With our time in our charming trullo in Alberobello at an end, it was time to drive to Bari for a final night before catching a flight back to Paris. We planned to make the most of the day, setting out in the morning to make some highlight stops along the coast en route. I was especially looking forward to Polignano a Mare whose picturesque beach at Lama Monachile features in many enticing photos of Puglia. I’d also read great things about Monopoli, just south of Polignano a Mare, so decided to stop there first.
It’s an easy 30-minute drive from Alberobello to Monopoli, some of it through beautiful olive groves. We stopped to admire a stand of old olive trees bordered by a bank of purple flowers too pretty to pass up.
Reaching Monopoli, we easily found free street parking, harborside, on Via Cala Fontanella near a footpath to Largo Fontanella. (These streets and the Largo Fontanella park are searchable on Google Maps.) As with other daytrips in Puglia, the joy is in just wandering and admiring the beauty of achingly picturesque towns. In Monopoli, this included small, boat-filled harbors as well as paved plazas and pretty narrow streets.
A short 15-minute drive up the coast we arrived at our next stop, Polignano a Mare. We found plenty of open spaces in a public parking lot (free on the day we arrived) and were soon off to explore again. A short walk away brought us to Lama Monachile, a gorgeous small bay and the most photographed spot in Puglia. [Lead photo] We first viewed the iconic beach and bay from atop a Roman era bridge than spans a narrow gorge leading to the bay. Descending to the beach, we found it to be rough and pebbly and full of bathers. We had no intention of swimming and I was glad. As beautiful as it is, Lama Monachile beach isn’t particularly comfortable… and, with the weather in the 70F’s, the water was chilly!
We lunched al fresco on pizza and local beer at Al Buco Preferito Tranquillage just beside the Roman bridge before heading out to explore. In Polignano a Mare, in addition to picturesque streets, churches, shops and cafés, a number of small, dead-end terraces offered clifftop views of the Adriatic. Caves dot the cliffs on which the town’s pale stone buildings perch. Below tour boats and pleasure craft glided through the blue sea. Lovely!
With the afternoon slipping away, we were back on the road for the 30+-minute drive further up the coast to Bari, the capital of Puglia. We had just enough time to drop off our luggage at our hotel then drive the short distance to Bari Centrale train station to drop off our Locauto rent car. From there, we strolled past the fountain in Piazza Aldo Moro, through the Giardini di Piazza Umberto I, and down wide, mostly pedestrian, Via Sparano da Bari back to our hotel. We took our time, joining the bustle of people to peer into high-end shops and eateries along the way.
“Room 56” isn’t really a conventional hotel, but it was pretty perfect for our needs. Located on the seventh floor of a building just off Via Sparano da Bari (800 meters from the train station), this lodging has four modern, immaculately clean en suite rooms with balconies and a communal kitchen where a simple breakfast is provided. All rooms can house three persons and two of them can accommodate four people.
On a friend’s recommendation, I’d booked dinner prior to our trip at Urban l’assassineria urbana, a restaurant written up in the New York Times and specializing in the unique Bari dish known as spaghetti assassina or “killer spaghetti.” In an unusual twist, the dried pasta is charred in a skillet with sauce, skipping the usual boiling in water. It ends up in a twisted dark pile on the plate, part chewy part crispy and with an almost barbecued flavor.
We really enjoyed our spaghetti assassina, but the restaurant itself offered little else that appealed to us (absolutely no fresh veggies or greens, lots fried, an industrial style decor) so we finished our meal more quickly than expected. After an unsuccessful hunt for a dining spot where we could cap off our meal with some veggies, we opted to buy a bag of salad from a grocery store and retire to our balcony for a little post-dinner wine (a gift from our Alberobello host) and salad. Not exactly elegant or what we’d imagined when we set out for dinner, but pleasant nonetheless. [If I had to do it over, I’d probably try more upscale Osteria al Sorso Preferito, the originator of spaghetti assassina, rather than Urban.]
“Room 56″ is a five minute walk to old town (Bari Vecchia) and, with an 8:15pm flight to Paris Orly, we had a full day to spend exploring Bari. Our host agreed to store our luggage for the day and arrange a taxi for an early evening ride to the airport so we were free until early evening. We set off first thing after breakfast for Strada delle Orecchiette, Bari’s famous street named for the ear-shaped pasta that is the specialty of Puglia. Women sat at tables along the cobbled street making orecchiette by hand with practiced movements. They sold bags of the small pasta as well as larger orecchione, both ear-shaped and many brightly colored with natural vegetable dyes. We admired the pasta-making techniques of the women before choosing bags of orecchiette and orecchione to take home.
