A few more photos from Day 2 on the bikes

The bike riding on Day 2 has been fun.  The riding here is very flat.  Our biggest obstacle so far has been some wind.  Heading south this afternoon was quite difficult.

The visit to Monopoli was quite interesting.  I could have used more time to explore this interesting town.  I felt like I was in Greece as many of the buildings were white, white, white.  And tall.  As we walked the narrow alleyways, the sounds of children playing, babies crying, or people talking would echo off the walls all around you.  The sense of community in these streets was palpable.  

Laurie and I found a pizzeria tucked into a remote alley and we found ourselves alone inside and no one spoke English.  It's amazing how easy it is to get by though knowing a few words in Italian and pointing at the menu.  We ordered a simple Margherita pizza (cheese and tomato sauce) and a pizza with buffalo mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, and olive oil.  The caprese salad pizza was AMAZING!  Of course we had to have the house wine and I was shocked that the two euro house wines were really good, much better than you'd expect for house, quaffing wines. 

After lunch, we strolled through the narrow corridors.  We came upon an old church where an orchestra was rehearsing for tonight's classical concert.  The sound from outside was just magical.  Then we wound our way to the Castle and walked along the outside walls of the city.  We eventually snaked our way back to our bikes but I could have easily spent a couple more hours wandering in this old city.  Although, it would have been nice to be in normal clothes.  We all got some looks from the locals as we strolled around in our bike clothing.

Photos from the day:

Listening to the classical music inside this church:

After biking, we all headed to the Coccaro Beach Club for some drinks by the Adriatic:

David and I swam in the ocean but the ladies weren't having any of it.  David and I thought that the temperature was roughly what Lake Champlain is toward the end of the summer (actually, maybe a bit cooler in my opinion).  But, it was very refreshing!

8pm - we are off to dinner!