May 21, 2023
Rest Day in Potenza
Laundry Day
Every so often on a cycle tour, laundry day becomes a necessity. We do have a laundry bag and soap in the panniers, but here’s the problem: it is so damp and cold that a load of laundry won’t dry overnight in our B&B. I have been doing laundry on the go and managing just fine but we ladies have an advantage over the guys when it comes to laundry, our clothing tends to be lighter and smaller than theirs and it dries fairly easily.
So, it was time for a laundry layover and Potenza proved to be a great spot to do just that. The weather was doing the same old thing again, we had a great B&B to hang out in, Potenza is interesting and warranted more exploration and we had a killer restaurant that was calling our names.
Fortunately, our room is available for tonight so we snapped it up before settling in for breakfast. And, what a breakfast it was. The owner loves to bake and he presented us with a buffet of freshly baked cakes, loaves, bars, pastries and crumbles. There also was a selection of juices, cereals, yogurt, fruit and coffee (we each had a cappuccino and a macchiato). And to top it off, there was a Bruce Springstein soundtrack playing. What a nice touch.
We took it slow for the rest of the day. The self-serve laundromat was tiny, with just 2 washers and 2 dryers, but we timed it perfectly and managed to have everything clean and dry by noon.
We stepped out for a stroll and light lunch in the early afternoon at a place that looked to be the only eatery open. This is Sunday and any hopes of buying a long-sleeved top were dashed when I realized the shops were closed today. Not that we saw any sporting goods shops to tempt us. There were plenty of fashion places, but nothing selling casual wear.
For the rest of the afternoon, we did some reading, a little writing and watched the Giro d’Italia. Every so often, one of us would give a weather update... raining again, patches of blue sky, raining, stopped raining, socked in again, etc. We were so grateful to be holed up in a nice B&B.
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David had made a 7:30 reservation for dinner tonight using Whatsapp, so we headed for the elevator at 7:15 and joined the passagiatta in the old city. Even in weather like this, gelato is popular! I still can’t understand how it is that Italians can eat ice cream before dinner and stay slim. But they do!
We thoroughly enjoyed our second meal at Antiche Torri. We started with a platter of their bestselling appetizers, then I had a pasta with pistachio and walnut sauce and crispy ham sprinkles while David had the pork tenderloin with prunes on a bed of radicchio. Dessert was lemon sorbet. Everything was top notch. Hungry diners were streaming in the door as we were preparing to leave. All I can say is, it’s one talented culinary team working in the cucina.
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10 months ago
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I will call it a wrap here. There is a huge lightning and thunder storm raging over the hills as I write this. We are expecting a dryer day tomorrow and look forward to saddling up once again. Maybe it’s the weather’s way of signing off.
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Glad you had another delicious dinner. Hope you can ride tomorrow.
11 months ago
10 months ago