There are three of us, Maleewan, Prasonk and John. It's a joint effort but to simplify; Maleewan is the owner, Prasonk is the designer and John is the manager. Maleewan and Prasonk are originally from Thailand but have lived in the UK for 40 years. They both have lots of experience in catering and accommodation. John is originally from Scotland but has spent 30 years in London. He retired from social work in 2017.
We started coming to Alberobello in 2010 and bought trullo in 2011. It is set in the Puglia countryside about three kilometers outside of Alberobello. To say it was derelict when we first got it would be an understatement, but I must say that the standard of craftsmanship that remains in this area is second to none. Local builders have beutifully renovated it and it now surpases our initial hopes and dreams. The property comprises of three buildings with 16 roof cones between them -hence the name. It came with two and a half hectares of land including 90 olive trees, plus almond, fig and walnut trees.
We have renovated two of the buildings and have plans to renovate the third one. We have added a large terrace to the property with a gazebo, swimming pool. Each of the trullos have their own, special atmosphere. The main one has a large living room, thanks to having a large roof cone. This gives it a feeling of space uncommon for a trullo. Prasonk, who is a chef has ensured that the kitchen is fitted out well.
Gardening is something of an obsession for us and given that rain only falls reliably for six months (with the odd shower for another three) I think that we haven't done a bad job. There's still lots to do though. Vines provide shade across the gazebo. Prasonk trained as an architect and has landscaped the garden and built structures with stone, wood and bamboo. Drought is not the only weather that challenges us. We had a hailstorm in 2022 which stripped many of our plants, trees and climbers of leaves. We had nine degrees of frost in 2017 killing much of the garden. We like to think that our replanting is even better than the original.
We buy water by the lorry load and we don't want to water anyway. Over the years we have wasted a lot but are slowly, not only learning what we can grow but also that many plants will look pretty sad for the summer but survive and then come away again in the autumn. In truth we have enough rainfall for autumn, winter and spring.
Our ambitions include having animals. We have two dogs, which turned up, abandoned, as puppies in the garden and four refuge cats. We have four fish ponds in the garden with another planned. We talk about getting a few alpacas. I think that hens are more likely.
We started coming to Alberobello in 2010 and bought trullo in 2011. It is set in the Puglia countryside about three kilometers outside of Alberobello. To say it was derelict when we first got it would be an understatement, but I must say that the standard of craftsmanship that remains in this area is second to none. Local builders have beutifully renovated it and it now surpases our initial hopes and dreams. The property comprises of three buildings with 16 roof cones between them -hence the name. It came with two and a half hectares of land including 90 olive trees, plus almond, fig and walnut trees.
We have renovated two of the buildings and have plans to renovate the third one. We have added a large terrace to the property with a gazebo, swimming pool. Each of the trullos have their own, special atmosphere. The main one has a large living room, thanks to having a large roof cone. This gives it a feeling of space uncommon for a trullo. Prasonk, who is a chef has ensured that the kitchen is fitted out well.
Gardening is something of an obsession for us and given that rain only falls reliably for six months (with the odd shower for another three) I think that we haven't done a bad job. There's still lots to do though. Vines provide shade across the gazebo. Prasonk trained as an architect and has landscaped the garden and built structures with stone, wood and bamboo. Drought is not the only weather that challenges us. We had a hailstorm in 2022 which stripped many of our plants, trees and climbers of leaves. We had nine degrees of frost in 2017 killing much of the garden. We like to think that our replanting is even better than the original.
We buy water by the lorry load and we don't want to water anyway. Over the years we have wasted a lot but are slowly, not only learning what we can grow but also that many plants will look pretty sad for the summer but survive and then come away again in the autumn. In truth we have enough rainfall for autumn, winter and spring.
Our ambitions include having animals. We have two dogs, which turned up, abandoned, as puppies in the garden and four refuge cats. We have four fish ponds in the garden with another planned. We talk about getting a few alpacas. I think that hens are more likely.