60 Days of Italy – Bari & Coming to the end of our time in Italy

Italy Days 58, 59 & 60: Leaving Polignano for Bari & Coming to the end of our time in Italy

Leaving Polignano was actually quite difficult. I found this beach town to be very beautiful and oddly peaceful! But it was time to move onto Bari. our last stop in Italy before flying to Rome for a night.

Bari is this interesting mix of old and even ancient Italy yet it’s a densely modern small, thriving city.

We arrived by train in time to get in our usual late lunch/early dinner of ‘dunch’ and a walking tour of the old town or historical center and the city’s highlights, at least according to our walking tour guide. The historical center dates back to the Middle Ages and is encircled by walls and dominated by the Swabian Castle, one of the icons of Bari and the Puglia region.

It rained in the morning of our second day in Bari so I decided to sleep in, but more importantly I decided I couldn’t stand the length of my hair anymore and opted for a haircut. That meant finding someone to cut my hair and luckily, I did.

All I can say is, “Thank you Lucia for helping to make my curls standout!” You can check out the before and after in the photos.

So, for now, here’s to Bari and to getting a descent haircut while traveling in Italy.

Riding our first tuk tuk in Italy. Not sure how this little thing can carry us and all our luggage, but it did to the Polignano a Mare train station was just about 10 minutes from our hotel. Bari, here we come. (June 14, 2023)

Our tuk tuk ride to the Polignano a Mare train station to make our way to Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The train station in Polignano a Mare on our way to Bari. I’m going to miss riding the wonderful trains in Italy. (June 14, 2023)

A quick ‘dunch’ of spaghetti with olive oil, red peppers, garlic and pieces of chicken in Bari before our early evening walking tour. (June 24, 2023)

A bottle of Limoncello Liquor, my new Italy obsession and the important ingredient in making a refreshing Limoncello and I’ve been spelling it incorrectly as Lemoncello. Add Prosecco, tonic water and ice! (June 14, 2023)

Enough about spaghetti and Limoncello, let’s talk Bari. It is a city, but the old town area feels like a quaint neighborhood and looks like it has many years of living under its belt. I found this section of Bari, just across from the Swabian Castle, to be authentic and rich with lived in history. (June 14, 2023)

Walking through the old town area of Bari where the women sell their handmade pasta. (June 14, 2023)

Walking through the old town small archway known as Arco Alto at the edge of Bari Vecchia where the women are known to sell their handmade pasta along the alleyway or just inside their doorways. (June 14, 2023)

Walking through the old town area of Bari. (June 14, 2023)

Walking through the old town area of Bari and peeked in on a woman, just inside her doorway, rolling out fresh pasta and of course selling it to visitors. (June 14, 2023)

The Castello Svevo or Swabian Castle also known as the Houhenstaufen Castle in Bari was originally built around 1132 by Norman King Roger II and is currently used for exhibitions. It was destroyed in 1156 by king William I of Sicily and rebuilt and reinforced in 1233 by the Holy Roman emperor Fredrick II. (June 14, 2023)

The Castello Svevo or Swabian Castle also known as the Houhenstaufen Castle in Bari was originally built around 1132 by Norman King Roger II. (June 14, 2023)

The old town area of Bari, to the right, and the of the Castello Svevo or Swabian Castle, to the left. (June 14, 2023)

The Bari Cathedral or Cathedral of Saint Sabinus was constructed between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, mostly in the last thirty years of the 12th century in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

Inside the Bari Cathedral in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The high altar inside the Bari Cathedral in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The crypt inside the Bari Cathedral in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari is an important pilgrimage destination both for Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians. It was built between 1087 and 1197, during the Italo-Norman domination of the Puglia or Apulia region of Italy. (June 14, 2023)

Inside the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The high altar inside the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

A close-up of the high altar inside the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The side aisle inside the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The crypt of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari where tomb of Saint Nicholas can be found behind the gate. (June 14, 2023)

The tomb of Saint Nicholas inside the crypt of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

The geometric tiled floors behind the gates of Saint Nicholas’ tomb in the crypt of the the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. (June 14, 2023)

Walking along Bari’s promenade overlooking the Adriatic Sea and the former defensive wall, now apartments. (June 14, 2023)

Walking along Bari’s promenade overlooking the Adriatic Sea and the former defensive wall. (June 14, 2023)

Walking along Bari’s promenade overlooking the Adriatic Sea and the former defensive wall, now apartments. And that’s a cute, small electric vehicle. (June 14, 2023)

Walking along Bari’s promenade overlooking the Adriatic Sea and the former defensive wall, now apartments and an alleyway below with restaurants. (June 14, 2023)

