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Top 5 Dream Days of 2018, Biking Italy’s Adriatic Coast with DuVine Cycling

All it takes is one ride along the Adriatic Sea to appreciate the splendor of Puglia, the region of southern Italy close to the heel of the boot. We biked up and down sweeping hills with the blue expanse of water always by our side. The sweet smell of honeysuckle the best form of aromatherapy as we cruised past seaside villages, old stone walls, peering down in awe at the greenish/blue waters hundreds of feet below. We stopped in Santa Maria di Leuca to gaze at the lighthouse, church, and large plaza before making our way back to the port of Tricase where a fresh seafood feast was waiting for us. According to my trusty Strava app, we had biked 43 miles with an elevation gain of over 3,000 feet, so I was definitely ready for a break and the chance to dig into fresh calamari, mussels, grilled aubergines, tomatoes, and the creamy burrata cheese the region is known for. 
We were on Day Two of a 6-day bike ride through Puglia with DuVine Cycling. The trip would continue northeast to the town of Locorotondo, where we would begin blissful days of riding through the heart of the countryside. I savored the riding here, rolling hillsides dotted with centuries-old gnarly olive trees, vineyards, and the distinctive mushroom-shaped houses called trullis. All on country roads with little or no traffic. But if I had to choose one dream day on that memorable trip with good friends in October, I would choose the first day’s ride along the Adriatic. 
 

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Cape Cod’s Ocean Edge Resort Teams Up With Orvis

Driving along Route 6A in Brewster, it’s hard to miss Boston banker Samuel Nickerson’s century-old mansion. Today, it’s the centerpiece of the sprawling Ocean Edge Resort. Add six pools, the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus redesigned golf course, nine tennis courts, and bike paths that connect easily to the 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, and you understand why Ocean Edge has been a perennial family favorite on the Cape for decades. We love the property because it’s always trying to enhance the experience, not just relying on its lengthy history. Last summer, Ocean Edge introduced a chance to go oystering on the bayside beach with a local oyster farmer. After learning about his line of work, you head back to the outdoor deck overlooking the expanse of water to sample those oysters, washed down with a pale ale brewed for the resort called Bayzo Brew. This summer, Ocean Edge has teamed up with the well-known fly-fishing outfitter and retailer Orvis to offer fishing lessons on one of its ponds. Also opening on July 4th will be a new beach bar. If you haven’t been to Ocean Edge in a while, it might be time for a return visit. 

 
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Take the White Glove Tour at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum

It’s a good omen when you spot a bald eagle and a fox within 10 minutes of leaving your hotel after breakfast. An hour later we were paddling the placid waters of St. Ann’s Bay on a guided half-day tour with North River Kayak. We would spot more bald eagles, one distinctive white head peering out from her massive bowl-shaped nest high up the hillside. We stopped for banana bread and chocolate chai, so delicious that owner Angelo Spinazola now sells it as a parting gift. Then we walked to a small waterfall before making the paddle back. 
 
That afternoon, I returned to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in the lakeside resort town of Baddeck. Graham Bell and his wife Mabel, a former student of his at Boston School for the Deaf, first built their summer home in Baddeck in 1886, a decade after he stated those first fateful words on the telephone to his assistant, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” In 1955, Graham Bell’s two daughters donated thousands of original artifacts to the museum, including all of the models that consumed him during his lifetime. There’s a bicycle that he hoped one could pedal on water, his invention of the gramophone, and a hydrofoil he helped build later in life, called HD-4, which reached a speed of 70 miles per hour on water, a record that wouldn’t be broken for another decade. The museum is now offering a “White Glove” tour where you put on gloves and enter a backroom. A guide lets you see and touch his walking cane (rather long since he stood 6 ‘4”), suit jackets, and notebooks where he would scribble any thoughts during the day. He was a meticulous note taker and you’ll find stacks of books lined up detailing all of his studies. I also enjoyed the early photo of his brothers, making silly faces. Unfortunately they both died of TB at an early age. It’s the reason Bell’s family left Scotland to move to Canada. Bell’s 37-room estate across the lake is still used by his descendants. 
 
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Puerto Rico Hotel Update

According to the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), 75 percent of Puerto Rico’s hotels, or 113 out of 149, are open and operating. They include the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, Hotel El Convento, Wyndham Rio Mar, La Concha Renaissance, Olive Boutique Hotel, and the San Juan Marriott Resort. El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, plans to open April 1, 2018. Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve will reopen October 1, 2018. The Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel and Hotel St. Regis at Bahia Beach Resort also plan to reopen on October 1st. W Retreat & Spa Vieques will reopen Dec. 31, 2018. Cruise ships running in and out of San Juan are now 90% operational and expect to be 100% operational by Christmas. Puerto Rico desperately needs your business and there are good deals on hotel rates and cruises to get you back down there. Contact ActiveTravels and we’ll fill you in. 

