City Tours and Self-Made Meals

Today was our first full day here! Last night I woke up at 4:30 am and went out to the pitch black courtyard to cool off. It's still boiling here, I'm trying to get used to it, but it's like a 24-hour sauna. Thank goodness we went to the store yesterday, because we were entirely on our own food-wise today. Peach is very popular here, and boy do they do it right! I currently have fresh peaches, peach yogurt, peach jam, and amazing peach iced tea that I buy and drink by the liter.

After orientation we headed to the cell phone store, where a harried clerk signed us all up for Italian plans and we got swanky little Nokia knock-offs. I haven’t had a phone like this since middle school, and I’ve got to admit I kind of like it. When our new phones were set up a couple of us went down the street to a gelateria for our first cup. I got amarena (black cherry), my long-time favorite. My goal for this year is to get a new flavor every time but since I’ll be here for more than 300 days I’ll probably cycle back a couple of times!

 

We went back to the supermercato for a few more lunch ingredients and then set up at a large table with a sunflower tablecloth to gorge ourselves on cheese and bread. I had fresh salami, a hunk of baguette, a ripe golden apple, and a yummy cheese called provolette that tastes like cheddar and mozzarella had a baby. I don’t know how much a centigram of salami is, but I ate it all aside from a few slices I forced on everyone else. Planning on returning to my salami man tomorrow for more!

After a too-brief nap, everyone met again in the courtyard to start our tour of historic Lecce. On the way I had a lovely conversation with Donatella, one of our instructors. She gave me tips on how to buy cheese and the best way to get to Greece from here, and all in Italian! It’s amazing how much you can absorb in only a day or two.

Everyone out for an evening stroll

The campanile (bell-tower) of the duomo is one of the tallest in Italy, you can see the ocean from the top!

They sell burgers, mini-pizzas, and cokes. 

I saw this little courtyard and just had a lovely mental image of living there, driving that little car every day. 

When we got to the city center, which looks like something off of a postcard, our tour guide Maria Neve (neve means snow) gave us a tour of the city’s monuments- the old amphitheater, the duomo, and the Basilica di Santa Croce. They were all so gorgeous, I really loved the Baroque architecture of the churches, but my favorite thing is to walk through these cities and see modern shops and street lamps next to centuries old facades and statues. We were out with all of the Italians for the evening passeggiata, it’s funny to see how empty the streets are from 2-6 in the afternoon compared to the nightlife.

When we trundled back home for dinner, I had fresh mozzarella di Bufala with olive oil and sea salt, another hunk of bread, and some fresh little tomatoes. What a fantastic first day, tomorrow we have a language placement test before our beach reward!