Bari, Italy

 Today they use stainless steel high tech machinery. The family also offered us an olive oil tasting. You take a small sip, roll it around to coat your mouth, then breathe in through your teeth. It's very interesting. And if you cough, it means the olive oil is good!! 

They then served us lunch. OHH MAMA MIA!! Nine appetizers - cheese with pear jam, sausage, eggplant with mortadella and cheese, foccacia, mushrooms on toast, grilled peppers with a mixture of cheese and chichory, I can't even remember all of them. Red wine. Then the pasta dish with boneless pork ribs. Then of course dessert - a great cake layered with cream and jam!!!

(to be continued) 

Bari, Italy A Whistle To Find A Bride

 We went into one of the shops. You'll see the picture of the owner - 92 year old lady who has owned her shop for 57 years. They sell whistles made into fanciful shapes - see the pictures of them too. The story here is that the whistle was used by young men to find a bride. When they married, the whistle was blown again. You have to blow it three times to bring good luck and happiness.

Then we went to a Masseria that grows and processes olives into oil. Masseria is a farm with rural buildings particularly in Southern Italy. This family has about 300 olive trees. You'll see the old machinery used to process the olives.

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Bari, Italy Alberolello Cone-Shaped Houses

 The story is that when the King at that time, gave the land to a certain family, he said they could not build anything on the land. Well, of course, that's no good. So it was decided in the family that the buildings would not be permanent and could be easily torn down if the King's inspector came. So they built the buildings out of stones from the area and stacked them up without any mortar. They ended up being conical. People are not living in them anymore because they are dark and hard to ventilate but are using them as shops.

(to be continued) 

Bari, Italy Alberolello

 
Bari's old town has narrow winding alleyways like all European towns.

As you will see in the pictures, we came across women making Orecchiette (little ear shaped pasta), like their mother and grandmother before them, right on the street.

Alberolello is known for its cone-shaped houses called Trulli. It's a feature of this part of the Puglia region which gained UNESCO recognition as a unique building technique.

(to be continued)