Baroque Blast

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Geo: 40.3533, 18.174

Today, Lecce was the Italian equivalent of Sevilla in Spain - both in the south of their respective countries, both beautiful places, both places hot as HELL during the summer, and both places absolutely dead in the afternoon, with any creatures valuing their lives choosing to hide out somewhere with A/C. The only difference was that today's high of 39 C in Lecce was a bit lower than I've seen the mercury climb in Sevilla, which once hit 42 C when I was there, during August some years ago.

I'm a bit surprised that Lecce is this hot, given that it isn't all that far from the ocean, some 15 km to the nearest beaches in San Cataldo, which I though would've moderated the temperature somewhat - wrong! The traditional building construction found in places like this doesn't help, either - the stone work absorbs the sun all day long, not only reflecting the sun's rays back at you, slowly roasting you throughout the day, but also releasing its heat well into the evening. It's the Southern European equivalent of rubbing salt in the wound, where they deep fry you and then stick you under the heat lamp, waiting to be served like an order of French fries at McDonald's!

Places like this spoil a traveler, because it's so beautifully-Baroque - seemingly around every corner is a lovely church, filling the morning with countless "wow" moments. I've had my fill of Baroque traveling through Western Europe over the years, but today was a nice re-introduction to this classic style. Unfortunately, the Baroque love affair didn't last long, as it was interrupted by my old friend, JAC.

Anybody who has done a decent amount of travel through Europe knows JAC very well - you see, JAC stands for Just Another Church, a phrase commonly uttered by people traveling throughout Europe. Quite often, they are considered the highlight of a visit to any village, city, or country, since so much of daily European life centred on religious activities. Of course, there is a slightly longer form of JAC commonly used, but I'll stick with the less disrespectful JAC, rather than JAFC, leaving you to figure out what the 'F' represents ...

It's a shame really, that such a beautiful place almost becomes boring at a certain point - beautiful church after beautiful church, you become desensitized to these splendid works of art and dedication. It's perhaps why more off-the-beaten-path locations like Albania and Macedonia now hold more appeal for me - you're not as spoiled with beauty in those places, so a beautiful sight stands out more in your memory, often taking your breath away, as it's a bit like coming across a delicate blossoming rose in a field of weeds.

Most of my sightseeing was finished by late morning, but even then the heat was
becoming oppressive - around noon it became unbearable, so I retreated to the safety of my air-conditioned Bat Cave back at the B&B for a quick little siesta and some reading before lunch. Strolling during the afternoon would not have been enjoyable anyway, as there was nary a soul in the streets of Lecce - I do understand why, but it still seems a bit strange at how empty Lecce is during the afternoon ... Lecce may be far more beautiful than any city or town I was in while traveling through Albania and Macedonia, but something I miss about the Balkans is how lively it remains, even during the scorching afternoons.

Though the restaurant was only a five-minute walk away, it felt like an eternity in this heat - luckily for me, the inside was wonderfully cool, and the meal equally wonderful, an excellent re-introduction to the cuisine of Italy. After a fine meal, I attempted one last time to do some more strolling and sightseeing, but by 3 PM the temperature climbed even higher. Most of my time was spent indoors at bookstores, where the air conditioning was even more beautiful than Lecce's Baroque churches - this afternoon, I probably spent more time in bookstores than I have in the past year!

It was absolutely lovely standing in that bookstore, directly in front of the air conditioning unit - pure Heaven! I could've stood there all day, and in fact I would've, had they not kicked me out. Perhaps next time, I will keep my pants on, and perhaps the bookstore staff would be so kind as to allow me to enjoy the wonderful air conditioning for just a few minutes longer ...

An excellent cold cappuccino wasn't enough to lower my body temperature back to the safe zone, so once again, I found myself crawling back to the comfort of my air-conditioned room, for siesta number two of the day, and also some more reading. I did manage to escape back outside once more late afternoon to pick up some water and a bottle of wine, but yet again ended up back at the B&B, this time atop the building's enormous rooftop patio, which had finally started cooling down, now that the sun was beginning to descend.

The heat wasn't entirely a bad thing today, as I had polished off some 250 pages of a 350 page novel I picked up at the B&B's book exchange. Never having been a big reader, perhaps I should expose myself to near-40 C temperatures more often, as it forces me to change my illiterate ways!

An interesting thing happened as I sat atop the roof, reading and drinking a white wine from Puglia, the region where Lecce is located - the owner of the building, and also of the three separate B&Bs inside, asked if I minded being part of a photo shoot he was running today. Sure, why not? What started out as passive shots of me in the background ended up being more participatory, with me appearing to drink wine and chat with his female American friend, whom he also asked to partake in the photo shoot. Perhaps I've found a new career for myself, traveling around the World, sampling delicious food, and drinking fine wine while being photographed at B&Bs located all over the globe? A man can only fantasize of such a dream job!

The owner has an interesting story, with him and his brother trying to sell the building and move to Asia, perhaps Indonesia or the Philippines, places he termed as being appealing and exciting because they are "more wild" than Western European nations. So hopefully I can help these two brothers realize their collective dream, though I am a bit concerned - when first approached, I was lying on a recliner, shirt completely unbuttoned, with a beer gut finely honed through years of excessive food, gelato, and wine consumption, glistening in the sun like a greased pig, crispy from the sun. I'm not sure that this image will convince anybody to buy his building, but perhaps it will be counteracted by the presence of his pretty friend, at least in some of the pictures.

