Sunday October 24 was a cloudy and cooler day. Still a high of 20C and a bit muggy in the morning.
Late Sunday morning we had a very brief five minute power failure in the block. When the power went back on, our internet connection was severed. Alonso managed to somehow get our laptop working, but our two phones were not. We decided to go out for a walk, get a coffee, some bread and visit the Tourist Office briefly.
We had read about an historic coffee roaster and coffee bar Avio not far from Piazza S'Oronzo. Gaetano Quarta named his coffee blend Avio (aviator blue) for the colour of the uniforms of the officers who came to his café from the airbase in Galatina to taste his coffee. The Quarta family have been roasting coffee in Salento since the 1950s. A large number of the cafes in Lecce serve Quarta coffee.
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| Home base- Avio Bar-- we had our espressos at the bar and bought some beans |
We then returned to the apartment, but the WIFI still wasn't working on our devices. The hosts came over but couldn't figure out the problem as their devices all worked. We went out for the afternoon and hoped that perhaps the service would return.
We decided it was time to walk through the beautiful public gardens located just a few minutes from our apartment. The public gardens were constructed in the 19th century.
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| Very large city gardens |
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| Water fountain |
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| Lots of green and seating |
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| Giuseppe Palmieri (1721-1793), Important agriculturalist (street named after him in Lecce) |
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| Tancredi di Lecce (1138-1194) - a Count of Lecce |
We headed to Baldo gelato, which folks had said had some of the best gelato in Lecce. Not quite warm enough but we were game to sample.
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| Looking inside |
Unfortunately, they did not have their full flavour selection for the non-dairy gelato-- we got a vegan treat with non-dairy gelato in a chocolate covering.
We wandered a bit more finding some narrow streets, including Via Della Sinagoga.
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Via Della Sinagoga
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| A very lovely ancient street |
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| Kabala B&B |
We passed Palazzo Gorgoni (XVI century), another stunning residence.
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| Looking in at the Palazzo |
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| More Baroque |
Chiesa Di Santa Maria Della Providenza O Delle Alcantarine (XVIII-XIX) was built at the beginning of the 18th century.
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| Another beautiful Lecce church |
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| Inside with the sanitizer bottle in the foreground (all stores have hand sanitizer at the front and expect people to use them) |
We passed an amazing facade and building that was a lawyers' office.
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| Sign says Avocati Bartone |
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| More baroque and rococo |
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| Plants taking over |
We got to the famous Porta Napoli, one of the three remaining city gates. Originally constructed in 1548 in honour of King Charles V, the portal features a baroque design and is made from white Lecce stone.
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| Il Ripostiglio di Atena-- ceramicist - workshop at the top of the store |
We continued down the street and were drawn into a beautiful store full of hand-woven clothes and scarves, along with some jewellery. IJO' design focuses on the Salento heritage of weaving with contemporary design. There is a strong focus on sustainability and the clothes were beautiful, but pricey.
The brand was started in 2001 by Aannalisa Surace, the designer and creator of IJO design, who has degrees in architecture and Design Management.
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| Looking into the store |
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| Beautiful sweaters and skirt |
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| The dress on the right incorporates a traditional weaving decorative technique called "Fiocco" |
I bought a beautiful black scarf (which I forgot to photograph) that incorporates the white decorative technique found on the dress.
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| There were three small rooms with clothes, scarves and jewellery |
Alonso bought a small ring/pendant for himself and a lovely square silver ring with a small pearl in one corner for me (GRAZIE).
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| Alonso in the back room |
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| The loom in one of the rooms |
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| Getting our purchases ready (I noticed that the salesperson had a crochet project going) |
We asked the salesperson to recommend a place for an aperitivo. She didn't hesitate and recommended 'OO' near the Duomo.
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| Passing more baroque on our way |
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| Very elaborate |
The Piazza Duomo was beautifully lit in the early evening.
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| Piazza Duomo |
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| With the Bell Tower under wraps |
We headed over to 'OO"- Doppiozero for an aperitivo.
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| Outside 'OO' |
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| Very lovely inside with a number of rooms |
We sat outside and had a drink and a delicious appetizer
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| Frisa (typical dry bread) with cherry tomatoes and stracciatella cheese |
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| Easy on the cheese for me- though the bit I had (with lactaid pills) was delicious. As usual, great olive oil, the best tomatoes, and the dried bread which we like (we will try and bring a package home) |
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| Stained glass window in a Church just across from the restaurant |
We walked back to the apartment at around 8:00 p.m. A lot of people were out in Piazza Sant' Oronzo for their Sunday passeggiata (evening stroll).
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| Music and folks enjoying their Sunday evening stroll |
When we got back from the apartment at around 8:00 p.m. the internet still wasn't working on any of our devices. We contacted our hosts and the husband came over. He couldn't figure it out and kept saying that his phone was working fine. We pointed out that ours had been working fine too, until the five minute power failure. We suggested that he contact his provider and have them check the modem. He left saying he would do so in the morning. Luckily, at about 10:30 p.m. we got a message from our host saying that she had finally contacted the provider who had reset the modem and she asked that we check our devices. They all worked!! Phew.
Alonso made a light dinner. Even with the internet challenges, we had a lovely Sunday afternoon and evening.
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