Day 22: Goodbye Otronte, Hello Bari

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We packed up ourselves and cleaned the apartment. We left our suitcases in the laundry room and headed to the bar on the corner to hang out until 1:45 when the bus leaves. We had decided to go by bus instead of train, since the bus is direct and we'd have to change trains to get to Bari. Gary had café and I had Coke Light (without ice). Several BAU fellows came by to chat and the time flew by.



We went to the internet café to check in with our Dubrovnik “sopa” owner, Ivana. We needed directions to our room in the old town. She is very fast to respond and writes in English, with a few fun words such as “ your luaguage” and “I will weight for you” when the ferry arrives Sunday morning.



We ate a wonderful pizza of olives, capers and anchovies in the pizzeria by the castle. The crust was very light and crisp… yum! Then we collected our luggage and headed to the bus stop to wait. Our bus from Otranto to Bari took 3.5 hours and cost $2.50.



We arrived at 4:45 pm and struggled to find our hotel. Our very nice SITA bus driver showed us where to pickup the #11 bus to get to the Hilton Garden Inn. It did not come. So we asked around and went over to the train station, schlupping bags up and down stairs, hoping to find a taxi. Instead we found the #11 bus!!! So for 1 Euro each, we rode the bus to the hotel area. Again, ask, ask, ask and ask again (rule #3). After an hour and 15 minutes, we ended up at our hotel!



The hotel room is quite unusual. It is very high design, beautiful built-in wood furniture, nice carpet, windows, etc. The bed has a dial so you can have soft to hard matress. BUT the all-glass shower is the wall to the bathroom!!! Absolutely NO privacy from the bed!!! I think it was designed for one person.



We had a well-deserved beer and put our feet in the pool in the garden. Then we emailed and skyped! Amazing system, Skype!!! We talked to most of the families!!! We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, salad, spaghetti carbonara and a nice wine. Time to get ready for the ferry and Dubrovnik!



More Photos below

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Photos

Bus to Bari
Very nice clean modern bus

Arriving in Bari
We are let off on a busy street near the train station.