Trips

Thurs., 10/7 - Tour of Bari

Bari is the capital of the region (like a state) of Apuglia.

During the tour, Marco treated us to real focaccia. It was soft and tasty bread with olive oil and tomato.

	The fort at Bari was built in 1100 AD and was enlarged in the 1500s by Frederico II.
	Forest of tv antennas
It was nice to walk around the old town on the pedestrian streets where you only have to avoid the frequent mopeds. Our tour guide spent a lot of time having us watch the women making the pasta called “little ears” - Taralli - and having a man selling octopus tell how he captured and tenderized them.	Taralli
Taralli	Market with more red capsicum peppers
Street scene	Interior of a private chapel
Public water fountain	Cathedral of San Sabino - built in the 1100s. It is Romanesque with a rose window with dark alabaster instead of stained glass. It has sculpted animals instead of saints around the facade.
Bell tower of the Cathedral of San Sabino	Fresh greens
Mushrooms and other veggies	Octopus
Street scene	Gelato!
Basilica of St. Nicholas - of Santa Claus fame. We were in time to watch a wedding of someone rich enough to afford to be married there. Perhaps she or the groom were connected to the mafia. She arrived in a Maserati sedan. Down in the crypt where our guide, Anna Maria, explained that the chapel there was for orthodox (Russian and Romanian) Catholics as well as “Christian” Catholics. The orthodox women wore head coverings the others did not.	Organist watching the bride to know when to begin playing the processional.
Saint Nicholas	Relic of Saint Nicholas
During our hour of "free time to explore” part of the new town built by the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1813, we wandered about looking at shops, ruins of the original Apian Way, and the fish market where a few fishermen were still selling octopus and fish. Some of our group were sitting outside at a local restaurant so we joined them for a Perone beer and an espresso coffee (1 ounce of strong coffee in a thimble size cup) and killed time until lunch.
Shop window - now where would I wear these?	Wood carved toys
Ruins of the original Apian Way
Harbor and fishing boats	Boat repair - it needs it!
Shop window	Does this look good?
Local beer	Espresso coffee
Lunch was a lengthy 2 1/2 hour event with two fish starters, pasta with octopus and squid, and yummy cream-filled flakey pastry for dessert with lots of wine and espresso coffee with Sambuca. Most of our group was feeling no pain and slept on the hour long bus ride back to the ship. (Today was a replacement for a day in the Tremiti Islands to swim and walk the beach or the coastal cliff. Boo Hoo!) At the port talk, the captain explained we were going no where again because of the nasty weather. More Patience and Flexibility! Fri., 10/8 - Monopoli Harbor aboard the Artemis Some of the group went by bus to the village of Loco Rotundo. We stayed on board with quite a few others and caught up with emails, laundry, writing, and just plain relaxed. Five of us had lunch made to our order onboard - soup, sandwich, fries, salad, and ice cream - quite good. In the afternoon the captain announced we would finally be sailing as soon as everyone was back on board and we departed at 3:40 in the afternoon to try to get to Ortona ahead of some of the weather. Sat., 10/9 - Ortona Alas, the best laid plans . . . We arrived late into the harbor at Ortona after a very wild overnight ride with up to five-foot waves - a lot for our small ship. The ship can handle it, but it makes for a very unpleasant ride for the passengers. The boat rolled and then yawed and then pitched. Several on our ship were rather seasick, including Marco. A local person came on board to describe the WWII Battle of Ortona. The Germans had set up a defense line across the narrowest part of Italy, called the Gustav Line, that ended in Ortona. The Allied forces came over from Africa to Sicily to southern Italy and worked their way up the east and west coasts of Italy. Montgomery, commanding Canadian, NZ, English, and Indian forces met the Germans at Ortona. Many Canadians were killed here but the Germans departed north. Local historians are voluntarily preserving the importance of this WWII battle. At 10:30 we bused out of the port and walked with Marco in the old town, passing the Castello Aragonese, which is not restored and walking on to the Cathedral to St. Thomas, of Doubting Thomas. St. Thomas is buried inside. Another bride arrived for her wedding. The group strolled in the main square and up the pedestrian street of shops. This is not a tourist town so there were no touristy shops. They have a nice promenade that looks over the harbor, a theater, and a statue of the composer, Tosti, who was born here. By now the hot weather of Malta and Sicily have become decidedly late fallish. It was chilly.
Map of Ortona	Ruins from the WWII Battle of Ortona
Wall of the Renaissance Castello Aragonese
Basilica of Saint Thomas the Apostle	Domed interior of the Basilica of Saint Thomas the Apostle
Street scene	Theatro Vittoria
Monument to native son composer Francesco Paolo Tosti	Follow the blue stone road along the promenade overlooking the harbor
Extensive rail yards and a tunnel	Interesting name for an Italian meat producer

Back at the ship we got ready to be taken to our OAT “home-hosted” lunch. Eight of us went to Alessandra and Selina. Alessandra is Canadian and spoke American English. Selina only spoke a little English but we got along fine. Grandma was a retired Latin teacher in Ortona. The 16-year old son got to practice his English and the two husbands spoke a little English. Italians don’t value bilingual ability. The food, wine, and liquors, Ratafia (cherry) and Genziana (root bitter) were all excellent. It was a pleasant home-hosted lunch.

The good news at the evening port talk was that we were sailing to Pesaro overnight and the bad news - high seas and a rocky ride were in store.

Continue on next page