To Grottaglie

April 18, 2023

We continue to be impressed with Tobacco Suites this morning, as they serve us up one of the best breakfasts we’ve had in this tour. We’re seated in an attractive dining hall with room for a significant number of diners, though only a few others surround us this morning. The hotel is still under significant restoration work, and I suspect it’s planning for more lodging capacity in the future.

She makes sorting tobacco leaves look like such fun! Give her another thirty years at it and look again.

In the Tobacco Suite. I think this photo was shot in our breakfast room.

We’d have been fine staying in Tobacco Suites for a second night if a room were available, but since it’s not we’re elated to look at the forecast this morning and see that we’ve got maybe four hours of rideable conditions if we get an early start. So we do.

Passing the public plaza in the new town in the way out of Mesagne. We could spend some time looking at the small historical center in the daylight but we think we should ride while the weather’s good.

It doesn’t take long to get out of small Mesagne, and soon we’re biking west on a minor country lane marked as a cycling route. We’re surprised to see that it’s also labeled as the Via Appia, the famous Roman Road south from Rome built to support the conquest of southern Italy over two millennia ago. It’s paved at first so it doesn’t give the feeling of cycling a historic route, but after another mile it roughens, the trail is filled with puddles that call for frequent dismounts and evasive actions, and before long we’re feeling more like troops in a Roman legion.

The Appian Way! I remember this from my high school Latin I class.

Sloppy, but I’m sure nothing like what the Roman legions must have experienced marching south in 300 BC to conquer southern Italy. We have no reason to complain. A little mud on the tires and shoes won’t hurt us.

On the other hand, it does get tedious and make for slow going. We’ll change our route at the paved crossroad just ahead.

We could have continued on this muddy path for a few miles longer, but it wears on us and slows us down enough so that we don’t think twice about diverting onto the first paved crossroad we come to and adding a mile or two to the day’s ride. A small price to pay, and one that undoubtedly saves us some time.

And it’s time we need, as we see the skies straight ahead turning ominously gloomy, and eventually frightening. For the last ten miles to Grottaglie we keep a constant watch out for potential emergency shelters as we watch the sky grow darker and darker. Our luck holds though, and we don’t catch up to the rain until just as we’re entering town. It looks like we’ve timed it to perfection really, with dark skies both ahead and behind now.

Biking into Grottaglie is an interesting experience, as we coast gradually downhill for the last quarter mile - not all that interesting in itself, but the fact that the right third of our lane is a rushing river adds drama. We can’t bike in that so we take the middle of the lane, holding up a queue of cars and busses behind us who seem fine with giving us plenty of space. And the oncoming traffic is considerate too, slowing way down as we approach each other so that they won’t inundate us in their wake.

Looking up at the castle and cathedral of Oria, a town that looks well worth a visit. We have other priorities today though, as we watch the clouds coalesce ahead of us.

North of Oria. The skies look fairly promising, as long as you’re looking in the rear view mirror.

The view ahead tells a different story. We’re not worried though - how wet can you get in twelve miles, anyway?

I love crown daisies. They make such a nice accent flower.

Crossing the tracks south of Francavilla Fontana. Ten miles to go yet. We consider stopping and waiting out the weather when we come to this town, but decide to press on.

Keith: is this what you meant by a ‘sucker hole’?

It still looks ominous but we’re actually doing as well as you can hope. We’re threading the needle, with gloomier skies on either side.

Video sound track: Non è la stessa cosa, by Fabrizio Moro

It’s definitely starting to rain as we arrive at our B&B. We shelter ourselves under a tiny overhang as we call and try to communicate with our host and her husband, neither of whom speak or understand a lick of English. They finally hang up on us saying they’ll call back in three minutes; and soon the phone rings and it’s her son on the phone this time acting as a go-between. So then there’s more waiting in the rain until our host shows up five minutes later. While we wait, the neighbor across the street who’s had her eye on us the whole while takes pity on us and generously lends us an umbrella.

Things are a little tense at first after the host arrives and sees us with our bicycles and our muddy shoes from our play-acting as Roman soldiers; but it all works out. We check our shoes at the door as I carry the bikes inside folded, where there’s enough space to lean them against a wall where they’ll do no harm.

We’re booked here for two nights, so we aren’t tempted to go out and explore town in the rain this afternoon. Instead we loaf around in the room for a couple of hours, and then take a short walkabout through the historical center until Alfredo Ristorante opens its doors to us at 7:30. It’s a terrific place, well worth the wait - and Grottaglie itself is well worth the time too. We’re really liking staying in these smaller, less explored places in Puglia this time through. Every one so far has made for a rewarding visit.

Grottaglie is quite an attractive place, worth a longer look than this one shot as we walk to dinner. Come back tomorrow for a better look.

Dinner at Alfredo Ristorante offers certainly what is the best bread serving we’ve ever seen. We definitely got our money’s worth for our €2/person coperto (cover charge).

In a town known for its ceramics, Alfredo serves up some beautiful dishes. This is our delicious shared starter: couscous with crispy vegetables, tomato gazpacho and cacioricotta.

Rachael’s main: Orecchiette maritate with homemade ragù and caciocavallo cream. A generous portion, which she was certain she’d never finish. She was wrong.

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Ride stats today: 25 miles, 600’; for the tour: 589 miles, 32,200’

Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 589 miles (948 km)

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