Ostuni and Alberobello

Today we had a full day tour to the best known towns in this area of Puglia. We had a car and driver, Michelle who picked us up at 8:30am for the 30 min drive to Ostuni. It's already quite hot, the farmers are happy as it's good for the cherrys which are the main crop along with almonds and olives. The countryside is mainly farmland with many dry-stone walls and old farm buildings, Masseria, or Trulli.
Ostuni is a beautiful white town built on a hill. Lots of little twisting streets with many tourist shops and restaurants as well as churches and museums. We had thought the small streets were pedestrian only, but they aren't! It's surprising the cars don't have more scrapes. Most cars are very small, including 1 passenger Smart cars! We then headed to Martina Franca, another town with a beautiful town centre with many winding streets and lovely buildings. It was very hot (about 30C) so we tried to walk in shady streets,and stopped for gelato.
We then drove on through the rolling hills with fields of olive trees and many flowers to Alberobello which is know for it's trullios, a cone shaped building with a pointy roof. Apparently they are built so if 1 stone or brick is removed the whole building falls down. (this way if the tax man comes, you can quickly reduce the number of buildings on your property!) It was very hot, so we had beer & pizza in the shade before having a look around. Today was about 30, but in summer 40C is quite common! Many of the trullos in Alberobello have now been turned into tourist shops, restaurants, or even holiday rentals. Lots of pasta, olive oil, and locally made wine and liquors for sale.
It was about a 1/2 hour drive back to Conversano for a rest before dinner.
We had our last dinner in Conversano sitting outside in the square across from the castle. Every-one in town seems to either sit on a bench or promenade around the square. We saw our chefs Marina & Marta with their daughters and Marina's husband, and they came over to say hello & wish us a good journey back home.