Bari, Italy

Bari, Italy (Stop #2 on the Cruise):

We made it to Bari.  We walked off the port and not too far away from the ship was the town of Bari and the big big Castle.  Weather was again, pretty perfect at this point and a stroll around the city was the order of the day.  This Castle was so big and hard to photograph, you had to be very far away to get a good picture.

The Bari Castle dates back to 1131.  Like many castles, it had been damaged and destroyed over the years and under various rules.  In the 1900's it was even used as a jail and barracks.  Now it is a museum hosting rooms full of well preserved pottery, statues, and architecture that was dug up throughout the castle and surrounding area of Bari.

We decided to check out the museum inside.  It was suppose to cost a couple of Euro, but they were out of change so they let us in for free.  Score.  Here you can see the basement where tombs were dug up which located bodies most likely but also pottery and other items.

Creepy angry looking statue heads.

The museum was very nice and clean.  It was very interesting to see all of the found pottery.  Pottery really can last forever!

After the museum, we walked around the streets of Bari.  We spent a lot of time walking through the residential alley ways where people lived, mostly trying to find something to do.

It's kind of funny because we saw a walking tour of Bari heading in front of us so we kind of tagged along for a bit.  The tour guide took us through a tiny little entrance in the alley where locals move from street to street.  I couldn't stay on long though, I'd rather explore the city for myself.

There is gelato everywhere in Germany because it is so close to Italy, but I wanted to try some authentic Italian gelato.  It did not disappoint.  It was very different from German gelato.  A lot thicker.  I got coco and banana flavor.  Definitely took the edge off of the heat.  

Next we headed towards the Cathedral of San Sabino.  It was a big white church very close to the Castle.  Inside, I expected baroque, but it was very simple.  The only picture I took inside that caught my eye was this preserved and very old corpse.

   

Here is the outside of the church.

The Castle and church were beautiful, but other than that there wasn't much to do.  We headed more into the city center and found the shopping district.  I decided to fill our time getting some items that I needed for the excursions like a few more pairs of shorts.  

I was even looking for a pair of board shorts.  I happened upon what I thought was the perfect pair of blue striped board shorts that were pretty short.  I asked the saleswoman for a price and she kind of laughed at me and said those were mens.  Then I started laughing because I can't imagine a man wearing shorts that short, but alas we are in Europe.  After some light shopping (not according to Brandon) we headed back to the ship.

Favorite Thing about Bari:

The Bari Castle was the best thing to see while in Bari.  It's huge and very well preserved.

Next Stop:  Olympia, Greece

When you travel, do you like to check out the history, art, shopping, or food?

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