This morning we noticed again, that there were probably only a couple of people besides us in the hotel. Odd, this part of the country seems to be devoid of tourists/holidaymakers.
We seem to be leaving earlier each day, about 8:45 today. We negotiated our way out of Andria ok and were going quite nicely until one town where Tomtom took me up a steep bloody hill. In first gear, I'd only gone about 200 metres when the dreaded overheating light came on. I stopped as soon as I could to let Ginny cool down and wait for Grizzly, though I suspected he would give it a miss. After 5 minutes, I carried on to find a place to turn on this narrow bloody road. I coasted down hill to let Ginny cool some more. I wasn't prepared to risk that road, so chose an alternative on TomTom. That road was a whole lot better but there was a coach and a long queue behind it, so very slow going. I sat in line for a long time then decided to adopt the Italian biker approach. Sit right on the rear of the vehicle in front, on the white line, then soon as a suitable open stretch appears, gas it by, picking them off one by one. Even in that traffic, Ginny's temperature was ok. 🤔
I'm not sure when the Italians take their holidays but this part of the country is very quiet. We passed an Aqua Park on the coast. Deserted. We've seen a few people on the beaches as we've come through on the coast road but they've not been heaving. Maybe it's just too early in the season.
Grizzly was already at the fuel stop, as I imagined he would be and already on his 2nd coffee. I never saw the cake!
We were only about 60km and 90 minutes away from our hotel at San Severo. The ride was pleasant enough through the countryside, overlooking a lake, one of the few pieces of water we've seen. Most of the river beds we have crossed are bone dry. No wonder we are seeing so many blackened verges and fields from fires. There was even an olive grove burnt today.
We arrived at the hotel about 3pm. Guess what? 2 huge car parks, both empty! Out front, 4 Carabinieri cars. We parked the bikes with them. Should be safe, eh? There was no sign of any plod inside or anyone else, other than the receptionist. The Baldy Bikers don't draw a crowd quite like the Hairy pair!
On checking in, we made our way to the booking.com room. Right at the end of the corridor. This is billed as a high tech 4* gaff. We have only 2 hangars!
There's a patio, no furniture. Least there wasn't, till we nabbed chairs from the patio next door 🤣
We have to have somewhere to dry our wet jeans, etc.
If I understood the receptionist correctly, the bar opens in 20 minutes, so I'd best freshen up, as someone will be chomping at the bit in 15.
Sure enough, a trip to the bar ensued, where Grizzly taught the young barman how to pull a pint. Not the first place we've encountered a clueless bar person. We had a couple, whilst watching the plod play cards. I think one was supposed to be going for a run but blew his mate off when he came to get him. More interested in the cards and fags! By the size of him, he'd never have made it out of the car park anyway.
Dinner was al fresco. It was still 30 degrees, if a little bit windy. I had scallop cream filled pasta, topped with prawns. Very nice. Then I had my first gelato of the trip, a rich creamy pistachio. Mmm!
The difference in cultures is never more apparent than when dining. We are finishing up and thinking of bed, just as the locals arrive. From a dead place this afternoon, it was buzzing as we retired to our room.
Tomorrow we start a trek north west, back towards the Mediterranean, ending the day in Cassino.
Ciao
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