One trullo, two trulli, three ...a magic sight

Today I will let the pictures tell the story. Alberobello is very touristy with coach groups and even cruise ship groups visiting,  but if you stay a few days you see it a little differently. Last night we walked back from dinner and there were very few people about after dark. This morning it was quiet too, for a while.
Then you can appreciate this village for its true value - an unique, heritage listed collection of houses that tell of how people lived in earlier times. It is said that part of the reason these houses don't have mortar between the roofing rocks is that they were portable and could easily avoid paying taxes. The old key stone story, remove the vital piece and down it comes.

This is the Trullo Church of Sant' Antonio

This is the Basilica of the Medici Saints

This is the only two storey trullo in the area. It is a museum to the kind of life this house has experienced in its time.

To the left of this photo is our gelateria of choice. I can feel another gelati challenge coming on!

I treni

Today was all about trains.

Our 7.28 am departure from Rome to Bari, Puglia was half an hour late departing but we raced along in comfort for hours through beautiful, fertile valleys passing a huge range of crops. Tobacco, tomatoes, melons, figs, grapes, corn, wheat, olives, fruit ... amazing.
The highlight was seeing Monte Cassino with its monastery on top, the site of wartime history and base for literature.

My seat companion was a young Chinese chap who was traveling to meet his uncle. He had two weeks holiday and when he heard that we would be away for almost twelve weeks he thought for a while and then said, ' So I should work hard now. ' I do admire a good traveller!

We arrived at Bari at 2 pm and made a quick platform change to a small rail company train which took us to Alberobello. This is a 57 km trip and takes just over one and a half hours. Still it was more comfortable than any Australian train we've been on.

Our home for the next four nights is a trullo, a distinctive house made from rocks with a conical dry stone roof. Alberobello has over 1000 trulli, all painted white and decorated with a variety of stones on the top. 

This is another World Heritage Site, and it is " truly" amazing 😀

This is the view from the street, a taste of tomorrow's post.

Pope Francis and the Holy Year of Mercy

Pope Francis has declared this year to be a Holy Year of Mercy, a special year for Catholics around the world. Part of the idea of a holy year is that the faithful make a pilgrimage where they fulfil a number of obligations.

These special years were traditionally known as Jubilee years and began in the 1300s when they were held every 50 years. Over time they became 25 year jubilees. In more recent  times they have become more regular, with the idea that all the faithful may get one opportunity in their lifetime.

One of the traditions involved is the opening of the Porta Sanctae or Sacred Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the walking through that door.
In 1983 we were in Rome when Pope John Paul II had declared a Jubilee Year and were able to walk through the recently opened door.

In the year 2000, the Millennium, John Paul II declared another Jubilee Year.

This year, an Extraordinary Year declared by Pope Francis, has allowed for Holy Doors to be at other cathedrals and even at Fiumicino Airport in Rome. In the Sandhurst Diocese in Australia there is a Holy Door at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo.

This afternoon we once again visited the Basilica San Pietro and walked through the Porta  Sanctae.

The crowds were enormous and we were grateful that we had previously visited in quieter times prior to crowd control barriers, x-ray machines, large fenced off areas and protective glass.

One good thing about the barricades was that as we knew what we were visiting for, we were able to enter the gate labeled Enter through the Holy Door and proceed quietly.

Rome: old masters, Trevi Fountain, street food, Caravaggio and gelati

Having spent many weeks in Rome you might think that there wouldn't be much left for us to do, but we had a full day planned and we set off early.

First stop was Palazzo Barbarini - the National Gallery of Ancient Art. Our special interest was the Caravaggio collection but some of them were holidaying elsewhere. We saw two of his works but a whole wider range of Italian art than perhaps we have seen before. After two hours it was time to move on.

Over the last two years the Trevi Fountain has been closed for major renovations. In fact, it was closed for 516 days as 2 million euros was spent on the work. This was financed by the Italian fashion house Fendi. It was money well spent as the Trevi looks stunning. 

We always toss our coins to guarantee our return and this time we were quite a way from the water. As Kel wrote in his journal, 'Sadly, Eleanor won't be returning to Rome as her coin stuck to her finger and fell short.'

Then it was off to the church Santa Maria della Pace, one rarely found open and only before noon. We managed to call in on the Caravaggio works at San Luigi on the way, and arrive in time to see the Raphael sibyls and the two storeyed cloister by Bramante at S. M. della Pace.

We were working up a hunger by now so the plan was to eat street food - cibo di strada, at a place recommended by our American fellow blogger friends Janelle & Johnny. 'Supplizio' is a cute little spot where they recommend you sit on the couch and eat in your hands, with Prosecco if you wish! Being a hot midday we opted for local beer and Kel's was (amusingly) called Pig Floyd. But back to the suppli ... crispy coated rice balls with a surprise mozzarella centre. Mine had a hint of chilli and was delicious.

Next stop was to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. The day was in the high 20s and coming from an Australian winter we were begining to feel the heat with all this walking.  To see about this segment of our day read the next post.

There was no better way to finish off this planned day than to visit the # 1 rated gelato shop in Rome, Gelateria del Teatro. It is so good that you need to take a number from the machine at the door and be prepared with your money so they can get through the crowds. They had many new flavours so I opted for white peach and lavender and an old favourite that eases sore throats, limone.

They deserve their rating. Wow!

As we were sitting on some stairs beside the shop I noticed people stopping to take a photo. Later I found why ... a stairway full on gelati licking people engrossed in pure pleasure!

We had earned our bus tickets home where we took a short 'pausa' and then began our journal writing.

Later we ate at nearby  Ristorante Mino where the pasta was a treat.

Oh, we do love Rome.

Siamo arrivati? Are we there yet?

You might think that flying out of Melbourne at 2.40 am sounds horrible but let me convince you otherwise, from the air.

Sunrise is my least favourite time, but how beautiful is this!

This flight took us via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where it seemed that the earth had been denuded and palm trees planted. This wasn't pretty!

On we flew to Dubai where for the first time we could see the city. Great highways seem to penetrate into the desert and here we also saw tree plantings but we could not determine what type of trees.

Amazing sandy patterns and rocky outcrops created fascination for ages, the Sinai Peninsular being a vast expanse of desert.

The navigational information available to passengers means you can track your moves precisely if the sky is clear. It was such a day and soon we realized that we were going to see the Suez Canal!

 and Cairo,

 and the Nile River.

Seeing the Nile Delta was an emotional thing. We both felt it and couldn't really explain it. The sheer size of the delta and the green expanse was incredible after so much desert landscape.

We passed over Alexandria, rocky Crete, the Greek Islands of the Mediterranean, spectacular Athens and eventually crossed into Italy at the very tip of the heel.

To complete this magical flight we flew right over Rome, where I missed photographing the Coliseum!

And so 36 hours later we arrived at our favourite hotel in Rome ... just in time to get a good night's sleep in preparation for a busy one day visit to Rome.

Siami arrivati? Si, e molto contente.