A walking tour through millennia-old UNESCO cultural sites in the Puglia region is a feast for the eyes — and the stomach.
Ostuni is nicknamed the “White City” or “White Pearl” because almost all its buildings are annually painted with white limestone that keeps interiors cool. In Italy’s heel of the boot, elves must’ve been afoot throughout the fairytale village of Alberobello, the world’s only enclave of 1,500 hobbit-like, stone trulli houses seemingly painted in white powdered sugar and capped with roofs resembling pointy gray party hats.
What’s great is I didn’t have to plan any of this juicy jaunt. Along with five wonderful strangers-turned-besties from Britain, I was on an eight-day Exodus Travels walking trip, the inaugural “Paths of Puglia & Matera — Premium Adventure” I’ll detail more about our overall voyage, but first the breathtaking, see-it-can’t-believe-it grand finale of Matera, honeycombed with 9,000-year-old cave dwellings still inhabited by humans and gripping hillsides teetering over a steep, gaping ravine.
Chiseled into a rock in Matera, the dramatic Church of Santa Maria De Idris juts from a hill and overlooks a cathedral, piazza and ravine. Every day, eating was an extravaganza — and often a surprise. One time for dessert, a server carried in a tray of roundish puffy pastries and in a thick Italian accent, animatedly explained something about “boobs.” We all laughingly bellowed, “What?” He elaborated: “Nun’s boobs.”
That evening, in Ostuni’s countryside, we stayed in an 18th-century “masseria” and I lathered myself with complimentary mini-vials of olive oil shower gel. Just a note here about Exodus Travels — on its 500-plus itineraries worldwide, the company is all about family-run lodging and restaurants.
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