Italy
Lecce

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    • Day 14

      Journée utile 👨‍💻

      October 25 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

      Ce matin, je me réveille à 8h30 pour aller courir. Paul dort, du moins essaie car il y a beaucoup de bruit ce matin à l’auberge. A la fin de la course, je m’arrête à une pâtisserie pour acheter deux pasticciotti (la pâtisserie garnie de crème vous savez) pour le petit dej. Douche, packing du sac et check out. On reste la matinée dans les lieux communs de l’auberge. Paul postule à des offres, c’est plutôt utile pour trouver un travail !
      Vers 12h30, on part de l’auberge avec nos sacs. On va manger dans un restaurant au centre ville de Lecce, Paul mange une Puccia et moi une salade avec une grosse burrata hihi. On se balade un peu et on va à la gare routière. On prend notre bus à 15h pour aller à Matera, dans les terres en Basilicate. Après 3h de route, le chauffeur nous dépose sur une aire et on change de bus. 30min de pause, 40min de route de plus et on arrive à destination. On fait le check in, on mange à l’auberge et on ressort faire un tour dans la ville. C’est trop beau, il faut qu’on en apprenne plus sur l’histoire de la ville mais les maisons sont construites dans la pierre. Il y a un canyon juste à côté. On rentre et on tombe sur une mexicaine que j’ai rencontré juste avant dans la chambre. On discute tard.
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    • Day 61–66

      Lecce e la famila 😎

      October 17 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Nachdem wir die Studentenstadt Lecce durchquert hatten, ging es weiter zur "La Familia". Genni, Giuseppe und Benedetta haben uns herzlich empfangen. Es gab, wie immer, ein feudales Abendessen mit Aufschnitt, Käse, Pasta, Salsiccia und 🍷 🍷 🍷. Wir lagen um 0.00 im WoMo und konnten uns nicht mehr bewegen.
      Ein Besuch am Grab des Schwiegervaters Paolo und der Tante Assuntina war für Cutty und mich ein emotionaler Augenblick.
      Und dann gab es noch das grosse Familientreffen......
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    • Day 8

      Labyrinthian Lecce 🫶🏻

      September 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

      We took a wee sneaky look 👀 last night…which was refreshing: not having to go back to our ‘middle o nowhere’ hotel! Enjoying the nightlife and nighttime atmosphere. Magic 🪄
      Devoured a meat & cheese 🧀 platter with crusty bread 🥖 and…you guessed it: Aperol Spritz! 🍹

      Known as the Florence of the south, the historic city within the now mostly fallen old walls is a Baroque masterpiece, a living museum built with a material so unique to the area it has gained the name 'Lecce Stone’
      The stone changes colour according to weather conditions.

      Lecce is home to no less than 100 Baroque-style churches and three ancient city gates. It’s the largest city we have visited (after Rome). It would be wonderful to stay there a couple more days and overnight 🌃

      On many of the balconies in Lecce geraniums are to be seen. In the early settlement wives put geraniums out on the balcony to let the lover know the husband had left the home… Now days, there are many other ways to do this LOL 😝

      We didn’t spend near long enough in Lecce… It is a beautiful big baroque city with many authentic shops, rather than tacky souvenirs shops. And, I finally made a purchase, beautifully, handcrafted, leather wallet… Very pleased with the colours representing the Salento coast 🏖️ 🌊 ☀️

      We also sat in the town Square and tasted a coffee is that is unique to this city; it tastes of Amaretto, it has ice 🧊 and was quite sweet, but delicious 😋
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    • Day 30

      Caserta to Lecce

      May 25 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      Up and off to the Caserta railway station for our slightly delayed departure for Lecce. A comfortable 4.5 hrs on a moderately fast train.
      Taxi to our first hotel which was booked by the bike tour company - Grand Hotel Tiziano. Well, nothing grand about this hotel! No hot water for a shower and the rooms are sub-standard. We are assured that all of the accommodation coming up on this tour is much better.
      We met our Guide, Elinea, at 7.30 and met the other people on the ride. There are only 13 of us, which is a surprise. We had been told the others were from America and all women. Roger was delighted to find 2 other men on the tour. One lovely couple from the UK and the rest from America.
      We walked to the Old Town of Lecce for a delicious 3 course meal at All'ombra del Barocco restaurant. Antipasto dishes were the best we've ever eaten. Just as we were about to leave, a 16 year old boy started playing the piano in the restaurant - delightful! A late return to our hotel room where we repacked ready for our first ride tomorrow - 56 km.
      Sadly I (Kerrie) have picked up a virus which has developed into bronchitis. I'm coping OK, but this happens every time I travel, unfortunately. Hoping the ride will fix the knee & the chest!
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    • Day 37

      Lecce - catch up day!

