“The journey of life is amazingly beautiful if you take it as a fearless adventure.”

Debasish Mridh

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so they say, and neither will my post about the eternal city. I have so many feelings and thoughts, and I started to combine both days, but I’ve decided it would be best to break it up, so I’m still working on it.

My next stop was a few hours in Bari before meeting up with my tour. With limited time to explore I decided I would head to the “old town” and wander the streets, with a stop at Basilica San Nicola.

From Bari airport it is a short 15 minute train ride to Bari Centrale. The ticket is €5 and the train was an easy walk from the terminal following the signs. Ticket machines are at bottom of the escalator, and although the instructions on the side of the machine are in English and Italian, the touchscreens on the machine were only in Italian; they are easy to use. The train was clean and quiet. Bari Centrale does not have baggage storage, but using an app called Bounce, I found a shop not far from the station to hold my bags for a few hours while I explored old town.

From my baggage location it was an easy walk down a pedestrian way dotted with high end boutiques, restaurants and cafes to get to old town. You will know you are there when you see the arched entry way. Although cars are not driving the narrow streets in old town, beware of scooters that will beep when they want to pass.

I wanted to go first to the Basilica San Nicola, and then explore the rest of this quaint area. I put the location in Google Maps, and knew the directions I needed to follow, but I felt a bit lost. I had a feeling to turn down one street, and there was a “sign”, my dad was guiding my way, the very first house had the name of the residence on it.

I was on the right path, and came to the large white building, the Basilica, with a beautiful statue of San Nicola outside.

There is no fee to enter the church, but donations are welcome. If you are going to visit these beautiful churches, you should support their up keep and make a small contribution. Although the walls are very plain, and the alter is simple compared to many you will see throughout Europe, the ceiling is spectacular.

Downstairs you will find the crypt of San Nicola, the inspiration for Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus. Although I know Santa never dies, he’s in Finland and I just met him in January in Finland. The crypt area is quiet and beautiful, and I sat there for a while, reflected on life, talked to my parents, and just enjoyed the tranquility.

As I left the church I headed to the water for a look, then started wandering the streets of old town. If you go, don’t use a map, just walk and turn down any street you see. It does not need to be the “main” area. Since I was walking during lunch time, the streets were filled with the aromas of fabulous Italian food the residents were cooking in their kitchens. It was a beautiful day so most had their laundry hanging out the windows and their doors were open. There are small shops and restaurants mixed in with the residences. You may feel like you could get lost in the maze, but honestly, that is okay, and you will eventually make your way back to the main entrance. If not, head back towards the water and you can walk along the shore.

Once I left old town, I started walking towards a beautiful building at the end of a main roadway. It is their theatre and although they are doing some renovations, it is still beautiful.

Next to the theatre is a large piazza lined with restaurants. Although I wasn’t particularly hungry, I knew dinner would not be until later in the evening. I usually do not research restaurants unless I’m with a group and we’ll need a reservation. Typically I’ll just walk around, and if people are dining outdoors I’ll observe their food, the smells, and the atmosphere. I don’t like large crowded “tourist” places. So I also listen to the people talking or notice if the waitstaff have a familiarity with the customers, are they locals, and if so, that is where I will ask for a table. I came across a very small wine cafe. At the few tables outdoors they were speaking fluent Italian and when I peeked inside I saw an old golden lying on the floor past the food prep area at the very back of the restaurant. I knew this place was for me. Once seated at a small table I glanced at the menu and once again, dad was with me, they had breasola on the menu, a cured meat from my dad’s region of Italy. “There are signs everywhere”, a line from the movie Fools Rush In with the late Matthew Perry.

After lunch, I headed back to the shop to gather my bags, and walked to the seaside hotel where my tour group would be waiting to kick off our exciting adventure.

Off to Borgo Canonica, our accommodations for the next four nights where we each get our own trullo!

Ciao 💕