A Day in Bari

One and all,

Off to Bari. Polley and I took the train two hours north to the town of Bari, which sits right on the sea, north of Brindisi, which some of you may have heard of, since ferries for Greece leave from there.

However, before talking of the trip, let us inform you that rain still continues here. Boy, does it. A thunderstorm rolled through early Tuesday morning. There was lots of lightning and resounding booms above. Also, let me remind you of our shower. It has a fiberglass skylight. When rain hits it the sound combined with the natural echo of an all tile shower creates a deafening roar. For more than an hour, the sky opened up and we had an audio replica of Niagara in our bedroom. It was amazing. So a “good night’s sleep” was not in the cards.

We got ready for the 10:13 train for Bari. We watched the weather carefully as it was still raining off and on and we had a 20-minute walk to the train station (and, at this point are travelling without a umbrella). We caught a break about 9:15 and dashed across town, still dry upon arrival and got the right train. I will say that compared to French trains, Italian trains are relatively inexpensive. Our two hour train rides in France last year wee about 75 euro (with the bad exchange rate even worse) and our trip to Bari was more than half that (not counting a much improved exchange rate!). Anyway, just about noon we were in Bari.

We were there to visit our neighbor Andy’s parents. The have been living in Bari for the last 8 years. They are Mennonite missionaries and actually, Andy’s day, Willard, is regional director for the missions to Italy, Albania, Montenegro and other surrounding areas in the region. We found them waiting for us by the fountain at the train station.

From there, they drove us around Bari a bit. We went into the old part of the city and stopped briefly at this wonderful old castle (castello) that is beautifully preserved with the evidence of the moat still surrounding it.



Willard and Eva are the names of Andy’s parents. Willard stopped an Italian fellow and got him to take this photo with the castle in the background.


From there, they whisked us off to a local trattoria where you eat family style and take what they are offering that day. It was local and while we got there early and the photo shows an empty restaurant, the place was full within 30 minutes of our arrival. And the menu was quite an offering!


It was a fixed price menu and you got it all whether you wanted it or not! After the antipasti, some bits of ham, mozzarella, wonderfully sautéd peppers and cherry tomatoes and a toast bread with a cherry tomato in the middle. There were a couple of choices for Primi. Polley and I each selected one and they were nice enough to divide them for us, so we got tastes of each. Mine was an excellent kind of risotto with rice, potato, peas, onion and mussels. Polley had a purée of dried fave beans with some cooked greens on top. For secondi, I had horse meat (very much a regional staple)! It was shredded and tied up into small rolls and cooked in a tomato sauce. Polley had calamari that was cut almost like French fries. Both very good. Horse meat is somewhat stringy and very chewy with a strong flavor. Horses will be glad to know that I won’t need to be having it everyday, but I enjoyed the dish. We finished up with a sweet cookie and some limoncello.


After lunch, having found a good parking spot, we strolled around the old city, along the bay. The weather turned lovely and it was truly a delight to be outside.



From there we returned to the Willard’s apartment as Eva had promised us coffee and dessert. So, we sat in their lovely sixth floor apartment and enjoyed homemade cannoli that are Sicilian in origin. They are cylindrical pastry rolls filled with ricotta, dried fruit and rum flavoring. Delicious.

We spent another hour talking about their experiences as missionaries and about Andy as a boy. It was terrific to be able to connect them to our neighbor.


All in all, it was a wonderful 5 hours with family of friends.

Around 5, they took us back to the train station for our slow train to Lecce. During lunch, Willard had talked about the Italians capacity to talk. We no sooner got on the train and four Italian 20-year olds, guys) sat down right next to us, despite there being plenty of room on the train car, and they talked, non stop(!) all the way to Lecce. There was barely time for a breath!

Back in town about 8. Again, we were fortunate to walk in between the showers and made it back to the apartment still dry. We had intended to go out for a glass of wine later, but found ourselves done in by the day of travel. We had our own wine and a light snack and called in a day -- a very good day, but it was time to turn out the light.

Ed and Polley

Liberazione!

