Lecce

Here I am, back in Lecce! I had an excellent week here last year, so I've
returned for the weekend. Unfortunately the weather has been
uncooperative, raining all day Thursday and then most of yesterday,
relenting only to be a very chilly evening (frigid by local standards,
judging by the level of winter clothing on parade). I was still happy,
however, to have the chance to do a little busking. Unfortunately so were
a number of other musicians, and my two favorite pitches were occupied, as
was my backup. So I displayed adaptability and found a fourth place,
using the Misti Trick to good effect.

The Misti Trick, named for Misti Bernard, is to find a low traffic area
and play soft quiet music. Even though there aren't as many passersby, if
you get the atmosphere right the proportion of tippers goes way up and it
evens out. She told me about it once as a strategy she's used at the
Colorado Renaissance Festival, and it's done wonders for me over the
years.

I set up near the entrance to the Piazza Duomo, down the street from where
the preferred pitches are, and played until numb toes and hammers blowing
nearly out of my hands convinced me to move along. It helped that it's a
beautiful area, but I was feeling a little discouraged until I noticed how
little traffic there was in the areas I would have preferred to play. It
was a quiet night for everybody, and I'm just thankful it was dry.

Today has been much better so far. It was a drizzly morning, but let up
enough for me to have some prett good playing on one of my favorite
pitches in Italy. The piazza is lovely and the acoustics are amazing, and
I met some really interesting people.

My schedule for the week, roughly filled out, is to leave on Monday
morning. I'm not sure in what order I'll hit them (weather forecasts will
play a large part in that decision), but over the week I plan to spend two
days each in Matera and Trani. They're both known for being exceptionally
lovely cities, and I'm eager to see them both. Additionally they are both
terra incognita as far as performing goes (although I heard good things
about Matera last year) so I'll be breaking some new ground. Afterwards I
hope to spend the weekend in Taranto, where last year I had my most
profitable busking week ever.

After Taranto it will be time to really make a leap and cross the Adriatic
for a week or two in Croatia. I'm catching a ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik
and, after a few days, another up to Split. I'm a bundle of nerves about
the experiment, but I've heard excellent things about the Balkans in
general, and Croatia in particular, although not for March. Still, my
hopes are high and spirits bright!

(and, when they aren't, being in the land of wine and espresso does wonders)