Italian Treat

We have just come back from 3 wonderful days in Specchia Gallone, a small village in Southern Italy:  the sun shone, the sky was blue and the change of scenery and pace has recharged my batteries!  I did very little sewing - it was too hot, and the pool was so tempting!
My eldest daughter Fran and her partner Angelo have rented this house in Specchia Gallone for 3 weeks, and for our birthday gifts this year they decided to fly us down for this mini break, along with Angelo's parents whom we had not met before.  We flew from London to Milan, then an internal flight down to Brindisi.  It was just over an hour's drive to this amazing old Italian Villa.
The house from the pool:

Looking down the garden from the balcony:

 dinner in the garden after a relaxing day reading in the pool:

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Fran and Angelo are fantastic hosts and barbequed some delicious local foods, here we ate Sea Bass and Bream:

One evening we went to an amazing botanical garden located nearby:  it was all lit up in the dark, and had a fascinating cactus house:

And then we headed for their restaurant for a delicious dinner:

 I love seafood and there was plenty of it on offer:

 We visited Lecce one evening:

the buildings are made from soft creamy limestone:

and this is a Baroque masterpiece:

We visited Otranto on our last day:
the Romanesque Cathedral here was built in 1088 and has a huge mosaic floor which was made by a lone Monk in the 12th century.  He had a vivid imagination and his design includes a weird and wonderful Tree of Life along with mythical creatures and apocalyptic scenes.

The ceiling was stunning:

There are eerie walls decorated with the bones of the town's martyrs who were slaughtered in the caathedral in 1480.

Then more delicious seafood for lunch!

Thank you Fran and Angelo - we shall cherish the memories........