An Unusual Hotel Story from Ostuni

Only eight kilometers from the Adriatic Sea, the lovely coastal city of Ostuni was was my home for four nights during my first visit to Puglia. It was June of 2011, and I was traveling solo. Located in the southern region of Puglia, Ostuni is also known as Città Bianca, the white city, because all the homes are painted white. I splurged and made reservations at the luxurious Ostuni Palace Hotel, expecting it to be a welcome reprieve after a long travel day.

While traveling, I have learned a lot. One thing is that life doesn’t always go as planned. Although a situation can be stressful and frustrating at the time, I have found that later it makes for a good, and maybe even humorous, story.

After a full day exploring, and making time to do laundry by hand in my hotel room sink, I got ready to go to bed. The time was 11:30 p.m. After this day of varied activities I was exhausted. Only a few minutes after I began to relax under  the sheets, I suddenly heard this horrific loud noise that seemed to be coming from the bathroom. I jumped up and within an instant, I saw water which seemed to be flowing everywhere. I didn’t even have time to think.

Apparently, a pipe had burst, and hot water was pouring out of it. In Italy there are these metal radiator/hot water heaters  attached to the bathroom wall. They look like ladders. Peering into the bathroom, I could see that a piece of the pipe had broken off, causing the water to be gushing all over. I didn’t see any way to shut off the water, so I immediately called the front desk for help.

Within minutes the bathroom as well as part of the bedroom was flooded. Without delay, I closed the door to the bathroom and began to stuff towels beneath the opening to help reduce further flooding. Two men who worked at the reception desk appeared at my door. Dressed in business suits, they were, of course, completely useless, except for being able to contact the engineer who was naturally off site. The men opened the linen closet in the hallway and happily produced more towels for me to use as a barrier during the wait for the engineer. I was quite sure they were glad not to have to enter the flooded room with their expensive Italian leather dress shoes.

What became even more alarming was something I certainly did not want the hotel personnel to find out. I would never have thought that the weight of my wet heavy laundry that hung from the clothesline I attached to that radiator would cause a pipe to break. I certainly didn’t intend to volunteer this information. My only thought was that now I’d have to rewash everything. So much for an early bedtime!

After some time went by, but before the engineer showed up, one of these men, whom I assumed to be the front desk manager, told me to quickly pack up my things. He informed me that he would move me to another room as soon as I was ready. As you might imagine, it didn’t take me long to gather my belongings and transfer them to the room next door.

The upside to this saga is that I now I had a room with a view of the centro. I think this might be what’s meant by a silver lining.

This stunning view from Ostuni through a narrow walkway, perched high above the historic center, still takes my breath away. I’m never disappointed by what I find when I take walks in Italy off the beaten path. Sometimes having no agenda is the best idea.

I loved finding this interesting bar, Gipas 111, a charming  place, very modern with its purple and black triangular beanbag-type chairs outdoors. Located next to the cathedral, it’s perfect for an aperitivo, a glass of wine, or a place to meet friends.

Formerly a bakery, Gipas 111 used the  original oven to store  bottles of liquor and wine.

Have you visited Ostuni? I’d live to hear about your experiences, so please leave a comment.

Grazie and Ciao.
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