Dear ever faithful,

This morning we celebrated with cream-filled coronettas and prosecco the end of my antibiotic; let the fun once again commence! Let’s also hope that I am through this siege at least until I enter Mexico again. In two words, Not Fun! Actually, I am making more of it than it was. I did appreciate the support of my wife, who also, needlessly abandoned the noble grape for 5 days and to those who experimented with a variety of non-alcoholic concoctions. My two favorite was Sergio (on the right) and our nominee for waitress of the year, Paolina!


Here we are enjoying our Bitte Rossos with arancia. I know it appears to be some Hawaiian brew, but seems to be a favorite of locals here in Lecce.

Rain has come and gone in the last couple of days. The sun did come out yesterday which was nice. It was a national holiday: the Festa della Liberazione – the celebration of the liberation of Italy in 1945. The town was packed (easily the busiest it has been since our arrival) and for brief periods the sun was shining.


It is a bit ironic that the town is the busiest, but many of the businesses shut their doors on this day. So, people seem to wander aimlessly looking for something to do. Mostly, that becomes finding another thing to eat. We sat and watched the hoards as we sipped coffee in the afternoon. We came back for another round of Bitte Rosso last evening and people still filled the streets.

As we went out in the early evening and walked past Santa Croce (most likely for the 100th time), I was suddenly struck by the delicate ornamentation on the columns. I thought is was worth recording.

The problem with that church is that there is so much to see, that some of the subtler elements get lost.

Later, as darkness fell, I caught this photo of the Sedia (the seat of the Town Hall until 1851) at night



from our vantage point at the Caffé Alvino that sits just opposite the Roman Theatre, on the very edge of where the real action in town is:


This is also the primary parking spot for motorcycles and scooters. There is a great deal of strutting, preening and primping as each proud peacock shows what is between his legs.

We returned home in the mid-evening for dinner. We had gone to the vegetable market and purchased the makings of a sort of Italian stir-fry. There were wonderful zucchini (with the blossoms still on them), huge red and yellow bell peppers, onion and fennel. We earlier had bought some really good olive oil, so that was all sautéd and was really delicious. We hve discovered something here called Cream of Basalmic Vinegar. It is a reduction of the normal basalmic vinegar and is like a syrup. Chefs use is to decorate or for a topping. We added it to the stir fry and it was great. In fact, we are now adding it to seemingly everything! The label even suggests adding it to sweets and ice cream. We haven’t gone there yet!

As we are adjusting to southern Italian hours, we found ourselves going back out for gelato. We have been trying different places, not yet finding anything in town to live up to our taste in Gallipoli. Last night was Caffé Alvino. There’s was very good. I had the Tiramasu (which I had the night before – trying a taste comparison) and Polley wanted Limoncello (after the famous liquor of Naples), but the girl could not seem to get the simple order straight and Polley ended up with a combination of some chocolate choice and Limoncello. Not the best combo!

As we strolled home, we did briefly partake of more Liberazione celebration – this rock band was playing the in the Palazzo di Celestini.


While this photo is dramatic, the music seemed to have no distinctive beat and people simply stood about trying to figure out how to dance to it! They may be there yet! If it weren’t for the smoke and lights, there would have been little reason to be there at all. And the music assure you that you weren’t there for long.

Well, not an exciting weekend. We are planning a trip to Bari (2 hours by train to the north) on Tuesday. Our next door neighbors parents are retired there and we are going to meet them and take them to lunch. We are quickly realizing that the first month has nearly slipped away and we need to pick up the pace although I must admit that we are both enjoying the slower lifestyle of Lecce.

More later.

Ed and Polley

Mie amici,

The weather and my health have made blogging less than appealing. The week has been rainy or just overcast and the temperature has dropped about 7-8 degrees, so even sitting out can become a bit of a chore – a chore someone must bear, but, nevertheless, not quite how I saw it in my idealized mind!

The saving grace is that as we are relatively close to the Mediterranean, storms and clouds seem to pass through very quickly. The weather, literally, seems to change every 5 minutes. This morning I went for my walk in perfectly comfortable weather and within 30 minutes of my return, there was thunder and, perhaps, the hardest rain of our time here. By noon, we could venture out for a coffee and sit outside, albeit, under an umbrella.

