June 4, 2023
Locorotondo to Monopoli
The stairway to the Locorotondo B&B was the steepest yet (without a handrail for the first half). The stairs to the rooftop were even steeper and narrower. During his introduction spiel, the B&B owner proposed we put the bikes on the rooftop terrace. Umm, no thank-you... the bikes will stay in our living room. As we went up and down the flight of steps, people strolling below looked up at us as though we had won the lottery and wanted to know if it was beautiful. Si, si! The fascination was quite striking and happened several times during our stay. David took charge of lugging the bikes up and down the stairs.
| Heart | 4 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We decided to continue along the small lanes this morning as we made our way to Alberobello, and what a great choice. There were dry stone walls covered with flowering jasmine, trulli’s in all states of repair, olive tree orchards, fields of poppies and assorted wildflowers, oak trees, fig trees and spectacular views every which way. The road surface was good for the most part and we had the place to ourselves. Who could ask for more?
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Alberobello
The town of Alberobello is famous for its trulli village. For this reason, tourists flock here and today that is just what we found. The small trulli village sits on a hillside at the edge of the town and can be viewed easily from one of the piazzas.
Though you don’t see a lot of tourists in the photos below, it's because we timed it just right. It actually felt a little Disney-esque so we took turns wandering the main street and then pointed ourselves toward the Adriatic once again, destination Monopoli.
Alberobello sits at about 400m elevation so we were anticipating a nice downhill somewhere on the ride today. As we left town, we cycled along a small highway through a hilly section on our way to the coast. I was freewheeling done one of the hills when a car slowed beside me and the young female passenger in her 30’s rolled down her window. She was really excited to see me and began talking to me, in Italian of course. I couldn’t remember meeting her, but she may have served us gelato’s recently. Either that or she was a cyclist too and enjoyed seeing me ripping down the hill. Who knows? It was just another fun experience on the road.
There were plenty of homes on large properties here, many with with olive orchards and farms. It appears to be a bread basket area, meaning that they actively work the land for food production.
We made our way uphill along a ridge that eventually opened out to a view of the coast and the Adriatic. Below us was hectare upon hectare of olive trees. It was a fabulous long free fall to the flat lands below.
At the bottom of the long hill, we turned off the highway and weaved our way gently downhill among the olive groves all the way to Monopoli. The occasional tractor passed us. We stopped to marvel at the trunks of the old wizened trees. They were covered in flowers. I can only imagine what it is like in harvest season.
Monopoli
Monopoli is a seaside town with a beautiful port and central storico. We rounded the final corner to find the classic Monopoli scene with sunbathers laying on the rocks at the base of the fortified city walls. Others were swimming or sunbathing on the small sandy beach. We explored the area for a while, then zeroed in on the B&B.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Our B&B was right in the heart of the old city and the building is undergoing a major renovation. The outside scaffolding gave us a clue, but when we got inside we saw what a huge undertaking it was. We carefully picked out way up the three flights of rough concrete steps (no hand rails here either) to the suite. Here again, we had a rooftop veranda.
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
After a rest, we strolled the old city an scoped out a restaurant for dinner. We asked if we could make a reservation for 7pm and were told by a pair of waiters that it would have to be ‘otto’ or eight o’clock. One of them smiled at us and mimed that a religious procession would be coming past the restaurant by resting his hands on his chest in prayer and looking up the heavens. We all howled with laughter. They said, just come back at 8, so that’s what we did.
This is another photogenic town so we strolled along the waterfront until we came upon two motorcycle police who were leading the religious procession.
This is a special day on the calendar for Monopoli. During the procession, statues of two patron saints, Damian and Cosmas, are carried on the shoulders of six men each, ahead of of the wooden statue of San Cataldo. The two saints were in fact Arab twin brothers who became skilled physicians in the 3rd century AD. Through their healing, they drew many to the Chritian faith and for this, they became martyrs and met a gruesome death.
The procession made its way through the streets of the historic centre to the Church of San Domenico. As it passed the restaurant, we inched our way down the jam packed street to be sure we would get a table. At one point, I was pinned to the wall while the marching band played on. It brought back memories of my days as a clarinet player in high school.
Eventually, the procession finished and it was like a game of musical chairs to get seated. The two waiters were joined by a third and began taking orders and serving drinks and food, speaking mostly Italian and miming to fill in the gaps to the international patrons in the crowd. They had us in stitches. The food was exquisite, once again. It made for another dinner for the memory banks.
Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 850 km (528 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 3 |