And So It Begins

Yesterday we left our lovely Air B&B in Lecce and took the train to Trani. (That last phrase a good beginning to a tongue-twister). Walking from the train station, it was a typical Italian Sunday— just about everything closed and very few people out and about. But when we reached our hotel on the water to meet up with other our five fellow bikers, this lovely town on the sea turned out to be a lively town by the sea. By late afternoon, literally thousands of young people gathered (close together and without masks—outside, but still a sight I wondered if I’d ever see again), cruising the streets, dancing to disco, filling the air with their animated chatter. 

 

The eight of us grey-haired elders found a restaurant with an animated cook who insisted on being in charge of the five antipasti and presented each with pride and enthusiasm. Well earned, too— the now common mashed fava bean and chicory, langostina shrimp, grilled zucchini and eggplant, croquette potatoes and meatballs. We met the host of our bike tour and we met our bikes, most of them electric and needing more explanation. I went with the majority and decided to try one out, after all my years of being faithful to “acoustic bikes” (the title of a blog I wrote years back in Salzburg when I tried my first electric bike). We shall see how that goes. 

 

Meanwhile, breakfast and an 8-day adventure, part two of this five-part trip, awaits.