Day 60 - Otranto to Lecce ... the end of the line!
The Personal Touch
This was our last and probably one of the easiest days of cycling on this trip. It was also marked by a few nice little personal touches from the folks we interacted with throughout the day that helped to put a nice bow around the trip.
The actual biking was very straightforward. North along the flat coast, getting pushed along by a 30 km/hr tailwind, through nature reserves and largely empty resorts, and then a 8 km ride inland to the the baroque city of Lecce.
The personal touch's came right at the start. Sandro, our B&B host at Via Primaldo Camere, could not have been more helpful and friendly. His english was about as good as our Italian, but that didn't really inhibit the communication and help and advice he gave us during our stay in Otranto. If you are ever in Otratno, I would recommend staying there.
We also had a few interactions along the ride that proved very helpful as well. Our planned route was going through a nature reserve and there were a lot of folks out for a walk on a blustery Sunday morning. We were about to continue riding down the paved path we were on when one of the walkers stopped us, and again with lots of gesticulation, got across to us that the nice paved path was soon going to turn into a very rocky one, and that the nearly deserted road about 200 m away would be much better for our loaded bikes. Thanks!
It was on this road that we ran into our first other cycle tourer in quite a while. Antonella, from Milan, was on a trip around the Italian coast. That's ambitious. She stopped and initiated a conversation with us, a gesture we haven't seen from many European cyclists, and we had a nice time exchanging stories of our respective trips.
Our last 'personal touch' came in Lecce. Due to the short day, and the big tailwind, we arrived at our hotel, the 600 year old Paco del Torre just past noon. Check-in time was listed as 3 pm, and as we were getting off our bikes and wondering whether we should try to check in now or go grab lunch, Fulvia, who was working at the front desk came out and warmly greeted us by name, and said our room was available and waiting for us. She even had a fresh glass of juice for us while we (i.e. Kirsten) did the check in paperwork. Lovely. And our room was indeed ready in this very old and beautifully repurposed tower house on the edge of the old town.
Small things, but they added up to a very relaxing way to end the cycling portion of the trip. We had enough time to get cleaned up and have a quick tour around Lecce. It is a beautiful place and almost devoid or tourists now, I don't think we could have timed our visit here any better.
We will have the next two days here to see some more of Lecce, and get the dreaded but unavoidable logistics in place for getting ourselves and our bikes back home. We are slow learners, but we have at least learnt over the years to give ourselves a few days at the end of each trip to find bike boxes, get airport transfers for the bikes lined up and make sure there are no (or minimal) airline disruptions. If all goes smoothly, this should take less than half a day, in which case we have more free time to check out Lecce. If it doesn't ... well we have some wiggle room to make things work!
Great dinner at a more upscale and modern restaurant that was just outside the old town ... it was Sunday and a lot of places were closed ... it was also raining heavily (started at 7 as forecast) .. so we didn't venture far from the hotel. We arrived at 8 and were the only people there for the first hour. We are getting used to that! This also meant that we got very personal service from all the staff ... in a good way... and by the time we were eating the place was getting full and lively. All good.
Pics will tell the rest of the story. Great day, great trip and we are cautiously optimistic that the end of trip logistics will all go like clockwork!
Song of the Day , Free by Ultra Nate. A dance classic from the '90's ... which may seem a bit unusual for folks who know me. At dinner the restaurant had a turntable going (yes, very hipster) with lots of funk and soul playing. This came on during dinner and the chorus just resonated and summed up how K and I generally feel about these trips ....
While not as rugged as the coast south of Otratno, it was still quite impressive and made more so by the wind that had picked up again ... a tailwind for us now though so we didn't mind!
Antonella is from Milan and is riding around the Italian coast. Unfortunately she was heading south into the wind so her day was going to be a lot longer than ours
Our last stop in Italy! The lovely Torre del Parco hotel ... 9 exquisite rooms set in an old tower house with lovely gardens and courtyards ... and excellent personal service from the staff
The breakfast room ... as I'm writing this a couple of days after the fact I can say the breakfast here is the best we have had in Italy. A bit of a shame because we don't really need a great big breakfast anymore ... but we'll do our best anyway
Walking, or this, is the best way to get around the old city ... but that does not stop folks from driving cars through here ... a bit insane at times!
Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles) Total: 3,338 km (2,073 miles)
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Rachael AndersonIt’s been great reading your journal. Hope everything goes well in getting ready to go and your flight home! Reply to this comment 5 years ago
