Lecce and Every Day

While posting pictures of some of the unbelievable trips we've been on in the last two weeks, I realized that I haven't really mentioned the every day. It's great that after less than 14 days we've all established a neat little schedule of sleeping, class, grocery shopping and cooking, and going out. These things fill in the cracks between the cliff diving and city exploring and honestly they're just as satisfying. Anyway I decided to post a little about what a day looks like in Lecce.

8:00 AM

Some days I wake up and sneak out of the room while my roommates are still sleeping. I put on a pretty dress (which I will promptly change out of when the day gets gross and hot) and go to the cafe next door. It's a wonderful neighborhood joint full of Italian chatter and warm pastries, and luckily for me they usually have a table free on weekday mornings. I order a pasticciotto (an amazing local pastry that I can only describe as a mini pie with pastry cream) and a cappuccino. I've been trying other coffee drinks as well, as I have a huge crush on the barista Giorgio and like to ask him to explain things to me when he's not too busy.

Breakfast of champions

9:30 AM

I let myself in through the giant red gate of the compound and head for class. Class is a three hour affair of cultural reading, massive amounts of vocab, and tons of verb conjugations. If my teacher were anyone else it would be brutal, but my teacher is Paolo and he's the love of my life. Paolo is a self-professed tone-deaf music fan with a penchant for Broadway. He looks like a sweet Italian Mr. Bean, loves to wear speedos when he comes cliff-diving with us, and can't draw to save his life. He's also one of the funniest, wisest men I've ever met. He is a dedicated and passionate teacher whose patience only falters when we get stubborn or embarrassed over our mistakes. The other day when a student called themselves stupid he said "Se facciamo un errore nella vita, non siamo quell'errore, abbiamo fatto un errore." Which translates to "If we make a mistake in life, we aren't that mistake, we only made a mistake." Definitely something you have to remind yourself as you stumble through learning a new language and lifestyle.

Me and Paolo at the marina

That's supposed to be the Cheshire Cat 

12:45 PM

After class we book it to the shops before they ALL CLOSE AT 2PM. It's ridiculous! The city is basically deserted from 2-5 every single day, and god forbid you try to buy groceries or toothpaste on a Sunday. Anyway we have an hour to buy bread from the panetteria, fresh fruit and vegetables from the fruitivendolo, fish from the pescheria, and then everything else from the supermercato. I have to say grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do here. Even if I just go out to buy fresh bread I end up having a conversation with the baker and then splurging on fresh peaches from the fruit vendor right outside her shop, who loves to tell me the words for the different produce.

The best peaches in the world

2:00 PM

We head back to the apartment to make lunch, which is either a grand affair or a scroungefest of leftovers, depending on the last time we went to the store. Here are some of my lunches from the past few days. After lunch we nap!

Apples, salami, bread, and cheese

Penne with basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and prosciutto

Leftover pizza with parmesan prosciutto zucchini

5:00 PM

At five we get dressed up and head to the centro for the evening passeggiata (walk). Everyone is out on the streets, there's usually a street performer or some music playing, and all the stores are open and lit. This is also the time I have my second coffee of the day, and I can usually be convinced to have some gelato too.

My favorite- iced almond coffee

I pass this sign every day and always laugh

Working on a love post to my gelato

8:00 PM

When the sun starts to set we mosey back to the apartment for dinner. I love to cook, and I've been teaching my friend Evie some tricks. The other night I showed a bunch of people how to make baked eggplant and we all ate the fruits of our labor with a couple bottles of wine. Most nights though Evie and I make our own dishes and watch a couple of New Girl episodes at the dining room table.

Mushroom ravioli with mushroom vodka cream sauce

Mozzarella di Bufala with olive oil, plum tomatoes, and fresh bread

Grilled herb focaccia with prosciutto, provolone, and basil. Tomatoes on the side

11:00 PM

We go out to the centro again, and this time there's a very different crowd. The wine bars play jazz and spill out into the street. We have our own place off one of the main piazzas where we go for a drink and
then stand in the street outside chatting with Italians and making new friends. After a few hours we return home for some well-deserved sleep. It certainly is the life!