This morning we found a basketball court in Alberobello. All over Italy Big D has been dribbling the ball he brought from home. He got a few stares in Minori but even more so here, because our trullo is located on a quiet street. But only a short 10 minute walk and we found the court. We shot around a bit and played two-on-two in the hot sun.

Paul made us antipasto for lunch and then we hit the road towards the Adriatic coast hoping to find a beach town where we could rent an umbrella and some chairs for the afternoon. We stumbled upon Ottagano Lido outside of Monopoli, about one hour south of Bari. While it was more expensive compared to what we experienced in Minori, this was more of a full service beach club: there was an army of men working there, one carried my beach bag for me to the chairs and there were two types of floatation devices we could use in the water. We were in the ocean for less than five minutes and Big D was already asking if we could return here tomorrow. He spent hours jumping off the diving board into the sea as small fishes swam around us and waves crashed on the rocks. All four of us went off the diving board eventually (and I say eventually since it took awhile for me to muster up the courage.) We were rewarded with yummy aperol spritzes which I have been drinking every day that we’ve been in Italy.

Back in Alberobello we ate dinner — our best meal of the trip so far — at Trattoria Terra Madre (Mother Earth.) The farm-to-table restaurant is focused primarily on a variety of vegetable dishes, everything fresh from their gardens. We sat under the grapevine and next to the eggplant and pepper plants while we were served a dozen dishes.

Here’s some pics of what we ate:

Shaved zucchini with local cheese and a balsamic glaze; Carrot and zucchini spiral “spaghetti”

A terrine of cheese, green bean and tomatoes; cucumber and green tomato salad

roasted peppers on a purée of parsnip

Roasted red peppers, a cheese and pesto filled crepe with squash flowers

Sweet potato and mushrooms with sprouts; roasted baby potatoes

Roasted potatoes; eggplant and local cheese

rabbit with squash flowers on potato purée

Whole wheat strascinate (pasta) with cacioricotta cheese, tomatoes, basil

The kids picked on the vegetables and had pasta with butter and red sauce. It was an beautiful setting and an even better meal.

Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without gelato. Our flavors were: fiore di latte (cream), penguino, marscapone, amarena, and chocolate fondante.