 
 
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Beaune, Burgundy, Oenophiles Take Note

While we’re on the subject of France, I met a wine distributor this weekend whose specialty is wines from Burgundy. He spends more than half his year in the region. I asked him what his favorite town in Burgundy was and without hesitation, he blurted, “Beaune, by far the best.” In the middle of the Côte d’Or, Beaune is the capital of the wine region. Wine, food, and boutique stores line the cobblestone streets. To sample the region’s best wine, visit the Marché aux Vins. The “dégustation des vins” takes place in a historic church, with its stone pillars and arches forming the perfect backdrop. For 10 Euros you can taste the famous wines of the region–18 in all, with the best reds coming at the end. While in town, also check out third-generation cheese maker, Alain Hess and the chocolates and cakes at Bouché. 

 
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Gamirasu Cave Hotel in Cappadocia, Turkey

    “Urgup?  You stop in Urgup?” I asked the bus driver slowly in English as I pointed to our ticket.
    “Yes, Urgup.  Coming.  Coming,” the man replied as he continued driving like a maniac. Something was seriously wrong. We had passed Goreme about an hour ago and, according to my trusty guidebook, Goreme is only five miles from Urgup in the heart of Turkey’s intriguing Cappadocia region. 
    “Urgup, we’re going to Urgup!” my wife repeated loudly, approaching the point of hysteria. The driver nodded in agreement and grinned.
    We eventually arrived in Urgup seven hours later, in the middle of the night. A pack of wild dogs howled as they followed us to our inn. There was nothing wrong with my guidebook. In a rush, the driver had sped past Urgup to the next city. He didn’t speak our language, we didn’t speak his. Insanely frustrated, we arrived at the bus station, only to learn that the bus back to Urgup didn’t leave for another five hours.
    When we awoke the following morning in our Urgup hotel room, the strange scenery surrounding us seemed more bizarre than the previous evening’s events. We were inside a 1,000-year-old Byzantine monastic retreat carved out of a cave, now an 18-room hotel called Gamirasu. When Mount Erciyes poured lava over this region thousands of years ago, the volcanic ash formed a surreal, lunar-like landscape consisting of cone-shaped monoliths and layers of soft volcanic rock called “tufa.” Early Christians found the pervious terrain ideal for escaping persecution by Romans and Arabs. When wet, the tufa could be easily carved like soap to make caves out of the pinnacles as well as underground cities descending hundreds of feet below the surface.
    The first Christians came to the valleys of Cappadocia in the 4th century, led by St. Basil. They formed communities within the caves building living areas, bakeries, and workshops. The people of Cappadocia continue to live in these caves. The rooms are cooled by volcanic rock, which helps protect the 8th-century frescoes seen on the hotel walls.

I’m off to New York on Monday, back on April 11th. Have a great week!
 

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Lake George Week, Adventures on the Water

"Towards you, towards you, pull it towards you," my father yells to my mom, referring to the tiller that sits on her lap. We’re aboard my dad’s 22-foot Catalina, sailing at a good 10-knot clip across the cobalt waters of Lake George on our way back to his dock. Mom’s steering, dad’s barking orders, and I’m on the bow of the boat, ready to jump onto terra firma, but first I have to listen to my parent’s banter, a routine I’ve witnessed far too many times.

“What the hell are you doing? Aim for the house,” my dad bellows, pointing to a small white house that stands on the hillside above our dock. My father’s voice always seems to rise a notch or two in volume every time he steps foot into his sailboat. That’s usually what happens to former Lieutenants in the Navy. They resign their commission in the military, buy a small boat of their own, and quickly ascend to the rank of Admiral.  Nevertheless, my mom always remains as cool as the water in this lake, easily gliding the boat into the dock without a scratch. Once the lines are tied, she stands up, and ends with the tag line, “not bad for a Bronx girl.” “Yeah, not bad,” my father mutters back, forgetting that Mom also taught him how to drive.

Those two paragraphs are the first words I ever wrote on Lake George, for a magazine called Endless Vacation back in 1996. Both my parents are gone, but I have incredible memories of our family sailing, paddling, and boating this 32-mile gem in the Adirondacks. And I continue to create new memories. This week, I’m traveling with my brother Jim as we kayak around the Sagamore, boat with Ron Miller aboard his 1971 Lyman, and take a paddlewheeler cruise aboard The Mohican. 

I’ve been sailing the waters of Lake George before I learned to walk, or so I’m told.  Growing up in these sylvan surroundings, I took its beauty for granted; the verdant mountainside that slopes to the lake’s edge on either side, the pine-studded islands that provide perfect anchorages for boaters, the narrow width that’s easily mistaken for a long rambling river. Working as a travel writer, I’ve had the good fortune to visit many of the world’s most famous lakes—Tahoe, Como in Italy, Taupo in New Zealand, Lucerne in Switzerland, but given the choice, I’ll take Lake George on a weekday (on summer weekends, the influx of motorboats and jet skies makes the lake seem a lot smaller). It’s the reason why “Sailing Lake George” topped my list of “5 Family Adventures Not Soon Forgotten,” my most recent article on the lake in a March issue of The Boston Globe. 

 

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