Ad Meliora
That’s French Baby. I mean, That’s Latin Baby. I got my Marvin Gaye mixed up with my Quintus Horatius. Goodbye Lecce grandeur. Goodbye Lecce grandioso. We walked Lecce for the last time after breakfast. What a beautiful morning (if a…
If the Walls Could Talk (it Would be in Latin)
Twenty years ago a guy decides to open a trattoria with his sons. They’ve got this nice piece of property in the Lecce old town perfect for the tourist trade. Minor thing, the toilet keeps backing up. So they decide…
Jesus H. Christ…
…does Lecce have a lot of churches. Mama Mia Cher and Meryl a lot. 90,000 people and 40 choices in the old city alone. We set out to discover them all. Not. However, we did the rounds, and it was…
What Can I Do It?
My late friend Giuseppe had a unique and lovable take on English grammar. He inadvertently created spoonerisms, usually by perfectly mimicking pop music then purposely twisting the inane lyrics, often used the definite article wonderfully inappropriately (my favorite was “the…
The Blight on the Piazza
Our first Saturday here, which we spent in Naples (and even at 2 a.m. on a Monday is noisy, busy, chaotic and unpredictable) was noisy, busy, chaotic and wound down around Sunday mass. Our second Saturday, in Matera, resembled the…
The Greatest Blog Ever Told
Our longest drive of the holiday, just under 300 kms, was today: From the coast through mountain passes and snaking along valley floors, merging onto the autostrada north, then veering east on the E847. For all the driving on all…
The Poseidon Adventure
Another hot sunny day. Since we were toast from the beach yesterday we opted to drive up the coast to Paestum, a Greek ruins that has some spectacular temples in not bad repair. I refused to trace our steps along…
Put on Your Noseguard. Put on the Lifeguard. Pass the Tanning Butter.
Pisciotta in the morning Woke up very early and couldn’t sleep so threw on yesterday’s clothes and went out for a 6:30 a.m. walk; got 7000 steps in before the day had started. The air was ripe with oleander and…
Hard Brexit
More words than pictures today; we were mostly in transit. We checked out of our hotel just after nine, took a cab to the central station. Seat belts are optional in Naples (they constrain the body, which must be free…
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles. Oh yeah.
Go to Capri or stay in town? We were torn. I voted stay. Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. We started uphill towards Capodimonte, to see the largest catacombs in southern Italy, which are under the church of Madre del Buon…