The Town Square

This was the lovely town square and I have forgotten the name of the town so will amend the blog later.

Gaye outside the local church

Trulli Main Street

Gaye & Jean outside a Trulli

Two smart young ladies outside this beautiful Trulli house.

A Trulli Village

This is the Trulli village in Arberobello and it is the most spectacular place i have seen for a long time. They have now passed local laws to ensure the houses are preserved and all the TV arials have been removed and nobody can alter the original appearance without approval of the Council. We saw a couple advertised for sale at 125,000 Euros each. They are very small with just a couple of rooms, although some of them have been joined together to make a larger house but this is not allowed any more.

Trulli Magnificent

In the town of Alberobello there is a community of these Trulli houses and they are hundreds of years old. There is no cement or mortar involved in their building. They were built this way to avoid taxes and if the tax inspector arrived in the area they could easily have the house roof removed and therefore avoid taxes.They are built so the rain can be chanelled down to tanks in the cellars.
They are still occupied today and about 3000 people live in them in Arberobello. This village is now a World Heritage Site.

Hotel La Chiusa di Chietri

After a very smooth flight to Bari we arrived at our hotel about an hours drive from the Airport. It is set in lovely grounds with many Trulli houses in the grounds. I will explain more about these Trulli houses later. This is one of them in the grounds and is used as a holiday cottage.

Easter Monday at Wheelbinks Farm

Our Easter Monday trip was to Wheelbinks Farm near Corbridge just off the A69. We had a nice light lunch there followed by delicious Ice Cream. The farm is a working Dairy Farm and is set in lovely countryside and the Orchard next to the Cafe is beautiful.

Leo and Hannah loved the slide and it was a hard job to keep tabs on Leo and he was up the steps and down the slide as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Opa Han and Leo in the Orchard.

Hannah on the tractor with Granny Gaye looking on.

Easter Sunday on the Tanfield Railway

We were all treated by Fiona & Mario to a special Easter Sunday afternoon tea on the Tanfield Railway near Gateshead. This was especially for Mario's parents Han & Jo from Holland who were over for a week. The weather was glorious and the tea excellent so a good day was had by all.

The Tanfield Train approches the station.

Han & Jo gaze at the sandwhiches, cakes, and scones in the dining carriage of the old train.

Hannah loves her scone & jam.

Fiona & Leo on the observation platform of the train.

Met this Adder on the hill today

Tom and I were on Warbla for our weekly walk today and we almost stepped on this Adder basking in the sun. The weather was glorious and the wild birds were everywhere on the hill. We had skylarks singing the entire walk and were constantly seeing Lapwings and Curlews.

Hannah & Leo in Langholm

When Hannah comes to Langholm she loves to vist what we think is the nicest garden in Langholm at Wauchope Cottage the home of Tom and Alison Hutton. When Fiona & Mario went to Gretna today to do some shopping we all went along to see the garden. Hannah was soon looking into the pond for frogs and then Alison asked if she would help her to plant some peas in the greenhouse. Hannah was delighted to help and shows great enthusiasm for gardening.

Leo loves his breadsticks

The pond was full of tadpoles, snails, and many other things.

Leo and Granny Gaye watch what is going on.

Hannah watering her row of peas after helping Alison to plant them.