Anyone been to Bari, Italy?

[UglySister]

Is it worth going for a week with a toddler, WITHOUT a car?

No, unless you're staying with friends there

Oh... was hoping it could be nice. What´s it like? I know it´s a bit rough, but I´m used to a bit of rough ; )

Where would you be staying? In the centre of Bari itself or outside a bit near the coast?

It's not awful by any means but it isn't a beautiful town like some Italian towns are, so you wouldn't be wandering about with dc looking at beautiful buildings or parks.

There are some nice places you can go on trips to like the grottos or to see those little cone shaped white-washed trulli houses but you'd need a car. I'm not sure that it is a convenient trip to the beach without a car either. I'm just wondering what you could do there all week with a toddler on your own. Is dp going with you?

Hm, think I´ve been put off.. DH would be working pretty much non stop so we´d be on our own. Think I´ll go somewhere else instead! Thanks Sssandy!

No, didn't want to put you off but when I was there i didn't have children and just can't think what nice things there might be to do there. On the bright side, dh will be free to go for a stroll along the beach in the evening and to a nice restaurant for a delicious fish meal, fresh from the sea, right? Sorry I can't get the links to work, you need to cut and paste.

So you need to fill a week. Well, ok there's the market:
www.apulia.worldweb.com/Bari/BariBA/Shopping/Markets/

the castle:
www.apulia.worldweb.com/Bari/BariBA/SightsAttractions/CastlesStatelyHomes/
of course there's shopping, nice shoe shops as I remember

Then you can take dc to a yummy pizzeria for lunch. Southern Italians love kids and treat them really nicely. Balm to a mother's sole and they love their mamas too, so you'll be fine. Not many people speak English though, so your conversations will be very limited.

Buy a yummy Italian ice-cream and stroll round the old part of town. Maybe you can get a bus to the beach, not sure whether it is a comfortable walk and stroll along there collecting shells in the mornings before it gets TOO hot.

Guessing that dp is attending a seminar or something, maybe other wives are there and you could gang up, rent a car for a daytrip?

There are some nice places nearby. I liked Alberobello and Locorotondo, we drove there for an evening meal. Really beautiful and romantic but how would you get there? I suppose you could arrange a taxi. Some places are nice to visit at night too, drive off with dh and dc asleep in the back, have a nice meal and carry dc up to bed?
www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Puglia/ProvBari/index.uk.html

From travellers' reports :

1. Basilica of St. Nicholas

www.igougo.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?JournalID=53897&EntryID=54924&n=Basilica%20di%20San%20Nicola%20(St.%20Nicholas%20Basilica)&t=Popular%20Sights

2. Description of the local beach

community.iexplore.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?JournalID=53897&EntryID=54694&n=Pane+e+Pomodoro

Dear Sssandy, thank you, I really appreciate this!!! : ) Will look forward to checking out hte links in peace tonight! Getting quite excited again! Did you used to live near Bari?

Hi SSSandy, this place looks just GREAT, I´d be so pleased if there was so much to see where we live now! One more question, is theft a big problem?

I was told : yes. I was told to take off necklace/bracelet before walking about town, so I did and didn't have any problems. Don't carry a handbag over your shoulder if you're in the old part of town. There are thieves who go round on mopeds and yank off your jewellery, bag, camera etc in passing. Put your money in a money belt maybe and leave your valuables in the hotel safe? Most of the time I was driven about and I was staying with locals who accompanied me almost everywhere, so I had no problems. I never saw any evidence of theft mind you, but I was always warned about it.

I did have one bad experience though. The one time I went off somewhere on my own in fact. I went to the castle to look at an exhibition. By mistake, I opened the wrong door looking for the way out and was in the same room with about 4 uniformed men. That was creepy. One zipped behind me and blocked the door and the other three surrounded me. Dunno if they really meant anything by it but it didn't feel good. I went balistic in English and the one blocking the door moved, so I was out of there like a flash. Might have just been a misunderstanding but I'm not sure. As a mother, you should be treated with respect but don't underestimate the need for caution, especially if you're blonde. My local friends warned me often and I expect they knew what they were talking about.

Hope you have a great time, if you do go. Ask me anything else you like. I may be able to answer.

Been thinking too, it should be easy to get a lovely student baby-sitter from the English Dept at the University of Bari. They are wonderful with children and like practising their English. That would leave you and dp free to go out a bit at night. Not sure how to go about that one though or I am sure the hotel could help.
\link{http://www.guideforforeignstudents.uniba.it/english/faculty_of_language.htm\contactdeptforeignlanguages}

Got some vino ready? To get you in the mood, this is what it looks like:

\link{http://www.pbase.com/aisassipbase/bari\somephotos}
\link{http://www.lanera.com/it/galleria/puglia/barien.html\somemorephotos}

Ooh, I can finally do links

Looks fab, getting v excited!! Going to push DH re the exact dates and location of his conference and get the flights booked!