After chatting a while with the brother, the sun had completely set, finally making it safe to venture back into the streets of Lecce without danger of spontaneous combustion - dinner time! The B&B gave me two restaurant recommendations, with the first being excellent, Alle due Corti, so I was quite looking forward to dining at Le Zie, especially since it was recommended above Alle due Corti. Muahahahaha, tonight would be a feast!

But of course, a good restaurant is also a popular one, meaning that Le Zie was completely full - dejected, I headed back to the more touristy part of Lecce, but not terribly dejected, having earlier passed a restaurant with a yummy-sounding menu that made a more than adequate backup plan.

Again, like Sevilla, Lecce may have been completely-deserted during the afternoon siesta hours, but magically it sprang to life in the evening, with people strolling, shopping, and eating gelato, in addition to those who had packed the outdoor patios. Though early by Southern Italian standards, I was completely beat by 11:30, and headed back to the B&B for another glass of wine, and a bit more reading. Perhaps it was because all my body's energy was directed toward digesting a fine Italian meal and my second cup of gelato for the day, but I'll blame the hot Southern Italian sun for kicking my ass so thoroughly today. For a brief moment, I knew how Italy felt after Spain whooped them 4-0 in the finals of Euro 2012 - oh, snap!!!!!

Gelato Selections of the Day: Besides the delicious spicy chocolate and almond of the morning, the evening saw a return to Gelateria Natale for a little Bacio and pistachio. All good, but the spicy chocolate was the best of the lot.

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Photos

Museo Teatro Romano ...
... the museum of the Roman Theatre - I didn't bother going inside, but the theater itself is neat, in that they hold concerts here. Too bad there was no performance schedule for this evening, as I'm sure it's quite the spectacular venue.

Yawn ...
... just another beautiful Baroque church, which are a dime-a-dozen in Lecce.

Banco di Napoli ...
... given Napoli's deserved reputation as being a dangerous, dirty, crime-ridden, and rough city run the Mafia, I theorized that you don't actually make a deposit at the Bank of Naples - if you walk in with money, somebody beats the crap out of you, before proceeding to take all of your money, and then threatening the lives of all your family members if you talk about it. And when you go to withdrawal money - well, you don't ask for any of your money back, if you know what's good for you and your kneecaps ...

Papier Mache ...
... locals of Lecce have elevated it to an art form.

Sunset From the B&B's Rooftop Patio ...
... best enjoyed with a bottle of wine, a very drinkable Pugliese white, costing the ridiculously-reasonable sum of 4 Euros.

First Coffee, First Breakfast in Italy ...
... nice little cappuccino, with a great cake, that had a crunchy exterior and was filled with cream and cherries. Too bad the cherries were more of the maraschino variety - where's Lorenc and his delicious homemade cherries, when you need him?

1st Gelato of This Trip at Gelateria Natale ...
... considered the best gelateria in all of Lecce - the morning's choices were a delicious spicy chocolate and almond. So delicious, you can't even begin to imagine ...

Ciceri e Tria ...
... at Alle due Corti. The cakey bread was quite blah, but was still better than most Balkan bread! This pasta dish smelled AMAZING, almost with an aroma of a delicious plate of fresh seafood.
The noodles were a bit like a fat fettuccine, with the contrast of half the pasta being fried and the other half boiled, setting off the dish. A very complex but simple sauce of chickpeas, onions, and garlic - thick and hearty, but not heavy - perhaps not the best dish for 40 C weather, but they had A/C in the restaurant! The sauce had the sweetness that you'd find in Asian broths that have been boiled for hours.

Disappointing Meatballs ...
... after following a spectacular opening act, the headliner was doomed to fail. Over-priced at $1.50 CAD each, they were too doughy. The sauce was great, almost a tomato puree, slightly tart and savoury - soaking it up was a perfect way to get rid of the crappy bread.

Dinner at Il Vico del Gusto ...
... mixed cheese platter, served with a fig jam, a savoury yet sweet and sticky onion jam, and honey. Some crappy bread would have been nice with this, as it was quite rich. I'm not sure what any of the cheeses were, but one tasted a bit like a firmer fontina, rich, luscious, and perhaps a bit saltier than the average fontina. Another one was very soft, almost creamy - a bit like a cross between fontina and camembert, though without the camembert's rind. There was another soft cheese with embedded herbs, perhaps basil. The dips were great, though they slightly masked the flavour of the cheeses.

Tagliolini Neri ...
... a wonderfully al dente pasta like a narrow fettucine, made
black with what I suspect may have been squid ink. Studded with seafood - clams, crayfish, and bottarga, salty tuna roe. The clams were good, but nothing like the phenomenal seafood to be had in Albania. The shrimps looked more like crayfish, and didn't have much body to it, with a texture like a mushy lobster - it was hardly worth the effort to eat these, for the tough shells, and the miniscule amounts of meat to be found in the claws. The dish was good, but a tad salty, probably because of the bottarga.