As I mentioned in my last blog posting, the bug that I got in Mexico has refused to die. So, I am back on the antibiotic, which means 5 days of no alcohol, which, of course, has the wine bars in a panic. Polley is being a real trooper and abstaining from wine as well. What this has meant is that as we refrain from alcohol, we find ourselves being offered other options that are apparently Italian favorites. Our little waitress, Paolina, at Il Portico suggested a bottled Pellogrino drink. They apparently come in a variety of flavors, ours was orange (arancia). And so disgustingly sweet! We smiled, of course, and made our way through it, but it was clear that we were going to have to find another option. Later that evening, we returned for a kind of evening stroll and a “nightcap” and I am pleased to announce that in Italian I was able to explain that I was taking medicine and could have no alcohol, but did they have another drink option that was less sweet , more dry (più secco). The two guys behind the bar put there heads together and came up with what they called Bitte Rosso con arancia (they must have a thing for orange). It was a red bitters with orange added. Some bitters, as we learned, can be no alcoholic. It was a great improvement. While there, we decided to forego the 4th night of a pasta dish I had made, and got Panini from the café. We took them home (portare via – to take away) and they were wonderful. Like France, it is amazing how many really satisfying pastry and sandwich options exist for no money. The night before, we had also taken a late stroll and treated ourselves to gelato. There is something so special about Italian ice cream. We got it and then just sat out in the main Piazza and enjoyed the peace of an early weeknight in Lecce.

Lastly, I did want to mention being so taken with how many young parents there are in this town. It seems that everyone is pushing a passagino (stroller)! As I look out on the teems of genitori (parents), I am reminded of the line from The Women by Clare Booth Luce: “Are you Catholic or just careless?” In Italy is would appear to be a combination of both! We keep asking people we meet, “What do people do in Lecce?” It now seems very clear!

Anyway, this prompted me to take some photos of the fancy store windows of kids clothing – and these are just the ones around the square. We have begun to cover downtown!

My favorite is this Burberry display.


The real capper is the little Burberry booties and the outfits with the Burberry cuffs and collars.


None of this you can touch for less than 100 euro!

Other displays are at places like Pre-Natal, the up-market, clothing equivalent of Toys R Us! Every 3rd shopping bag you see seems to be a Pre-Natal green plastic container.


The children’s mannequins are a treat as well. They are not so much children as alien pods!



Very strange, but man can they dress!

I also enjoyed this display of a Passagino Sistema (A Stroller System of various interchangeable pieces. Yours for only 499 euro!


Anyway, as you can tell from the ports of call in my stream of consciousness, life is drifting along. We are enjoying ourselves, but the lack of wine and sunshine make it a bit less active than we had planned. We are getting some good books under our belts. I highly recommend The Elegance of the Hedgehog, one of the best books I have read in a long time. Anyway, I hope to have more to report soon, but the weatherman is not painting a bright picture for the next week. We will see what transpires. Please tune in again.

Ed and Polley

A Slow Weekend

Faithful readers,

Since my blog on our trip to Gallipoli, things have quieted down a bit. We did manage to get the internet connection up and running and so are back in business. The dial-up system here is a complex arrangement of re-registration and recharging. Then magically our 50 euro recharge became a 7 euros charge for 20 more hours. Of course to do this, you have to pay 10 euro to re-register! I can’t figure it out, but it is done, until the next glitch!

The weekend was rather quiet. We did our usual strolling about with a little practical shopping for supplies mixed in. Weekends are so alive in Lecce, that you hardly want to go someplace else. There are seemingly endless streams of school tours coming through town. It is during these sieges that one is thankful for McDonalds. The other cafes are quite empty because all the teenagers flood Mickey D’s. I never thought I would be singing the praises of McDonalds!

Tourist trade has picked up a bit. I always find it interesting to hear the waves of different languages washing into town. At this point, it is mostly German and French. However, we have heard some English, both British and American. We have not really struck up a conversation with those visitors, but largely because of the lack of proximity. Saturday night we were at dinner and heard a piercing American accent cutting its way through the night air. It was a couple of college-age girls almost completely on the opposite side of the restaurant! Our ear has grown so accustomed to Italian that you almost have to readjust when you hear English; it is not the first thing to register.

