Bari, Italy

The first port on our MSC cruise was Bari, Italy.  The kids, declaring they had been to Italy TOO many times, decided they wanted to stay on the ship and go to the Kids Club, leaving Todd and I to have a nice day ALONE in Bari! 

We took the bus that the cruise ship provided into the city to stroll around. I appreciate being greeted by a street lined with palm trees.  Natalie, who wasn't with us said later of this picture, "It looks like Los Angeles!"

The old town of Bari has many narrow, pedestrian-only streets.

I wonder what the story is here.  Maybe two families had children that got married and instead of having to go downstairs, go outside and cross the street, they just built this to avoid all of that!  Or maybe long ago, some guy worked in one building and lived in the other!?

The Piazza Mercantile has been around since the 14th century.  It's named this because long ago, debtors would be tied up and whipped here.  Don't forget to pay your bills!

Italy has THE BEST vending machines.  This one had beer!  Of course, Todd didn't fit in the entryway...

The highlight of Bari is the Basilica of St. Nicholas.  Yes, THAT St. Nicholas!  The Basilica, while nothing to look at on the outside, took 110 years to build, and it was completed in 1197 AD.  

It was Sunday, so they were in the middle of mass.  After we visited the grave of St. Nicholas in the crypt, we stuck around for part of the mass, trying to translate it from Italian to English.  Once we figured out where in the mass, we just continued on in English!

Fearing access to St. Nicholas's tomb in Myra would be prevented by the Turks, Christian sailors stole the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in ancient Greece (now Turkey) and brought them to Bari as this is where St. Nicholas had once predicted his body would be buried.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, travelers, the falsely accused and of course, the most well known - children.  Interestingly, he's also the patron saint of broadcasters and brewers!

St. Nicholas's relics lie in the basement crypt.  Interestingly, this basilica is home to both a Roman Catholic congregation and an Eastern Orthodox one.  The Eastern Orthodox mass occurs here in the basement, as a favor by the Catholic church since St. Nicholas is one of the Orthodox church's most important saints.

St. Nicholas's body (or at least parts of it) are still in the crypt.  The remains continue to ooze out a substance they call myrrh or manna.  People consider the liquid to have healing powers, so each year on May 9th (the Feast Day of the transfer of St. Nicholas to Bari), the crypt is opened up and the myrrh is extracted, bottled and sold.

Some say that because Bari is at sea level, and the crypt is in the basement, the liquid produced by the relics is really just seawater seeping into the casket.

After our tour of the Basilica of St. Nicholas, we went back out into the hot sun.  I'm not sure he would even fit in this little car!  It's fun size (like me!)

Here we are outside of the front of the Basilica with a statue of St. Nicholas.  He holds three fingers out as a way to show one of his supposed miracles, the resurrecting of three children who had been murdered by a butcher.

Time to do some strolling on the streets of Bari!

Letting the clean clothes dry on the line under a sunny sky.

Phew. Visiting one church was exhausting.  Let's stop and have a drink in the shade!

YES! I HAVE FINALLY WON THIS BATTLE!

Nope.  No I haven't.

A rare quiet street in Bari.  At first I thought, "Oh hey, they're celebrating the World Cup!"  (But wait... Italy wasn't in the World Cup this year!)  The Italians are always celebrating something!

After we grabbed some great sandwiches for lunch, we strolled over to the harbor area and the fish market to try to grab a drink.  I love the little boats in the foreground.

There is a little restaurant with a rooftop terrace at the fish market where you can grab some really fresh seafood (we didn't... we had just eaten) and/or a drink.

Me:  WAIT.  You have Bulleit bourbon here?  I'll take that please.  The bartender:  Here is an entire cup full of bourbon.  This is how you drink it, no?

We had a nice time relaxing, enjoying the breezy salt air that smelled of fresh fish.  There were no kids fighting with each other or laughing about nonsensical things.  It was SO nice.

 After our drinks, we headed back to the ship.  Breakwaters help protect the coast from Adriatic Sea waves (queue eye roll from the floodplain manager!)

Until next time, Bari!