Halfway through our trip found us in Bari. We took the train from Taranto, about 90 minutes and very reasonable at about 9 Euros per person. The train was spotless inside and out and very comfortable. We could have walked from the train to our B & B, but it’s good that we did not as we would have gotten lost in the old city. Even with the taxi dropping us off it took some time to find our place. It is a real twisty old town filled with alleys. Eventually, we would take the sea walk to get back to the B & B, but by the third day we were able to find our way around!
We had a nice little store across the street, however the locals were pretty loud at night
Once we got the lay of the land, Bari was much more enjoyable than we expected. It was only a short walk to an array of fine restaurants and to via Sparano, which I liken to 5th Ave in NYC, but even better as it is pedestrians only for about a mile. There is also an other pedestrian street adjacent to via Sparano.
Via Sparano is full of high end shops, gelato and pastries. You won’t go hungry in Bari that is for certain. By the way, I went to grammar school with my good friend Antonia Sparano.
Of course, like most Italian cities and towns there is an old fort. The Fort of Sant’Antonio or the Swabian Fort was only about a 15 minute walk from us.
It’s a self tour with an interesting state of the art presentation that displays the history of Bari. There was also a free archeology museum just minutes away. We did go into the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, but ran out of time to visit that museum.
Bari is a great jumping off point to many many great places. My maternal grandparents were born in Toritto about 30 minutes by car and train. That will be my next post. We also went to Matera a really must see place if you are in Puglia or Basilicata.
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On to Calabria: Scenic Drives, and Feasting in a Cave
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