello I noticed that the citizens (and town itself) make sure that tourists get the opportunity for beautiful pictures and memories.

The point I cannot stress enough is that with a little research online or even in your favorite guidebook you can plan visits that suit your wants, likes, and needs even in the midst of a pandemic. I will add that during this trip we did need to have masks anytime we entered an indoor space (ie… shops, restaurants, museums, churches, etc…), but it did not detract from the visit at all. In my next post I’ll discuss accommodations, food, and serendipitous events. Stay tuned!