Italy's hidden gem

After reluctantly saying good bye to Croatia, it was time to move on to a new adventure. It was back to Italia for us. Except this time, the streets would not be canals. Point of entry? Bari. Ever heard of it? I didn’t think so. Bari is a small city in the southern region of Italy but don’t be fooled by it’s size; it has Big City ammenities. Everything in Bari is within walking distance. From the port to the hotel where we stayed (Hotel Boston which I would recommend to anyone) was approximately 9 blocks, and was located in the downtown corridor. The hotel was surrounded on all sides by bars, pizzerias, gelaterias, cafes, and more. The plan originally was to spend the night in Bari and take off for Rome in the morning. Boy am I glad we changed that. After resting up from our 6 hour ferry ride across the Adriatic, we decided to secure our train tickets for the next day and do some exploring. Word on the street(according to the front desk guy at the hotel) was that there was a beach about a mile from the hotel. After picking up the tickets, it was time to get down on some food. Oh yeah! Actually wait, why am I excited? I HATE Italian food don’t I? Not anymore. I can say with all confidence that I have eaten the most AMAZING Italian food ever! The place? Ristorante Al Forso Preferito. The dishes? Capunti(I think that’s how it’s spelled) with asparagus and shrimp, veal in lemon sauce, grilled chicken, seafood risotto, fettuccine with mushrooms, fresh baked bread, and 3 carafes of wine. We even got pictures with the chef! Phew....had to catch my breath after thinking about that food again. With our bellies full (and yes my belly was full in that the picture so take it easy on me) it was time to seek out the beach. Half a mile later.......JACKPOT! It was the Pane e Pomodoro Beach. Translation? Bread and tomato beach. My guess is that they call it that because you either get toasted or red as a tomato, but what do I know. What I do know is that they served 1£ beers! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the currecny conversion that has been running me into bankruptcy, it’s 1£ to every $1.40 USD. Up until Bari, beers were approx 3£ per(on average). As you can imagine, I was a happy man. Cheap food and booze are what you get when you visit a city that’s not a tourist hot spot. So for that I will always be thankful to Bari. So back to the beach, the coastline is actually not comprised of sand but that didn’t stop the city of Bari from creating a place for families and Italian d-bags in speedos to gather. They dredged a line about 150 meters off shore and installed jetties made up of huge rocks. The result? a small public beach that is rock/pebble free and water that is deep enough to swim but shallow enough to walk all the way out to the jetties. In one word.....AMAZING! I was definitely sad to have to say goodbye to Bari, but I walked away with great memories, some wonderful photos, and a new outlook on Italian food. Thanks Bari!