Walking along the old town of Bari and passing, not only Roman ruins, but the DIANA Pizzeria. (June 14, 2023)

Modern Bari just across the street from Historic Bari. (June 14, 2023)

Modern, thriving and dense Bari with a promenade of restaurants all by the Giardino Corso Vittorio Emanuele lI. (June 14, 2023)

Modern, thriving and dense Bari along the Giardino Corso Vittorio Emanuele lI. (June 14, 2023)

Modern, thriving and dense Bari. (June 14, 2023)

I just couldn’t take it anymore. The hair. Normally I cut it pretty short before I leave for a trip and that cut is usually good for a month, but I’m blessed with fast-growing hair. And, when my curls didn’t seem to want to stay curled, I tried blow drying my hair and this was the result, even worse. So, I decided that I was getting my haircut, in Bari, Italy. The idea of doing so made me nervous but I was desperate. (June 15, 2023)

And, then I walked into Parrucchiere Salvo Binetti, a salon and barbershop, in Bari and this gregarious lady, went step by step to cut my hair and utterly made my day. Thank you Lucia for giving me a haircut that allows me to continue to wear my hair naturally and show off my curls. (June 15, 2023)

Having our last great dunch together at Nicolaus Pescheria Bistrot in Bari. That’s Lobster Spaghetti for Alice and me and Limoncello Spritz’s for John and me. A wonderful meal with even better company to bring our time here in Italy to a close. (June 15, 2023)

Alice had previously spotted someone having lobster and even though it was not on the menu, when we asked for the Lobster Spaghetti at at Nicolaus Pescheria Bistrot in Bari, we were told they could prepare it. And, so glad they did. It tasted as good as it looks. (June 15, 2023)

The fresh fish choices inside the Nicolaus Pescheria Bistrot in Bari. (June 15, 2023)

Walking from our seafood dunch (late lunch/early dinner) in modern Bari to to hunt down what is known as the best of the best Gelato in Bari, a place called Gentile in the old town. (June 15, 2023)

And, here it is, the best of the best Gelato place in Bari…Gentile…and there was a line to prove how delicious this Gelato really is. (June 15, 2023)

Here’s Alice’s Gelato in a cone with a small cone topper to use as a scooper at Gentile in Bari. Thanks Alice for sharing the photo. (June 15, 2023)

Our hotel/apartment, the Zodiacus Residence, in the center of modern Bari but within walking distance of the things we wanted to see and do. Plus, it had really good Wi-Fi and air conditioning since some days can get pretty hot. (June 15, 2023)

My hobbit door to my room at the Zodiacus Residence in the center of modern Bari. I had to turn sideways to get into the door. (June 14, 2023)

The sink area in my room at the Zodiacus Residence in the center of modern Bari. (June 14, 2023)

My small but functional bathroom in my room at the Zodiacus Residence in the center of modern Bari. (June 14, 2023)

My bedroom, with no place to put my suitcase so I ended up using the wooden black chair, at the Zodiacus Residence in the center of modern Bari. (June 14, 2023)

Italy Day 60: Flight to Rome for a night at a Rome Fiumicino Airport Hotel

Our last full day in Italy and we spent it in transit and eating airport food.

We checked out of our hotel, the Zodiacus Residence in the center of modern Bari, at 11:00 this morning and took a taxi to the Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport which was less than 30 minutes away.

Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 3:20 pm so we had plenty of time to get something to eat, but not many choices because we could not check in or get into the main part of the airport until two hours before flight time. Initially, I had a cappuccino and cream filled bun but I was still hungry and with John’s help, I ordered a very fancy chicken sandwich from the McDonald’s machine and then went to the counter and picked up my order. I don’t normally eat McDonalds but desperate times call for desperate measures.

We were finally able to get checked in around 1:30 pm and made it easily thru security, with me leaving my printed boarding pass in one of the security bins. Luckily I realized quickly that it was missing and was able to retrieve it just as quickly.

Unfortunately our 3:20 flight was delayed until 3:45, then 4:00, then 4:40. Thankfully Rome was our final destination for today and we booked rooms for the night at the Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport.

It’s odd that when we first arrived in Bari, some 18 days ago at the Bari Airport from Rome, we quickly moved on to Matera to begin our Salento adventures. And, now, we came back to see the city and take our flight back to Rome, where our Italian excursion comes to an end.

What an amazing two months it’s been! Italy has fed my travel soul, my mind of history and my stomach with the love of good eats enough to fill me with awesome delights. Thank you Italy for all your abundance!

Next stop…Switzerland.