Sunday, June 30, 2013

The King of the Toilets!

     On the same day we went to Alberobello, we would also stop at the town of Locorotondo.  This part of the day will be most memorable for sooo many reasons!

King of the Toilets

      At breakfast, Gigi and Fabio held our morning meeting to go over route information.  Even though I was not riding this day, I still paid attention - good thing I did!
      We would all be shuttled to Alberobello, and after our stay there, the others would ride on to the town of Locorotondo where Gigi and I would be waiting with a snack.  We would be at a local park that had a public W.C. for those who needed it.  Gigi told us that this W.C. was manned by a gentleman he called "Bapita", who was "King of the Toilets"!  He then explained that Bapita liked to play music while people were using the facilities, and that we had a choice.  He then asked us what we wanted to hear!  Everyone just looked at Gigi!  One of the choices was Frank Sinatra, so I called out "Sinatra!"  Later, and I was there, so I can attest to this, Gigi called to give our music choice.

       So, we finish with Alberobello, and Gigi and I head towards Locorotondo.  We get to the park, and start to set up. Bapita shows up and greats Gigi.  Gigi introduces us.  Speaking in Italian, Bapita showed me where the nearest gelato shop was, and escorted me over, stating in Italian to the proprietress, the company I was traveling with and to take care of us when we came in for gelato.  I went exploring the neighborhood to take pictures.







 Soon, however, I needed that W.C.  I headed for it, not knowing that Bapita was right behind me!  Sounds creepy, I know.  He tapped me on the shoulder, I let out a scream and jumped my entire height!  Poor man!  He was more frightened than I was!  Out came a stream of apologies in Italian, then he opened the door for me to the toilet.  The place was immaculate!  Soon, strains of Frank Sinatra singing "Let's Fly Away" could be heard! Wow!
      So, I complete my visit, and Bapita has papers in various languages explaining who he is.  He must have thought I was German, because the paper he handed me was in German, which I can read.  I burst out laughing as I read (in German) that he was the self-appointed king of the toilets. Literally, that was what it said in German.  He then realized his mistake, and tried to give me a paper in English.  I told him "Io parla Tedesco" (I speak German.)  But, he gave me an English version anyway.  I tried to photograph it, but it doesn't show here very well.  So, I will type, verbatim what the English version says:

     5 stars public Toilets
          Mister Giuseppe Corbascio takes care of the 5 stars public Toilets in Locorotondo.  He has got also guides in German language - Deuceland (so written).  All buses stop there.  In France he is known as "Mister Le Pepe"; in Germany Der Spiegel has written an article about him: "When the Americans arrive, do you know what I do? - he tells me smiling with his eyes closed - I put Frank Sinatra (Let's Fly away) and they throw themselves on the floor laughing without going to pee anymore.  You have to write like this: in Locorotondo a 5 stars public Toilets!"

The only change I made here was to put Der Spiegel in italics.
       Bapita must have really felt bad for frightening me as he came back later with a guide book in Italian all about Locorotondo, with his autograph!  I will be keeping that book to practice my Italian! No one was able to explain how Bapita got this job, if he is paid for it, or if he is just being helpful to tourists.  However, he will always be my favorite Italian!  Take that Sinatra!

 Me and Giuseppe "Bapita" Corbascio - King of the Locorotondo 5-Star Toilets!

 
 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Ostuni, the White Pearl

      Our ride from Armando's masseria would take us to the town of Ostuni.  We would stay here for two nights.  After checking in, I immediately e-mailed my pulmonologist, and decided not to ride the next day while waiting for her response.

The Miracle

       A town of about 35,000, though it seems like more, Ostuni sits on a set of hills overlooking the Adriatic Sea.  The area has been inhabited since the stone age and takes its name from the Greek " astu neon" - new town.  This history of the town is a hodgepodge of which city state was in charge at the time.
       Many, if not most of the buildings in Ostuni are painted white.  During the Black Plague, Ostuni had its share of death.  The people were whitewashing their homes with quick lime, a common practice in southern Italy.  They noticed that the plague started to disappear, and attributed this to the miracle of the white paint.  So, a tradition was started of whitewashing pretty much every structure.  The townsfolk were not far off in their thinking, however.  The quick lime pretty much killed any plague bacteria or virus.  However, the people did not know this for several hundred years!


       The following are views of Ostuni.  I like to go exploring on my own.


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St. Francis of Assisi




My group heads to dinner......more about that in the post "How We Eat".
      

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Ode to the Olive

     Today's ride would take us away from our masseria, through olive groves, and into the city of Ostuni.

Putting Olives on All Ten Fingers

      I recall, as a teenager, putting black olives on all ten fingers and popping them in my mouth. Everyone did it. I promptly got sick. I haven't been able to eat olives since. However, times have changed over the years, and better tasting olives have to be out there. This trip just may inspire me to try them.
      Along the route today we were shown a spot where the olive trees are over 1000 years old. Scientists used carbon dating to figure out the age of the trees. These trees are still producing fruit. The trunk of an olive tree is nature's finest sculpture. Like snowflakes, no two trunks are alike. The beauty of the trunks lie in the variety of twists, splits, hollows, bulges, and whimsical shapes that the trunks have. I could not help but think of the words of Saint Francis of Assisi " The flowers and fruit that in thee grow, let them His glory also show."






