This is the second post all about this past weekend. As much fun as it was, I am totes exhausted!!!! I also got a pretty brutal cold while we were traveling, which is always a bummer (and takes away half of the fun). Our day started on the bus, no surprise, heading towards Le Grotte di Castellana (just so you know, these are all caves!). This network of caves were discovered in 1938 and are part of the largest network of caves in inland Italy! We weren't allowed to take a lot of pictures while exploring the caves, because it would affect the growth of the rocks (we couldn't even touch them, either). The colors inside varied from white, pink, orange, green (usually because of mold), browns, and shades of gray. The tour was about 3 Kilometer (different metric system, everyone)-- but was definitely a hike. I do have to say that I felt like Indiana Jones. Here are the pictures we were allowed to take of the grand entrance:
After exploring the beautiful caves, and feeling the burn in my legs, we headed to Alberobello. Alberobello is a small, touristy town which contains 11,000 people. The houses here are called Trullo houses (they look like where the smurfs live!)- the roofs look like this because back in the day, the townspeople didn't want to have to pay taxes on their finished houses; so when it was time for the tax collectors to come around, the townspeople would disassemble their roof and not have to pay (GOOD THINKING!) Once there we headed straight for lunch at Il Trullo dell' Oro. This was easily one of the best meals thus far!!! We had a full 6 course meal which ranged from their own handmade pasta and homegrown fruits and vegetables to perfectly wrapped sausage and liver on shish kabobs! We finished lunch off with a flaming fruit/sorbet desert.. YUM!
The Restaurant & FLAMING DESERT!
Here are just a few quick snapshots of the Tullo houses.. Could you imagine living in this?!
As cool as Alberobello was, it was time to head out and check in to our hotel in Matera for the rest of the night. We stayed in Sassi Hotel (right up my ally), which is the Cave Town I've been talking about. Here is where we stayed:
Fun Fact: Passion of The Christ featuring Mel Gibson was filmed right here in Matera. I WALKED IN THE SAME SPOTS AS MEL GIBSON!!! Way cool! We toured all of Matera... steps and everything, and you best believe that I am so sore, still! It was absolutely beautiful! To sum everything up, I had a great weekend trip, a very busy weekend, but definitely well worth it. I would have never considered coming to any of these places in Italy, and I have to say that I am so glad I came!
As for now, I have so much homework and studying to catch up on-- I will hopefully talk to you all soon! Have a wonderful rest of the day :-)
Ciao Ciao,
Ky xx
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