Birthday in Bari

After we packed and did our chores, Milena – our VRBO host called a cab for us and we were off! We had some cappuccinos and cornettos while we waited for our train. We have had them several places and we promise that the ones in the Termini at “Eataly” are the best! Also, we packed our aeropress coffee maker, but Italians do not drink coffee in large mugs! I found a Starbucks and bought a Rome cup – now that’s a proper cup of coffee! I planned on collecting them anyways – win/win. I already have one from Amsterdam and British Columbia.

Our train left exactly at 10. It was a 4-hour ride – we averaged 185 mph or 3 miles a minute. It didn’t really feel like we were going that fast. We enjoyed the countryside, played some games, and enjoyed some lunch from the dining car. We were surprised when it was time to get off.

We arrived in Bari and checked in with our host and then went out in search of a grocery so we could buy some coffee for the morning. It was not an easy task. We ended up walking through the old part of Bari and found the Adriatic Sea. We sat on a bench and enjoyed the evening. We will definitely be back soon.

We finally found the grocery. Thankfully we did not purchase anything that required a balance! We decided to find somewhere to eat some birthday dinner on our way home. There was a pizza place that was open with no one inside (they eat dinner late here – 7:30 pm!) We asked if we could have dinner, he said pasta only, the pizza oven wasn’t heated yet. We are for sure going back to try their pizza, because that pasta dish was fantastic! We had some tiramisu for dessert. OMWow! I couldn’t have had a better dinner if I had researched it.

We headed home to relax. The Sanremo music festival starts at 8:35 pm. Well, actually that is misleading. The festival has been going on for quite some time. Just the finals are televised. I was able to find the station, I’ll see how late I can manage to stay up. Initially, I think I was disappointed in the area we landed as there is a lot of construction outside and that makes the area appear a little sketch. But, our apartment really makes up for it. It is very cute, and comfortable. I am actually typing at a desk with a nice office chair. We will be here for 24 days; as somewhat of a nomad these past few years – Jim and I would kill for a recliner or two. We are on the fifth floor. We’ll groan every time we come up but this is going to be SO GOOD FOR US!

nota bene: we did manage to stay up until 10pm. (I did have an espresso at 4pm though – I never do that!) I guess half of the contestants were going to sing and I didn’t feel like we had seen near that amount. Also, improper use of nota bene but any grammarians amongst us will just have to sit there, annoyed. I threw in an extra comma for good measure.

parleremo presto.