I had the brilliant idea of trying to exchange our unwieldy Alfa Romeo Giulia for something pedestrian at the Bari Airport. We had no idea whether this would work. We imagined ourselves (John) trying to explain the situation to someone who understood only a little English. It was not an encouraging scenario.
We get to the airport, park, and gird our loins for a protracted fight. We approach the car rental place and are waited on by a lovely young woman who after listening to our plight says, of course, no worries, and she rustles us up an small Opel SUV with automatic transmission. We return the Giulia and, after some discussion among the agents, they decide that the scratched wheel casings are just normal wear and tear or pre-existing conditions and we are on our way. John, I think, is somewhat less excited about losing the Alfa than Sarah and I are. Yay!
We head to Siponto outside of Manfredonia to see Santa Maria Maggiore. The complex includes a 11th-12th century church and a much earlier one. Since there are only foundations and a floor left, an artist has made a suggestion of the church with a wire frame. It is quite amazing.
Exchanging the car and looking at Santa Maria Maggiore has taken up the entire morning and so we stop in Manfredonia for lunch. Since it is a seaside town we are lucky to find anything open. We have lunch at Baciati del Mare.
We take a walk down by the marina and look out over the Adriatic Sea. Something tells us we had better head back to Bari soon.
It is a long drive back to Bari made longer by a search for a derelict old church which we could not visit. We meet later for pizza at Botta, a pizzeria recommended by the hotel staff. It is delicious! Not quite NJ pizza but still pretty good!
Duh! You have to go to NJ for truly outstanding pizza! Everyone knows that! ?. These are new places for me, so I’m learning a lot and loving the pictures!