June 10, 2023
Vieste to Foggia
Today, we edge one step closer to closing the loop on our adventure in southern Italy. It’s the stage in a cycle tour with a few days left that typically brings on mixed feelings. Am I done or do I want to see more? We literally ask ourselves that question and then pool and weigh the answers. It’s not that we have a choice of extending or shortening the vacation but this year we have two days to do whatever we want and we won’t be scrambling to get back to our point of departure.
The plan we came up with yesterday was to ride a little and take the train a lot as we make our way west to Salerno. We froze when we were there a month ago and were drenched to the skin when we arrived at our B&B so we both want to experience it in the sunshine. From Salerno, it’s just a short hop on the train to Naples where we built in a day in case we want to see Pompeii.
The train service here on the Gargano Peninsula is quite limited. In fact, Trenitalia does not even send trains here. Instead, Ferrovie Del Gargano runs buses between towns and has one train line that ends at an outpost on the north coast. That outpost happens to be about 28km away from Vieste and suits us both as the last ride of this tour. The train is scheduled to depart at 1:15.
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On the way out of town, I spotted a special gelateria. This particular shop has won a Gelato Championship for the fifth time. Darn, why didn’t I see this earlier? Maybe it’s because there was one right outside our B&B and 13 others within three blocks. This one was just two blocks away and I still didn’t see it.
Now, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like ice-cream but holy toledo, how can all these businesses survive? The answer is the merenda, or ice cream hour, which takes place daily at 4pm. Technically, it’s the afternoon snack hour for children but in practice it’s when people head to the gelateria for a scoop or two. Between the locals and the tourists, it appears the shops do very well indeed. And it’s not even high season yet.
I had to get one more photo before leaving Vieste, this time a shot to show how important the street-side restaurants are to this culture. Notice how the tables in the foreground are placed to allow just a single lane of traffic? Now check the street that feeds into this one. It was recently paved and painted to allow a generous space for the cafe’s tables, plus one parking spot. And, the tables stay there all day long even when the restaurants are closed. This is one of the things we love about travelling here at this time of year.
Let’s Get on the Road Again
If we had more time, this area would be a perfect home base for some unloaded 2-wheeled explorations of the Forest Umbra, a protected forest of ancient beaches, holm oak and maple trees within the Gargano National Park. But that’s not in the cards today. We dawdled out of town, then began winding our way through the olive groves. There were many opportunities for olive oil tasting, which I had imagined we would do somewhere along the way in this tour. In reality, it doesn’t fit in with biking and I wouldn’t be buying much olive oil en route anyway. Instead, I have made a point of sampling the olive oils each day at dinner. These are always local and downright delicious.
Soon, we were heading up our last significant hill, a 16km up-and-over that would take us to Pischicci. It didn’t take long for the rain to begin lightly sprinkling on us but, even so, it really was a beautiful climb. By the time we reached the summit, we were both drenched and after a brief stop to add a layer, we started the descent. It became a little hairy as the rain was coming down steadily by then and the traffic was starting to bunch up on the narrow road.
The only option in situations like this is to focus on a safe descent and let the traffic sort itself out. The drivers were all being respectful, which helped. Eventually, I found a safe place to move off the pavement and let an 18-wheeler that had been on my heels get past. I didn’t count his wheels, but suffice it to say it was what we call a ‘biggie’. A parade of cars followed and then David emerged and joined me on the side of the roadway for a de-brief while the second batch of cars moved on.
As inviting as Peschicci looked, we did not go into town. Instead, we carried on past a sandy beach and then up and over the last hump. From the summit of this hill, we had a view over the Monte Pucci trabucco.
The beachy coastline of the Gargano was visible from this final hill and in the distance we could just make out Rodi Garganico. The rain had lightened up by the time we pushed off from the Monte Pucci summit for the final descent to the train station.
As we rounded a bend at the bottom of the hill, the overhead electrical lines and train tracks appeared and the travel agent in me gave a chuckle of satisfaction. “See that?” I shouted. “OK, now I believe you.” David replied.
We were about an hour and a half early for the train and without a waiting room at the station, we took shelter under a large cottonwood. Soon after, a car rolled in the parking lot and two women jumped out with their cleaning supplies. They had a job to do and started by closing the washrooms. They were still at it when we eventually left the station well over an hour later. We couldn’t help but think their timing was questionable since the train only runs once a day and the station is otherwise desserted. Welcome to Italy 😜.
