Port #3 was Brindisi, located on Italy’s boot heel. The port was a good starting point for a tour to nearby Alborobello, Italy. The scenic drive along the coastline from Brindisi to Alborobello was just a short hour ride away. Alborobello is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its collection of preserved trulli homes. A trullo home is a small round home with a conical roof, built without mortar. The unique homes were built in the 1400s to avoid taxes due to landowners, but are likely based on much older designs. The homes were simply knocked down to avoid tax assessments and later rebuilt following the departure of the assessors. Today, the village of Alberobello (the capital of trulli in the region) includes more than 1,000 trulli, including a small trullo church and souvenir shops in former trulli homes. On our tour, we were able to go inside one of the trullo and see how one family lives in these historic homes. The charming homes give the area a fairy-tale look and wandering the small streets is an enjoyable way to spend the day. This is a highly recommended tour if you are visiting the Puglia (Apulia) region of Italy.

I am getting ready for my next trip! I will be leaving soon for a Mediterranean cruise onboard a Holland America Line ship. The cruise will sail round trip from Barcelona. I will be taking my mother on this cruise and I know she is as excited as I am to be underway. We will be visiting five countries total (Spain, Italy, Greece, France, and Montenegro), with visits to eight ports. Many of the cities and sites we will be visiting are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage List includes 725 cultural, 183 natural, and 28 mixed sites that the United Nations’ World Heritage Committee considers to have “outstanding universal value” due to their natural and cultural heritage. What an amazing opportunity it will be to visit such locations on our little blue planet.  Of course, I will be writing about each location in-depth, and sharing some details about the cruise, when I return. Please watch for those new articles to be posted soon under the Cruise tab. For a full list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, visit whc.unesco.org/en/list.