Buon Giorgno from Bari, Italy

Bari, Italy, September 29 We are now luzuriating in the lovely city of Bari, located on the Adriatic coast at the top of the heel of Italy. We left Mason Tuesday morning, the 27th, on what turned out to be the most exhausting two days of travel in our memory. We were booked on a 2:05 p.m. flight on the 27th from Detroit to Atlanta with an overnight flight from Atlanta to Rome that would arrive a 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Our plan was to arrive at Detroit Metro at noon. Our usual plan was to take the Michigan Flyer, a bus service from East Lansing to the airport. Unfortunately, to be at Metro at noon we needed to take the 9:15 bus from East Lansing. We were enjoying lunch around noon at the airport when we received notification on our cell phones that the Atlanta flight had been delayed by 30 minutes, only a minor nuisance at the time. However, 15 minutes later we received another notification that our flight had been canceled and Delta was in the process of rebooking us on later flight that would result in our missing the flight to Rome. The ever resourceful Lynda immediately got on her cell phone and rebooked us on a Delta flight departing Metro at 3:00 but would route us through Amsterdam and then on to Rome. Additionally this would get us to Rome at 9:30 instead of 11:00. Good news. We arrived in Amsterdam on time but encountered our first problem when we deplaned and discovered that our arrival gate was as far away from our departure gate as possible. Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is one of the largest airports in the world consisting of 5 different terminals. It was a very long walk that included passing through passport control. Those experienced travelers reading this know that you can sleep during a 7 hour flight but it is not a particularly restful sleep. Your body, particularly old bodies like ours, are not prepared for the grueling traversing of an airport especially at 5:00 in the morning. Our 7:15 flight to Rome was on time and blah, just the way you like plane travel. Kudos to Delta Airlines because despite the change in itinerary our checked luggage arrived with us in Rome. We purchased our train tickets at the airport for the shuttle train into Rome and then the train to Bari. We had another hour and half layover at the train station in Rome before we left for Bari. In spite of our train being delayed by 30 minutes it was a smooth ride, albeit 4 hours, to Bari. Traveling by train all over Europe we have found to be an enjoyable experience... but not after 9 hours of flying and 6 hours of sitting in airports and train terminals. The next hiccup in our plan was our inability to get on the wifi on the train. We are pretty sure it was not our fault but poor wifi. Consequently, we were unable to communicate with the hostess of our Airbnb regarding our arrival time. As our apartment was only 4 blocks from the station we walked, only having to stop twice to ask(confirm!) that we were headed in the right direction. Still not sure how to contact our hostess, we fortunately arrived at the same time as a young couple who were residents in the same building. Bringing this long tale of woe to a merciful end, 20 minutes later we were finally in our apartment at 7:00 Wednesday night. We had spent almost 30 hours traveling. The evening did have a happy ending. We ate at an upscale pizzaria where we had a very friendly waiter. Italian pizza is much different from the excellent american pizza. We love it. Pizza, wine and a beautiful evening in Italy. Who can ask for more. This morning, Thursday, we did not stir from bed until 11:00. That is how tired we both were from 2 days of traveling. It is a 4 block walk to Bari Vecchia, the old town of Bari. We found a deli just at the entrance to old town. We had calzone type dishes with a glass of wine sitting outside. Heaven! We started to walk about old town but quickly discovered we were both too exhausted to do much exploring so returned to the apartment. We were so tired we had to stop half way back for another glass of wine. Once back to the apartment we both napped. We won't bore you with details but we had another wonderful meal tonight. One of our great joys in traveling is sampling local cuisine. Like the United States each region of Italy has its own particular cuisine. This is true of pasta as well. We are in the region of Puglia and this region specializes in orecchiette, also known as "little ear" because its shape somewhat resembles a, well, little ear. It is a small, round cup shaped pasta not often seen in the States. We memtion this because we went back to Bari Veccia this morning (Friday). Our first stop was Strada Arco Basso, a street that is not much wider then 5 yards. On a short section of this street women set at tables making the orrecchiette. The women roll the pasta into a solid tube then, useing a paring knife, slice a small section of dough off of the tube and with a quick flick of the wrist form the iconic shape of the orrecchiette. They are so fast at this process that it almost seems like a slight of hand. The street was overflowing with tourists mesmerized by the speed with which these women produced the distinctive shape of this particular pasta. We both have tried this pasta since arriving in Bari and have made two observations. 1. The cup like shape of orecchiette allows it to hold a bit more of the sauce that is put on the pasta. 2. Because it is a thicker pasta in comparision to noodles (spaghetti, fettucini, etc.) it has a different consistency, slightly chewy. We've both enjoyed the orecchiette dishes we have eaten. Our next stop was the Bari Cathedral. Compared to the many other Cathedrals we have visited in Europe this cathedral was quite plain. There was very little ornamentation in the design of the church and not much art work hung on the walls. Archetecturally, its most distinctive feature was its ceiling. We believe it is the original timber roof. From the Bari Cathedral we walked along another narrow street that consisted mostly of souvenier shops. Our destination was the Basilica of St. Nicola. Some believe that St. Nicola was the inspiration for Santa Claus. The Basilica was a bit fancier then the Cathedral, its most notable feature being the ornately painted ceiling. We were surprised when we entered the Basilica to find a wedding taking place. With time to kill before our luncheon reservations we discreetly sat at the back of the church and enjoyed the nuptuals of Daniella and Francesca. We were fascinated to watch tourists and tour groups visit the Basilica as if there was no wedding occuring. Not having an invitation to the wedding reception we went to the Osteria dei Arpie for lunch. Before our trip we happened onto a TV series on Amazon Prime entitled "A Taste of Italy". This restaurant was featured in one of the episodes. When we told the hostess this she became very excited and immediately yelled at the owner to come over to our table. The owner knew of the the visit by the TV program but was still thrilled to have a couple from the U.S. visit the restaurant because of seeing it on American television. Our meal lived up to the TV hype. Most all Italian shops close from 1:30 to 3:30 for siesta time so when we left the restaurant the streets were virtually deserted. We decided to join the rest in Bari in taking a nap. Tonight Tim will bring back some bruschetta from a nearby restaurant which we will enjoy on our balcony with a bottle of wine. Ciao.