Bari, Italy

Bari is an industrial port and capital of the Apulia region of Southern Italy. It’s the first of 6 stops in Italy so the solos and I sauntered around the old town visiting all the main sights of Bari. The old town is a warren of narrow streets and a real delight to walk around. We opted for a two hour tour on a three carriage vehicular train for a grand price of €5 which turned out to be the bargain of the week. Our guide took us to many places of interest including some women on the street making ear shaped pasta. As you can imagine the excitement was a little too much for me so I wandered around taking photographs until my pulse returned to normal. The highlight was the Basilica of Saint Nicholas founded in 1087 with a crypt where a ceremony was taking place and I inadvertently got wafted with frankincense as the priest passed by. I felt cleansed. 

It was a goodly day despite my thighs aching. I had a personal training session with Ukrainian Olga two days ago. It was very tough. She used to work for the SS but they kicked her out for cruelty.

At dinner we had two new people who’d heard about the fun and exuberance of table 106 and we managed to squeeze the extra seats in to make it a table for 10. The other night for some unknown reason the conversation turned to nude sunbathing and skinny dipping and it turns out that even some of the older folk have been past participants. Cheeky little minxes. 

In the casino they returned some of my investment from the other evening as I found myself the only person playing at any of the 5 tables. It was 9 o’clock! You feel a sense of responsibility when there’s just you and six casino employees. Anyway another player turned up allowing me to escape $150 to the good.