As we waited, we made bets on the odds of this train actually showing up. I noticed a poster on a bulletin board that said the tracks were out of action along part of the route and that part of the journey would be done by bus, at least until tomorrow. The question on our minds was, would the bus take our bikes? There is no guarantee.
Ten minutes before the train was scheduled to depart, a bus pulled into the parking lot and the driver hopped out for a smoke. We asked him if a train would be coming and he signalled with his hands, no. We then asked if we could load the bikes. Well, no we couldn’t put bikes on his bus because there were no bike racks. He threw up his hands as though it just wasn’t possible. Undaunted and determined, I headed straight to the luggage compartment and pointed at it, asking him to open it for us. Which he did. We then loaded the bikes and panniers and waited for the clearance to get on the bus. He eventually gave us the go ahead so we got on and scooped the two front seats.
The bus made a few stops, picking up and dropping off a handful of other passengers and eventually pulled in to the train station at Lesina. We had not paid for anything and we were not about to ask the driver as we got off.
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Our intention was to take the train to San Severo today and then on to Salerno tomorrow but when we discovered the train was headed directly to Foggia, we looked at each other and said, “Why not?” Foggia is a transportation hub in this part of Puglia so we would be well positioned for tomorrow’s trip to Salerno. David opened up the Booking app on his iphone and minutes later had booked a B&B in Foggia for tonight.
This region of Puglia can be described as little big sky country. It’s a rich agricultural area, the granary of Italy also known as the Tavoliere, and is flanked by the mountains of the Gargano to the east and the Daunian mountains off in the distance to the west. Foggia sits in the midst of this plain.
Our train pulled in to the Foggia station at about 3pm and we were to meet the host at his B&B at 3:15. Foggia was a treat to navigate. It is flat, the streets are paved and they follow a grid pattern, so in no time at all, we were being buzzed up to the fourth floor to Antonio’s brand new B&B. The furnishings were beautiful and the view from the 4th floor was spectacular. Antonio is a fantastic host and we soon leaned he has an extensive network of friends, many of them business owners. He recommended a restaurant for dinner, which we duly noted.
We rested for a while and lazed about until it was time to find some dinner. The restaurant was just two blocks away and we were welcomed then seated right away at an outside table. We ordered bruschettas, caprese salads and a mixed seafood platter.
The Bread of all Breads
The waiter brought us some sliced bread while we waited for the first course, which is very normal here. What we didn’t expect was for it to be the most heavenly bread either of us have ever tasted. It stopped us in our culinary tracks.
We flagged the waiter down and asked what was up with this bread. He said it was a special bread that’s baked in ancient wood-fired ovens. That's when we clued in that this was the bread of Altamura or Pane di Altamura.
Pane di Altamura has a characteristic shape and a unique texture and flavour. The earliest record of its existence is in a poem penned in 37 BC. Unchanged over the centuries are the ingredients: locally grown durum wheat semolima, sourdough, salt and water, and the five stages of making the bread: kneading, forming, leavening, shaping and cooking in a wood-fired oven
Altamura bread is the only bread in Europe that has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, which it was granted by the EU in 2003. If bakers want to use the name Pane di Altamura DOP, they must meet all PDO benchmarks to ensure that they are using traditional methods and ingredients and the final crust must be more than three millimetres thick. Currently, about 60 bakeries in Puglia are authorized to make it. One of them is right in this restaurant. They are very proud of their oven and rightly so.
We ate several slices and then our bruschettas arrived. They were made with the same pane di Altamura. What were we to do, but continue noshing on this incredible bread? It felt disrespectful to leave any behind, but we met our match with two slices remaining. Then, it was on to the bruschettas.
Next up were the caprese salads. As you can see, this is a simple salad of sliced tomato and mozzarella di bufala along with some basil leaves and creamy basil pesto. Absolutely divine.
And finally, the seafood course arrived. Sadly, we didn’t make it all the way through this course.
Midway through our meal, Antonio popped in to the restaurant to check on us and make sure we were being well taken care of. Our waiter beamed a big smile when he came by. We are pretty certain Antonio had texted the restaurant to tell them we would probably be coming for dinner, as well. He’s just that kind of guy.
We waddled back to our room, almost is disbelief at what an amazing day it had been.
Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles)
Total: 1,125 km (699 miles)
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