Italy – Cisternino, Locorotondo & Fasano

Day 68 Monday 22nd October 2023 - Cisternino, Locorotondo and Fasano

Day trip #3 from Monopoli through the Itria Valley to Cisternino, Locorotondo and Fasano.

Driving the Itria Valley is beautiful, with lush fertile soil growing vegetables, olives and grapes ! Couple this with the scattering of trulli houses and dry rock fences throughout the valley and it is just wonderful. We have friends who will be cycling through Puglia region next year, we are sure they will really enjoy the experience. Views over the valley from the towns we visited were great today as the sun was out and the haze has cleared after the thunderstorms.

First stop is Cisternino today, and it was chosen because Monday just happened to be market day ! What we notice is that the same traders seem to do the rounds of the towns for their markets. This time there are three separate areas of market stalls, one was just fresh produce where we purchased some apples, tomatoes and almonds and the others were an assortment of stalls. After strolling through these we purchased a scrapper, a coat for Tania and nothing for Graeme. (after proof reading his entry, a follow up note from Tania...who will look great wearing her new bright yellow woollen coat...you can tell who had written this piece).

After the markets we wandered through the centro storico, described as "white washed houses with narrow winding laneways. The tourist guides says wander the lanes, get lost and enjoy the experience!! Discover the beauty of the houses leaning against each other supported by archways , a fascinating town to get lost in !"

Yeah right ! All these towns are the Same Same but different after a while ! But none the less very pleasant to wander the streets and enjoy. This town had a theme of balloons and swings happening throughout.

We stopped for 2 coffees, the first we didn't' finish as it was just plain awful, the second was luke warm. Despite all this Cisternino was a pleasant visit!

Another short drive through the Itria Valley to Locorotondo ! Yes...5x O's !! This town is described as being one of the most beautiful in Puglia ! Ok - once again it was quaint and we enjoyed the winding alleys and streets, the views from the balcony garden looking back over the valley, but we are becoming centro storicoed out ! 🙂

Fasano was unplanned today, but as we completed our visit to the first two towns earlier than expected, and being on the way back, we added it in. It filled in some time before coming back to home base to get some supplies from the supermarket for a home cooked dinner.

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