Castello Svevo di Bari sits just across a small paved plaza from Strada delle Orecchiette. The castle was originally built by a Norman king in the 1100’s, but was destroyed and rebuilt in 1233 by a king of Sicily. It now houses exhibits, but the one on show didn’t interest us and we’ve seen plenty of castles so we opted to continue on to explore more of Bari’s old town. Our first stop was the Church of the Holy Trinity, formerly a church used by cloistered Benedictine nuns. In its current form, it dates to the 14th century but was remodeled in a baroque style in 18th century. Heavy grillwork on dark upper balconies are testaments to the cloistered life of the nuns.
Beyond the church, shops of all kinds occupying pastel buildings lined the streets paved with ancient stone: bakery goods, ice creams, artisan wares, local foods, clothing, artfully arranged fresh produce and more. At a far end of the old town, we came across the picturesque ruins of a church, Santa Maria del Buon Consiglio.
The Basilica of St. Nicolas is a highlight of Bari. Built to house the relics of St. Nicolas, it is a pilgrimage site for many, especially Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The relics of St. Nicolas were taken from the saint’s original shrine in Myra (in present-day Turkey) in 1087 and the crypt now holding them was consecrated two years later in the presence of the pope. On the day we visited, a ceremony was being held in the church, led by a male officiant supported by the singing of scarved women.
We were told the crypt was closed until after the service so we decided to leave for a bit and come back when we could visit the crypt. The basilica sits next to a gate in the old town walls giving onto the waterfront. We walked to the water where we enjoyed watching a distance swimmer training just inside a jetty as his coach walked along the waterfront spurring the swimmer on via a headset.
Back at the basilica, we were among the first into the crypt where the relics of St. Nicolas are kept so got a moment to enjoy the place in relative peace. The group from the service above were finishing up and descended into the crypt as well. Soon it was a mad rush of tourists taking photos and worshippers dropping on all fours to kiss the tomb of the saint.
A peculiar aspect of St. Nicolas’ relics is that his bones are said to extrude a holy liquid known as Manna. This liquid is said to have appeared for hundreds of years and to have curative and miraculous powers. The small amount of manna is collected each May 9th at the Bari basilica, mixed with holy water and sold in small glass vials in the adjacent shop. The liquid forming from the bones dates back to the 11th century in Myra when it was thought to be a sweet-smelling oil. In 1925, scientists at the University of Bari determined it to be pure water. Other relics of St. Nicolas, including in Venice do not exude manna. Some say it is simply the result of condensate on on a stone tomb stored underground in a port city, but it’s not for me to jump into that debate.
After lunch outside but sheltered under pretty Arco del Carmine at Osteria le Arpie, we finally left old town. We strolled an elegant palm-lined Piazza IV Novembre to the Teatro Margherita. Beyond the nearby bay filled with small boats and a sporting club, the long waterfront promenade beside Lungomare Nazario Sauro appealed to walkers of all ages. We claimed a seaside bench to people-watch and admire the view before heading away from the water and back towards the center of the city not far from our hotel.
We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing shops and stalls and stopping for “coffee” where I got to try caffè d’orzo for the first time, a caffeine-free coffee substitute made from roasted barley. It’s OK, but I’ll take real coffee any day!
Practical info:
The Locauto drop-off is really just anywhere you can find in front of the station on the Piazza Aldo Moro side, toward the left as you’re facing the station. David stayed in the car while I went to fetch a Locauto rep who took over from there. Drop-off was quick and easy. I’ve written about Locauto in previous posts. We were happy with their cars, service and pricing.
I booked Room 56 on booking.com via topcashback.com, a combo that gave me the best deal of the several sites where I found Room 56 listed. (I’m giving the direct link to the hotel, but I would still compare their prices to booking.com via topcashback.) The hotel location is great, the price right, the room is quiet (save for some loud plumbing noises when the toilet is flushed), the host is responsive and I’d stay there again, especially for a one-night stopover like ours. Google Maps did direct us to the wrong location, a half block down and on the wrong side of the road. A better option is to use “Nasti” at (Via Abate Giacinto Gimma, 56) as your destination on Google Maps. Nasti is a boutique next door to the entrance to the hotel.
It took us under 30 minutes for the ride from Hotel 56 to the Bari Airport. There are two Priority Pass lounges in the Bari airport now. Priority Pass app lists only The Executive Lounge and “Work Area,” but the Work Area is now a lounge but it has no on-site toilets so beware lines at the nearby public restrooms. The Executive Lounge was filled the evening we were there and directed us to the Work Area which is nice, but basic. It was nearly empty of guests, but did offer a spiffy machine offering many kinds of coffee (including caffè d’orzo), wine, beer and light food.