When I last posted online I was sitting in a lounge 14 floors above the sea while docked in Ravenna, Italy. It was a beach town, and after five weeks in a prettier Italian beach town, Ravenna was not a big time port for us.
On Tuesday, we woke up in Bari, Italy. We were under the impression that the main part of the Old City would be right by the port, but it was about a 30-minute walk because of the winding way the port was situated and the placement of our ship. We were in port from 11 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. We had an excursion booked from 12:15 until 5:45 p.m. Aside from the excursion to Alberobello, Aggie wanted to visit the church of San Nicola. We managed to get off the boat at 11:05, hire a cab who took us to the church steps, visit the cathedral and the tomb of San Nicola, buy souvenirs, and return to the ship by noon. The trip to Alberobello was a hot one. The bus air conditioning worked, but they did not keep it on too high, and we were sweating by the time we disembarked. We arrived in Alberobello, home of the Trulli style houses, at about 2, and it had to have been about 95 degrees out. We walked about two miles that day. Alberobello is a beautiful town with a UNESCO World Heritage Sight designation. It is an absolutely beautiful, sun washed town that has never lost its past splendor. There is no town like it in the world.
When we returned to the dock, we decided to stay on the ship instead of heading into Bari one last time. Most businesses were closed for the August holiday period, and we had already seen the San Nicola church. Bari has some coastal beaches too, but at 5:45, it was too late to head there. So we showered and hit the Royal Promenade aboard the ship. We shopped, dined, and played in the casino. To end the night, one of the six official Elton John impersonators was performing in the main lounge. He was good, but Elton John’s popular playlist is a little slow for 10 p.m.