As we sat at our favorite afternoon café on the square, we did see a wedding party pass by, stopping for a few photos on the Piazza. This was such a common sight in Mexico (especially Guadalajara), yet we had not seen much indication of weddings here. Naturally, I ran to the Piazza and became a part of the photo crew recording the event.


There was a little rearranging of the dress

And it was great fun to hear all the little girls who were in the vicinity, shouting encouragement to the bride and groom. Very fun.

We returned to 13 Shui Wine Bar for dinner on Saturday night. Mario had had a busy week and had not altered the menu from the week before. Nevertheless we returned for his delicious baked radicchio and then shared chicken and cous cous curry. Again, very good. The yogurt, in particular, had a wonderful herbed flavor, but we were unable to get Mario to tell us his secret. He simply said he had added, “Love.” We also had a nice chat with the owner, Sebastiano, who patiently keeps helping me with my Italian; he insisted that we finish off the night with a glass of grappa – just what we needed!

Sunday, again, was a quiet day. We did stroll up to the Piazza and discovered an antique car show. There were about 25 cars from as far back as 1933, up to the 1970s. While there was a VW bus and a convertible (1 year older than ours), and several MGs, the bulk of the cars were Italian, mostly Fiat and Alfo Romeo. Fun to look at some cars that we seldom see.





Also brought back memories of my brother owning a Fiat that spent more time parked in front of the house than on the road. Polley and I always think fondly of Fiat as it was the first rental car we had in Greece – tinny little Fiat Panda.

Late Sunday, I began to feel ill again. This is the second time the past 3 weeks and we are now convinced that the parasite I picked up in Mexico had not been defeated. I dreaded starting the 5-day sequence with the anti-biotic (actually, I think I dreaded more the process of tracking it down in a foreign country). Also, while taking it, you can have no alcohol – for 5 days! However, armed with a few Italian phrases and the vial from my last round, we ventured for to the Famacia. Getting it, turned out to be a breeze. This antibiotic was very familiar to them, you did not need a prescription and it was 2.55 euro (about $3.20). I paid $11 in Portland for 5 fewer tablets. Based on Mexico and Italy, I am becoming a fan of socialize medicine! I decided to hold off on beginning the sequence until Tuesday morning. I needed one last drink.

Ironically, all three of our favorite wine bars are closed Monday nights, so we returned to the Irish Pub, The Joyce. Very nice people in there, with just enough English to fill in the gaps in my Italian. The barkeep and I struck up a conversation based on the Bruce Springsteen CD he had going. As I said to Polley, here we are in Italy, listening to a CD of American folks tunes (Pete Seeger), most likely on a Japanese stereo, in an (faux) Irish pub, drinking real Irish beer! In this little Irish pub we have experienced globalization!

So as I anticipate 5 days without Italian wine (or Guinness) and the weather forecast is not very promising, I am unsure what the week ahead will bring. As I write this, rain is pouring down, perhaps harder than anytime since we arrived. We have other travel plans, but those may have to wait a bit. Stay tuned.

Ed and Polley

A Trip to Gallipoli

Tested, but Still Faithful Readers (I hope),

We got a little delayed in our ability to blog as our rather crude dial-up portable modem had expired and needed to be recharged. That process was less than simple. Perhaps another blog will be devoted to that convoluted process. But not now! Our trip to Gallipoli is no doubt what you have all been waiting for with baited breath!

Gallilpoli is a former Greek town (it means “beautiful city” in Greek and was in fact an island that is now connected by a causeway, the Ponte Cittá Vecchia (the old city bridge. It was also a very wealthy city in the 16th and 17th centuries as it supplied some of the finest olive oil to Naples, Paris and London where it burned in the street lamps of nearly every major European city. But those days have passed and now it is largely a charming beach town.

Polley and I watched the internet and last Thursday appeared to promise to be a lovely day. So about 9 am we hiked across town to the Stazione (about a 20 -minute walk).


We, as you all might expect, were EARLY! So we found a little café and had a quick cup of coffee, sitting the bright sunshine.