      June 1 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      A slow start to the day! We were pleased to say a final farewell to some of our Puglia Biking friends who were leaving after breakfast.
      We found a Laundromat and got our clothing back in order!
      We then strolled the Old Town area and had .. yes, an Aperol Spritz and pizza for lunch. We visited the Faggiano museum - a fascinating story of a man who, while trying to fix his sewerage problems, discovered 2000 year old underground tunnels, chapels, a nunnery and various other archeological significant things.
      Roger found a wonderful restaurant in the back streets of Lecce not far from here. We arrived at 7 pm and were ushered into the garden area because they were fully booked. At 8.20 pm there was only ourselves and one other couple at the restaurant! Italians love to eat late!
      Tomorrow we travel to Locorotondo for 2 nights to meet up with our dear friends of 51 years, Rob & Janice Cain, who are staying north of Bari for a few weeks.
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    • Day 8

      8. den: Lecce

      July 31, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      Dnes pokracovanie relaxu so vsetkym z predchadzajucich dni, aj s obedom od Melanie - pani M cestoviny Orecchiette s domacou paradajkovou omackou a pecorinom, ja paradajky, mozzarella, olivac, chlieb. Pribudlo spolocne pocuvanie podcastov. A boli aj paradne vlny. Podvecer sme vsak vyrazili na dalsi vylet, teraz do vzdialejsieho Leče. A ano, ano, pise sa Lecce, ale pani M dovolila aj foneticky prepis … na rozdiel od niektorych inych slov, ako napr. puccia, tradicny chlieb zo Salento (v srdci ktoreho sa nachadza aj Lecce) plneny vsetkym moznym … len pani M si ho v Taliansku bohuzial nemoze ani len vypytat - a to ho tu mali naozaj vsade. Lecce je mesto s uzasnym barokovym historickym centrom, pre ktore sa nazyva tiez “hlavnym mestom baroka”. V centre je obrovske mnozstvo pamiatok a nadhernych stavieb, za ktore Lecce vdaci hlavne miestnemu makkemu a poreznemu zlatozltemu kamenu “pietra leccese”. My sme vsak dorazili po hodine cesty vyprahnuti a kedze bol pondelok, namiesto uhasenia smadu sme pocitali mnoztsvo zavretych podnikov. Nakoniec sme nasli Alibi Creative Club, kde sme si okrem dobreho piva (konecne IPA) dali aj prosciutto a burrata tradicny tanier. Posilneni sme sa vydali brazdit centrum a obehli sme vsetko podstatne: namestie Piazza San’t Oronzo s rimskym stlpom (na ktorom bohuzial prave chybala bronzova socha patrona Oronza), rimsky amfiteater, kostol sv. Marie (a v nom dva nadherne reliefy zo 16. storocia) kostol sv. Klary, katedrala sv. Marie dell’Assunta, Dom so zvonicou, kostol sv. Terezy, klastor sv. Anny, kostol sv. Jana Krstitela, mestska brana Porta Rudiae, radnica (a tu sa kupodivu objavila socha Oronza, ktora bude po rekonstrukcii umiestnena na vyssie spominany rimsky stlp), Teatro Romano, Teatro Apollo, kostol Cirkvy Jezisovej. Uz po zotmeni sme si to namierili do najlepsej miestnej gelaterie Natale s vyse 80 druhmi zmrzlin. A bola veru smakezna (ja rumova cokolada a mango, pani M cokolada a ricotta a figy). Na zaver sme si nechali najvacsi skvost, a to Baziliku svateho Kriza, ktora je najvelkolepejsim prikladom “lecceskeho baroka”. Priecelie baziliky je tak nadherne zdobene, ze pani M bola cela paf a skonstatovala, ze taku krasnu baziliku este nevidela. A fakt je to topka, paradna ceresnicka na torte po celom dni. Unaveni, vysmadnuti sme sa v noci vratili na nasu izbu, splachli smad pivom a este otvorili prosecco (priznam sa, dal som si uz iba ja) z nasich zasob, tentokrat Quartese Brut z numero uno Valdobbiadene vinarstva Ruggeri (inak fakt sa nam tie prosecka rychlo minaju). Dobru noc.
      P.S.
      Vcera ma pani M sprdla, ze som nepostol foto jastericky, ktoru cvakla. Tak som slubil, ze dnes … ale zase sa mi nezmestila do vyberu. Tak snad zajtra … alebo skonci jastericka ako Colombova zena?!?
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    • Day 11

