It has been a few days since I last reported. Sorry. It is attributed to the weather and to our just savoring the days left in Italy. It will be two weeks more this Sunday and days seem to fly by faster and faster.
The weather has definitely turned. Days are now regularly clear and warm. Now Italians, especially those originally from the north, are beginning to complain: molto caldo – too hot! We are not complaining a bit.
Late last week, following our journey to the sea, we had the opportunity of meeting Celia Daileader. Celia and her husband, Gary, were the owners of the placed we originally rented. They later ask us to move to another place (our current abode) because they had the opportunity of securing someone for the next two years, minus June and July when they come to Lecce for this summer. They are both professors at Florida State. Because of health reasons, Celia decided to opt for arriving a month earlier. So, we were able to meet.
She met us at our favorite haunt, Shui Wine Bar and we seemed to hit it right off, just as if we had been meeting in Italy for years.
She and Gary have in fact owned a place here for the last 5 years or so and really love Lecce. Celia is quite fluent at this point, so, with her as our guide, we went from wine to dinner at a place called Guido and Figli, a restaurant nearby. It features an appetizer (antipasti) buffet that offers 15 or 20 different options. It is basic an all-you-care-to-eat option, Italian style – and all for 7 euro! Delicious.
We walked Celia back to her place and had a drink at her temporary digs. A truly lovely evening and now another acquaintance in Lecce.
The weekend was just taken up with enjoying the weather and the crowds that always seem to gravitate to Lecce as the temperature climbs. Elections for the European Union are coming up in June, so we also sat out on the warm nights and listened to the politicos
– a part from the Italian, the sounds were very familiar – however, with a little more passione!
We were told that the town becomes quieter on the weekend because Italians all head for the cooler weather at the sea. That may be true, but the loads of people climbing off the tour coaches at the edge of the old city and hiking through the alleys (vicoli) of Lecce during the weekend is crazy. It reminded us of making our way through the streets of the Oldt Stadt (sp?) in Salzburg!
Tuesday, brought a much anticipated, but somewhat apprehensive event. I am not referring to the laundry, which was also done on Tuesday, but which we always thoroughly enjoy.
This past Tuesday we had invited Paolina (our favorite waitress from the Czech Republic) and her boyfriend (il ragazzo) to dinner. We had never met him, but we figured that anyone smart enough to hang on to a delight like Paolina, had to be someone we would enjoy.
We told them to choose the restaurant. They chose a place called Il Giardino. It is a very fancy place. And, in fact, when I had passed it on my morning walks, I thought it looked a bit sterile and formal. While I did not object, I did think it a bit strange that they selected such a high-end place, especially considering that we see Paolina in a café-snack bar everyday and that Paoline is relatively young. It looked very much like a place for the old, established residents of Lecce. However, we had offered and were determined for them to be our guests.
At 9 p.m., after fortifying ourselves at Shui Wine Bar, and with the dictionary in Polley’s purse, as both of our dinner guests had limited English, we met them at the door of Il Giardino.
Well, first of all, while the front of Il Giardino looks formal, in the back that have a beautiful outdoor garden. The reservation had been made and the table was set when we arrived. Paolina’s boyfriend, Massameliano (he immediately put us at ease – call me “Max”!) He was, as you might imagine, delightful, charming and all that Italian stuff. He is a wine salesman/distributor for a specific vintner. So, we were in good company. He also lead us through ordering dinner – and order we did! We had 5 antipasti: a carpaccio of octopus, one of salmon and one of tuna. Along with those was a delicious creamed cauliflower dish and a kind of potato gratin. We started with a Pinot-Chardonnay and before the antipasti were gone, another bottle of a local white wine.
For our main course, Paolina had a a fish in a vegetable broth while Max had a large spaghetti dish with a variety of seafood. Polley and I ordered a whole fish cooked completely covered in some kind of rock salt. They then filet it and serve. It was delicious, as the salt keeps all the moisture in the fish. And, of course, more wine. Another bottle of a local while and then a bottle of a delicious, yet quite dry, Rosé. Everything was wonderful.
However, the delight of the evening was the conversation. Not only was there no problem finding things to discuss, but also there was the challenge of finding the words. As words flew through the air, the dictionary was in continuous motion around the table, everyone reaching for the right word or phrase. Actually, between Paolina and Max, they found most of the English they needed. Max confess that he has English, but it is limited to the business of wine and little else. My Italian had grown in the 6 weeks we were here and it always seems I can find a way to say what I mean, although not always the smoothest and most direct way. But it does communicate. It was a truly unforgettable night.
Dinner lasted 3 ½ hours. Then came the awkward moment. At some point I excused myself from the table and sought out the waiter. I explained to him that the check was to come to me. I will never forget the expression on his face as he told me, “This is a very difficult problem, sir. In Lecce when someone invites you to dinner, you insult them if you pay. Also, sir, we have a relationship with Max and do not want to damage that (Max sells them wine).” I quickly saw that I was going to make no headway with the despairing waiter. So, I returned to the table and explained to Max “that we had a problem!” He insisted, but finally we reached a compromise: we would do a second dinner – his treat! So, a week from Saturday, we are going to visit the vineyard that he represents and then go from there to a place of his choosing. Once the waiter learned this, I could see he was much relieved. Obviously, something in our original invitation to Paolina has been lost in translation.
At some point as the evening wound down, we realized that poor Max had the work the next morning. As we finished our last bits of espresso, we got a couple of photos taken
and sadly bid one another adieu after the requisite kisses (bacii) to each cheek. Another wonderful memory that reconfirmed for us what we have come to know as a real truth for us: traveling is about “PEOPLE!”
In our next report, however, it will be about places, as the next day we needed to get up early as we had a car reserved for our travels north. A presto.
Ed and Polley
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