Bari, Capital of Apulia

Bari is the capital of Apulia. Although the city is lovely, our appreciation may not be as rich as it ought to be because of our guide. The young man who led us through town said he was originally from Ukraine. He has lived in Italy since 2015 and claims to have degrees in English, German, Italian and French. Our hearts went out to him because he was obviously struggling with the language.

We visited castles built by the Normans and the Swabians and then visited a cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicholas. This church is unusual in that it hosts pilgrims both from the Roman Catholic church and also from the eastern orthodox churches, who hold Saint Nicholas in special esteem. They claim he is buried here, and we saw his sarcophagus beneath the church. However, we have also visited a place in Ireland which claims to hold the saint’s body. There is also a church near Myra in Turkey which claims to have his remains as well.

One specialty of this town is a kind of pasta in the shape of a little ear. The Italian name for it is orecchiette. Glenda bought 2 kilograms of the pasta at a fraction of what she would pay in the United States. We just came back to the ship and had a wonderful lunch in the World Cafe. We are well fed and rested, and we are looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure in Šibenik, Croatia.Read more