      Trajet pour Lecce

      October 22 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Vers 9h, on va prendre le petit dej compris dans le prix de notre nuit au bar de nos hôtes : cappuccino et pasticciotto. Le pasticciotto est une pâtisserie typique du Salento composée de pâte sablée et de crème. Il y a ensuite des variations. On en a pris un à la cerise et un au chocolat qu’on a partagé.
      On se dit qu’on a fait le tour de la ville et qu’on a plus d’utilité à rester à Alberobello. On décide donc de prendre le prochain train. Il n’est qu’à 10h47. On se pose à la gare, au soleil, et on joue aux cartes. On prend un premier train de 30min jusqu’à Martina Franca. On profite de la correspondance pour aller s’acheter de quoi manger ce midi dans une boulangerie : focaccia et pizza. On prend ensuite un autre train d’1h jusqu’à Francavilla Fontana puis un bus de 2h jusqu’à Lecce. Le trajet était joli, on est passé par la campagne au centre du Salento et vu plein de trulli.
      On arrive à l’auberge vers 15h. On fait le check in, on pose nos sacs et c’est reparti.
      Demain, on a prévu de louer une moto ou un scooter pour aller sur la côte. On explore donc la ville tout en allant voir des magasins de location. Ça change des petites villes. Lecce est surnommée la « Florence du sud » par son style baroque. On trouve une architecture bien différente des autres villes des pouilles. On voit la Piazza del Duomo, le dôme de Lecce, la basilique de Santa Croce, la Piazza Sant’Oronzo, le château, l’amphithéâtre romain (en travaux), etc. La ville n’est pas très grande.
      On fait quelques courses et on rentre à l’auberge les déposer. On repart ensuite à une pizzeria conseillée par l’auberge. Un grand choix de pizzas napolitaines aux alentours de 5€. On en commande une chacun avec une bouteille de bière. C’est bon mais pas extraordinaire. Les produits manquent de goût. On passe ensuite la soirée à l’auberge.
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    • Day 3

      Italy personified

      September 1 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

      We thought Lecce was going to be a quieter town and it started out that way but as soon as the sun went down. The people came out in droves. An evening stroll. Lecce is off the coast a bit but a constant ocean breeze through the narrow historic town was refreshing on a hot evening. The dinner was in a 60s era cement fortress, but the atmosphere inside and food was beliisimo! I had pork cheek pizza. 100 tables outside and 75 in. We were the first ones in and when we left it was full and a line to get in was long. Dinner was 60€ but $120 easily back home. The difference in value, the taste and service is remarkable. I dropped my knife on the ground, I had a new knife within seconds. The tuk tuk in ostuni was fun. Like many towns, a Roman amphitheatre was buried and uncovered in the early 20th century. It is used today for events. A wonderful evening. We listened to a string quartet in a hot church, enjoyed street entertainers, plenty of shops and there was a summer music concert, plus all the people watching. It's a vibe only in Italy and done to tourist perfection! Perfecto!Read more

    • Day 114

      il Salento - von Brindisi nach Lecce

      December 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

      Angekommen in Süditalien und damit bei Pizza und Gelato. In den Gassen und Piazzi's hören wir eine neue Sprachmelodie und die italienische Unbeschwertheit scheint in der Luft zu liegen. Eine Freude.

      Wir wollen uns Zeit lassen, den kulturellen Wechsel langsam angehen. An der allgegenwärtigen "tempo di natale" kommen wir allerdings nicht vorbei. Weihnachtsstimmung von traditionell (die stimmungsvollen Krippen-Ausstellungen) bis kitschig (der weihnächtliche Pastik-Ramsch aus China) und kommerziell (die Einkaufsgassen in Lecce sind abends dicht bevölkert).

      Die vom süditalienischen Barock geprägte Stadt Lecce ist so oder so bezaubernd. Vor allem das warme Licht am Tag, das noch wärmere Abendlicht auf den Fassaden und schließlich die stimmungsvoll beleuchteten Gassen in der Nacht sind beeindruckend. Die Strassenmusik und ein besonders talentierter Senegalese, der an seinem fahrbaren Stand aus Draht und alten Alu-Dosen filigrane Fahrräder formt, vermögen mich zu begeistern.
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    • Day 35

      Lecce (Puglia)

      September 16 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      Today we travelled to Lecce on the Salentine Peninsula of Puglia via Ostuni the “white city”(giving it a Greek Isles feel). Lecce is known as "The Florence of the South" due to its rich Baroque architecture and is an absolutely stunning city. It has a very unique look due to the use “Lecce stone"—a particular kind of limestone that is very soft and therefore suitable for sculpture. You will also notice the Roman influence including wide streets and an amphitheatre.Read more

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    Lecce

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