Breakfast in the hotel was really nice.  Lots of choices including delicious melon and homemade cakes/muffins/breads. I could really get used to this!

We took a different walking route towards the old town passing the city park where, it seemed, all the retired men were gathered around tables playing cards.

Not sure where we were going, we walked right into the Castle Svevo, built in the 12th century and quite imposing.  The moat is now full of bright green grass but the sheer size of it made it seem formidable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to the Old City.  Timing is everything.  Whereas the day before in the late afternoon we had the place to ourselves, this morning it was full of tour groups, in several languages.  We visited the duomo first and then the more famous Church of St. Nicola (yes, santa).  They have many relics there including, of course, the remains of  St. Nicola himself in the crypt below the church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This seminary building was pretty in the morning light:

We wandered around the old city for a while longer and finally got to see some women making very small orrechiette and asked them a question or two.  It seemed that while the men were all playing cards, the women all had their aprons on and were working.

Here are some men playing cards in an alley way:

We came across these ruins which had absolutely no signage, right in the middle of a residential area.

We went back to the little gastronomia from yesterday and they had “fave e cicoria” which I had to have for my last meal in Puglia. Ken had another kind of Italian quesadilla with meat and cheese inside.

In the afternoon we walked in the University area and down some shopping streets.

We took a cab from the hotel to the airport for our 9:50 (almost my bed time) Ryan Air, flight to Pisa.    The Bari airport is small and super modern.  There were two cafeteria style restaurants.  One featured focaccia and the other had a mozzarella bar.  We arrived after 11.  Piero and Luciana, the apartment owners, were so kind to pick us up there and drive us to the apartment.  Apparently his normal freeway exit was closed so it took way longer than usual but it gave us time to talk with our charming new landlords.

They showed us everything in our very sweet new apartment.  After they left, we called Josh and Teresa, worried about Hurricane Matthew coming their way.  Didn’t get to sleep til about 2:00am!  Unheard of for me!  Can’t wait to look out of our windows in the light of day.