28 Sep 2018 – Lecca To Gagliano del Capo
Tue: last morning walk around Lecca while PP&KK at cooking class. Plazzo delCelestini and La villa comunale
Obelisco outside the wall, PortoNapoli, gate by the University.
PortoRudiae by SanGiovanni Battisla restorations
Artsy street –ViaGiuseppe-Libertini where I managed to find an anniversary gift for P&I’s anniversary.
Lunch with Ian@St Patrick across from our Personé B&B which do provide an decent breakfast spread.
1500hrs headed South to Gagliano del Capo. Except for the stretches in and out of the build-up areas, app 70km 1+hr drive was OK in spite of the windy conditions. Found our accommodations Dimora Sant’Elia for the next 5nights and thank goodness a foc carpark less than 1min walk away.
Bought grocery and fish at the fishmonger, both places less than 5mins walk away. Enjoyed my fried mackerel, but the others thought it to be on the fishy side, not sure what the other 2fish were, but I thought them to be on the muddy-side!
Wed: early coffee@QuartaCaffé, around the corner, so far the best coffee&fresh Cornetti I have had in Italy. This will be my regular coffee-joint for the rest of the stay here.
P&I drove the car to Avis BrindisiAirport as they were not comfortable with the bump in the tire. K&me attempted to walk to the coast but got lost, so decided to take an easy day for the laundry. All’s well that ends well, another car and we will be on the road again. Good dinner@Sudest.
Yummy 3 course meal with an excellent wine to go with it. The octopus&potatoes from the starters were the really good, and it is just a 2mins walk from our accommodations.
Thu: coffee at our usual joint with a perfect clear blue sky for driving along the coast. S Maria di Leuca, the Basilica and the lighthouse and the meeting between 2blue seas, the Adriatic and the Ionian.
Towards Marina diNovaglie on the only bridge along this drive. A walk down and up 150×2 steps. The choppy sea was churning into the cove and to the rugged cliffs, not a place to swim in spite of the clear beautiful blue water. To our horror, we saw this pregnant mother with her toddler and the father who thought it OK to climb around…
Grosse Verde
Lunch@Ristorante Il Villino, Santa Cesarea Terme – beautiful ambiance in this family-run restaurant.
Tasteful starters and a wine complimenting every bit.
Seafood linguine and for dessert, a piece home-made sinful moist rum-soaked chocolate cake to share with PP.
Built between 1894 and 1900 by the will of engineer Giovanni Pasca, Villa Sticchi is one of the most important expressions of the Moorish style.
Otranto – imposing castle, thick perimeter walls and robust towers built after the town was liberated from the Turks in the late 15th century dominate much of the town, giving way to a small port of turquoise water.
The delightful Romanesque cathedral, dating back to 1088 and boasting extensive 12th century floor mosaics.
Fri: Corigliano d’Otranto farmers’ market with Ian looking rather tired and I am feeling the same. Could not resist getting (in spite of the long lines) some chicken wings and ribs to taste and they were delicious.
Castle in Copertino, closed! Drove thru’ Nardo, not too much to see or maybe we were not sure what to see? Easy afternoon back in the house to relax before dinner in a castle!
Quite an experience finding Castello di Ugento – having difficulties to park due to some festival in town.
Unique to be in a castle with a newly renovated a glass floor which PP refused to walk on!
Credit card problems on their side and PP pix tells it all where the patience of these 2grumpy old men are concerned 🙂
Had to get PP to stop by the lay-over to take a shot of the castle the next day! Not a good shot, but the best I can do when miles away with a camera like mine! Looked like someone from the car had fun with their iphone too 🙂 🙂
A neurotic is a man who builds a castle in the air. A psychotic is the man who lives in it. A psychiatrist is the man who collects the rent – Jerome Lawrence