At 9:43 we left the station for about an hour trip, changing trains in a little town called Zolleno. It was a very efficient change as the train personnel ushered us very quickly from our train to another that was waiting for the final leg to Gallipoli, arriving about 10:45 am.

We walked out of the station and through the new part of the town, to the foot of the causeway, where we paused for some refreshment at the Caffe La Fontana Grec and, in fact, there was a Greek Fountain there. It actually did not date back to the Greeks, but was completed in the 17th century and eventually, with the building of the causeway moved to its present location. The protected side is quite well preserved,


but the south side, facing the sea, appears to have been around since the Greeks!


Another surprise, was that when we order our two glasses of wine, they came with enough appetizers to nearly spoil one’s lunch.


This seems to be standard Gallipoli hospitality, although Caffe La Fontana Grec seemed to be a step above the rest.

While there I got this picture of the fishermen straightening out their nets after a morning of fishing.


Gallipoli has a quite notable fish market, but it goes from 6 am to 9 am, so we were not there to witness it. However, one of the veteran fishermen was not shy about this particular photo-op.

Polley and I then crossed the causeway and worked our way up the main street, past the castle, much of which was under repair. The main street, Via Antonetta de Pace, contains most of the shops and most are aimed, as you might expect at the tourists – not very different from nearly every other beach town the world over.


We passed the Basilica di Sant’Agata, the primary church on the island. However, there are a total of 14 churches, mostly quite small, on this tiny island.


After winding through the main street, we turned for the road that ran around the whole of perimeter of the island. It is beautiful and we had glorious vistas of the Ionian sea. As we wandered about, we saw fisherman stringing together filament to make new nets.

We also came across a series of these interesting benches.



There appeared to be steps on the back that Polley deduced were kneelers, as we could see the flattened back of the benches as well. At times, these benches were across the road from a small church, but at other times, the were just placed at a scene point, but not facing the sea, but rather the town itself.

Strolling about and enjoying the sunshine (it really was a perfect day, with very little breeze) was most of our activity until lunch time. We found a restaurant that we have now discovered sits at the point that nearly all photographs of Gallipoli are taken, looking back at Seno della Puritá and La Puritá beach.


The restaurant was Scoglio delle Sirene and it sat out on the point as close to sea as one could get.


The waitresses had to cross the road to get the food and only God knows the number of trips they made each day. Again, we were there on a beautiful day and privy to a world-class view. Our goal had been to come and try the Ricci di Mare – Sea Urchins. They are a specialty of this region and of this time of the year. So, we ordered a plate of them.


You sort of scrap the row out of the urchin and can put it on bread (which is what we did) or as many of the locals do, is to eat the row with a small spoon and then dip your bread in the remaining juices.


It was not bad, but did have a very fishy taste, which may not appeal to everyone. I am not sure they would be a must for me, but we did try them and emptied the plate

Along with the Ricci di Mare, we had a seafood salad


that had octopus, calamari, shrimp, and several different kinds of fish, prepared in various ways.

To wash it down, of course, we needed a ½ litre of Prosecco. Probably not the best meal we have had since arriving, but it was a memorable experience and a great spot.

We wandered about a bit more, but decided that we had really seen the town. So, on our way back to the station, we stopped again at the Caffe La Fontana for some gelato.


Polley had spied the blackest chocolate gelato I have ever seen. It could nearly pass for a cup full of tar! I had the crema de misto and both were wonderful.

We caught the 3:45 train back to Lecce, arriving about an hour later. This little fellow bid us adieu.


While we did go out for a glass of wine later, we were pretty beat. The sun, the light breeze, a good deal of walking, had done us in. Travel is not all fun and games. We are working!

Ed and Polley

Facile Giorni - Easy Days

La famiglia, e mie amici,

Just a couple of nice days. While it would be nice to send you daily adventures from Lecce, there are days when we just kind of go with the flow. Tuesday and Wednesday (so far) have been just those kinds of days.

