A full day for us today as we press on a bit further north to the city of Bari where we have found probably the least glamorous park up of the journey so far – a car wash! It is an authorised gated stopover and the welcome although in sign language was warm enough and we were parked with maybe a dozen other motorhomes side by side (very definitely less than a metre a part!), the yard was part car wash, part residential carpark, part vehicle recovery centre and part camper stopover but most importantly it felt safe to leave the van and sleep in it.
As the day is cracking on and I did not want to leave exploring until tomorrow, we headed straight back out and maybe a mile or so through the residential part of town until we reached the sea front.
On reaching the long wide promenade, we initially headed south a bit to where I could see a beach in the distance (can’t miss a beach) – Spiaggia di Bari – not the nicest but on a sunny day I’m sure it would do….
We then set our sites in the opposite direction heading for the main Old Town – greeted initially on the edge of the harbour by this rather grand (but not so old) waterfront Theatre….
Continuing along the harbour front and entering the walled part of town at one of the corner forts….
We were then treated to typical narrow paved streets lined with shops and bars, open plazas and beautiful buildings….
Also on our meanderings we passed the Cattedralle and Castello Mormanno-Svevo….
Before leaving we needed to hunt down Strada delle Orecchiette, where they famously make the typical Orecchiette pasta ‘ears’ in the street and of course sell it in every shade of colour by the kilo….
Interesting to watch but it really didn’t look overly hygienic and much as I love pasta, I wasn’t tempted.
On our return walk along the promenade the evening sunset gave us a lovely rosy glow on the east coast over the calm Adriatic sea….
A full but fruitful day – we are now ready to eat and veg for the rest of the evening.
Today’s stats:
- Miles driven – 47
- Miles walked – 11
- Beaches – 5
- O/N – £20.88
