Italy 2022: Corso Cavour

After an even more sumptuous breakfast than the day before, eaten in the garden extension, we packed our bags and set out for our flat on Corso Cavour.  The taxi driver drove towards the centre of Bari and then suddenly (at least) for us stopped in a busy road. We had arrived. I was under the impression that the flat was to the north of the old city so that impression was immediately shattered.

We arrived at about 10:30 am and check in isn't supposed to be for another few hours. We had no way of contacting the flat's manager - or maybe we did: we sat in a cafe next door to the building and used their wi-fi to start sending messages. Eventually we received the codes to the flat and entered.

Shattered illusion #2: I thought that we had a self-catering flat with kitchen, similar to where we stayed in Torino or Venice. No: this is more like a bed and breakfast establishment. What irks is that the price of the flat is almost the same as the hotel, if not slightly more expensive. On the other hand, the hotel is situated in the middle of nowhere and this flat is in a good location.

Once in the flat and connected to the Internet, I looked on the map for where we were. Nowhere near where I thought we'd be. I went out looking for a supermarket - I knew that there was supposed to be one close to the flat, although I didn't know exactly where. A short reconnaissance mission revealed its location, maybe two minutes away. There I bought milk, rolls, tuna, cheese and salmon, the ingredients for easy meals.

After a rest, we got up and went for a walk along Corso Cavour, which appears to be a major through-fare.  I thought that the train station was towards the end of the road (as far as I am concerned), which just goes to show how disorientated I was. When I got to the building that I thought was the station, it turned out to be the Teatro Margherita - which was where the taxi driver dropped us off yesterday! In other words, we're about 500 metres south of the old city, should we decide to visit there again. Behind the theatre is an anchorage and the beginning of the sea promenade; we'll leave that for another evening.

Walking back to the flat, we passed several shoe shops, some of which were selling the type of shoe that I like. One of them had an even better model at a lower price: after I tried these on, I bought two pairs: one blue and one grey. They are much more comfortable than the toe-pinching shoes that I've been wearing for the past month; they are also the correct size (42).

Once we arrived at the flat, I checked the map of the area that I had been looking at previously and discovered that everything seemed to be upside-down, and that left is really right. I was looking for somewhere to eat, and once I figured out where to go, we set off. The first restaurant that seemed promising turned out to be not so promising, so we returned to an eatery that is somewhere between a cafe and a restaurant. It's also without service: one buys a slice of whatever, has it heated up and then one sits at a long table on an uncomfortable chair and eats. My wife had a potato and cheese pasty whereas I had a spinach one; total cost 4€. I think that I saw someone eating this kind of pasty on one of the YouTube Bari videos.

Quite tasty.

After returning home, I set out once more to find the train station which is supposed to be quite close. Using the 'Alice through the looking glass' approach, I quickly found the station; according to my phone, it's 360 metres from the flat, and it took me four and a half minutes to walk there. Of course, I walk quickly, but the major point is that it is very close. There is an interesting fountain in front of the station that I filmed.