Rain greeted us again yesterday morning, however, I did get my walk in, spending about an hour in just a light rain. After e-mails, some reading, and a few domestic chores, we ventured out, first to solve the problem of having a variety of home appliances (elettrodomestici) that had plugs (le spine) that did not fit the sockets (le prese) on the wall. During the walk, I had stopped into an appliance “outlet” – truly the word on the window – and all in Italian explained to the fellow the problem. While my Italian did not appear to warm the cockles of his cuore (heart), we did communicate and for one euro I had the key to all our home conveniences. However, upon arriving home, we discovered that Italy must have had, at least, a third electrical option – it did not work. So, Polley and I first headed back to the “outlet” to solve the problem with our “outlet.” With a steam iron neatly tucked under Polley’s ample bosom, more like a small child than an electronic clothes flattener, we returned our adattatore (adaptor) – these Italian electrical terms now being burned into my brain forever – and the sober salesclerk saw the problem in no time and made a quick exchange. Done!

Next to the Supermercato, after cruising the flea market for a black market can opener and other kitchen utensils. I have doubtless remarked before that our landlord, in stocking his kitchen, must have had no sense of what is involved in cooking. All we have is a corkscrew! (Actually not quite true – I discovered only this morning a lemon juicer!) There is no can opener, to spatula, no bowls, no bread knife, or any other serious knife of any sorts. We have a dozen steak knives in a region where steak is hardly seen. Anyway, shopping consisted of a can opener, light bulbs, and a battery. Pretty exciting, but necessary for daily living. After returning our booty to the apartment, we wander to the Piazza for a glass of wine with our favorite little waitress, Paolina (we discovered her full name this time). To our surprise, she had a gift waiting for us. It turns out her boyfriend is a wine distributor, and so she presented us with a bottle of wine from him.


Truly sweet and another confirmation of the importance of human connections. We promised to take she and her boyfriend to dinner soon. That, I am sure, will be another intriguing blog.

The remainder of the day was easy: siesta and a little reading. I finished “White Tiger,” a satirical look at modern India and have taken on “The Reader,” the book that was turned into a film.

Around 8:30 p.m. Polley and I went down to Santa Cruz vineteria. There we met up with 3 delightful girls from America. Two were roommates from California, by way of Texas and Wisconsin; the other was from Atlanta. It was amazing that we had connections with two of them immediately. We exchanged stories about both places and then discovered that the one girl, from Wisconsin, is here for a month and is staying with the woman who runs the cooking school in town (At Table). She took our e-mail address and was confident that she could get us into a class or two at a much reduced rate. More on that later, we hope!

Back home about 10, to try my first Puligese dish – Orchiette with Ricotta Forte. This was a very simple dish to make and was quite tasty. I really loved the orchiette (little ears) pasta as they really held the sauce. The Ricotta Forte was not overpowering and what was most amazing, was how tomatoey the sauce was. Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce are a whole different thing here. Delizioso! I feel that more serious cooking is on the way, especially with a spatula and a colander!

Wednesday morning the sun was shining. Polley and I walked over the train station to get tickets for our trip to the coast, the western side off the Gulf of Taranto. We are taking the train on Thursday to the town of Gallipoli for a little sun and seafood. It is supposed to be charming. More on that on Friday. We wandered through the alleyways as we came back to the square for a glass of wine just watching life on the Piazza.


Home for a lunch of bresaola, arugula and Parmesan. Here is a little photo of the concoction before wrapping it up and eating it


Also, some regular readers have been curious about the Burratta cheese we searched for. I had not provided more about it because we hadn’t tried it. Today was the day! It comes packed in liquid. You open it and are confronted with a white semi-firm mass.


However, when you cut into it, it is a soft consistency that in some ways defies description. It is unlike anything we have had before.


It is mild, but flavorful and the texture is not really like any cheese or any butter. It is really more of the consistency of soft ice cream. The exterior has a membrane that you cut off. It seems to serve only to hold the mass together. Then you simply spread it smoothly on bread. While is has flavor, it never seems to overpower the taste of the bread. Very unique.

Tonight, we are returning to Vineria Santa Cruz for some small plates and live music. The weather has turned pleasant and Friday I will report on our day trip to il mare (the sea.

Lastly, our two gargoyles of the day, from the very center of the facade of Santa Croce, the two griffins


Adieu until our return from the coast

Ed and Polley