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May 23, 2006

Brindisi - Ostuni, 49 km

If I had to sum up today with just one word, that word woud be "hot". We leave Brindisi rather late and get the full blast of the noonday sun. Our route follows the coast and then goes inland on small country roads with a few hills. When we reach Ostuni, I see that getting to the old part of town means a steep climb which I don't relish. Ostuni is certainly worth a visit, but not now. We find the address of a pension outside of Ostuni, which solves the problem for the time being.

We see our first trulli. A trullo (plural: trulli) is a traditional Apulian stone dwelling with a conical roof, in the past built without any cement or mortar.

The breakfast buffet didn't just look good. On the table were fresh fruit, cereal, cake, bread, cold cuts, juice, coffee, tea, joghurt and more. This would also make a good home base for day tours in the area. www.villarosaostuni.it

Villa Rosa: The small hotel is run by Pasquale and his wife, the most hospitable hotel keepers we have ever met. Since they only serve breakfast, we will have to return to Ostuni if we want an evening meal. And what cyclist isn't hungry at the end of the day? Pasquale offers to drive us into town and pick us up when we want to return! And he refuses to take any money for his services when we pay the bill for the room which is very moderate.

From the distance Ostuni looks like a stack of white building blocks. It is a medium sized town with many small back streets, archways and stairs, parts of town that for obvious reasons have never seen motorized vehicles, or non-motorized ones for that matter.

As in all of southern Italy, the piazzas and their cafés in the evening are a favorite place for having an ice cream, a glass of wine, talking politics or just being there.

"Puglia ... dove la natura è colore", Apulia ... where nature is color
I don't know if this is nature but a campari-soda with the traditional Apulian tarallucci is very good.