        Next, we would stop at an olive oil museum. I know some of you are thinking, "seriously?" Olives and their oil have been used for thousands of years. Besides food, olives have been used for currency, and their oil is not only edible, but useful in burning in lamps, and in making soaps. This museum started out in the 1200s as a monastery.  In the 1600s, the monks left, and their quarters were turned into a olive pressing building. Oil was pressed there until WWII. The nearby San Lorenzo church is still in use. After a quick, and much needed, snack, we left for another masseria for lunch.

Olive presses used after the first pressing.

These cool little baskets open up like pillows and the olive bits from the first pressing are put inside and then placed in sets of 4 or 5 baskets on top of each other and then put in the presses in the picture above.

Extra virgin oil is from the olive's first pressing.

This is an old filtering system where the oil was poured over cotton, and allowed to drip through leaving any solids.

San Lorenzo Church



It Takes a Special Kind of Woman

         It was a hot day, and the sun was a bit on the mean side. Our lunch destination was Masseria Il Frantoio. This estate is a family-run Masseria. The owners, Armando, and his wife, Rosalba, were born in villages not far away. After seeing the world for ten years, they came home for a visit, and found a " For Sale" sign on this property. They have been there for the last 22 years. It is run like a bed and breakfast, except, Rosalba also makes lunch and dinner. While we never met Rosalba, I get the idea that she is the most patient woman on the planet, and a bit headstrong if she is married to Armando!
          Armando likes to show his place off. He even had a short 10-minute video made of the place. His over-the-top tour, complete with jokes, was a bit much. The tour ended in their gift shop where he offered wine made on the premise, or at least close by. This tour did not exactly go down well with a bunch of hot, tired, sweaty cyclists, who just wanted lunch in a cool room. We did get lunch, and Rosalba's cooking did not disappoint. This was the best Italian food I have ever had!
          The following photos are of the masseria.




 
 
       After lunch we would head off to the town of Ostuni to stay for the next two nights.

It Takes Two Very Awesome Guides

        Asthma runs in my family, but I was not diagnosed with it until my late 40's, and am still learning what my various triggers are to an attack.  It seems the combination of heat and humidity is one of them. Living in bone dry Utah, humidity is not something I am used to. My major attack occurred on the road, while I was riding solo. (We have directions on how to travel so we don't have to stay with each other.)  Luigi, Gigi to us, was the guide riding with us that day and stayed with me until transport could be found to get me to the olive museum. He was very patient and kind.  I would then meet our other guide, Fabio, who would drive me the rest of the route.  I did have my rescue inhaler, but riding hopped up on albuterol is not a good idea, and this attack was taking a long time to breathe through.  There was even talk about taking me to the hospital. Fabio also has asthma, and was very understanding of the situation.  I owe my life to these wonderful gentlemen, and much thanks to my patient fellow travelers. 


Two Seaside Towns

       Today's ride took us to the nearby town of Savelletri. Normally, the town is a small fishing village of three hundred people. In the summer, it becomes crowded with tourists, both Italian and foreign, who want to be by the Adriatic Sea.
        Puglia is not known for long stretches of sandy beach. In fact, a good part of the land is covered with lava flow. Much of the coastline is rocky. But, every so often a small pocket of sand will appear, and people will flock to it. It is also common to see people bringing deck chairs out onto the rocks.

This beach north of Savelletri was mostly rocky.

The beach south of Monopoli.  It was a narrow stretch of sand.

Monopoli beach

In and out of rocks.  When it comes to beach side, the Italians make do.


         We then headed north to Monopoli. Unlike the board game based on Atlantic City, New Jersey, this city of about 50,000 souls has been in existence from about 500 B. C. Part of the town is behind medieval walls, complete with cannons. The town was founded by the Greeks. It has also been under the control of  the Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Swabians (Germans), and Spanish. It was often attacked by Muslim pirates. Monopoli was the starting point for the navel Crusades.


I found this cherub carved into a building as I was walking along.

Monopoli from the terrace where we ate lunch

A close up of the wall Charles V of Spain built, complete with cannons. The beach is right below this wall.

This photo, and the following, are pictures of whatever took my fancy while walking. 






The vegetable truck, where root vegetables were sold.



          We spent our time at the Basilica Cattedrale Maria Santissima della Madia. We then had lunch at a tavern particularly friendly to VBT travelers. we found the gelato shop, and were free to wander until a certain time, when we had to head back.

The cathedral was quite spectacular.  Another couple in our group visited the cathedral at a different time, and met a young woman from Utah who was getting married in the cathedral.  They mentioned they had a fellow traveler from Salt Lake City.  The young woman had met her Italian fiancĂ© at the University of Utah.  They were getting married in his home town of Monopoli, and then going back to the states to reside, probably in Utah!  She and her future mother-in-law were checking out the cathedral where the marriage would take place.  The following are interior shots of the cathedral which is decorated in precious stone and rare wood.