2/12 Bari, Italy. There really was a St Nic.

Friday 2^nd December            Bari

I had a good sleep and woke up surprised to be on a boat again. It was 8.30 and we had time to hit the buffet (and there was nothing wrong with that – we even had a choice of fruit juices!) before the stretch session at 9.15. Much more civilised than 7.30 on that other line. We turned up at the spa/gym, to be greeted with full Balinese enthusiasm by the entire massage staff as we went through to the gym. It turns out the exercise classes are held at the pool so we paraded out again, with the massage ladies all smiling and laughing that we had finished already.

It was COLD out there. The entertainment staff run the exercise classes and a few of them were hanging around the edges eating ice cream and making fun of the process. All good stuff. The stretch ran for 30 minutes and was not very demanding then it ran straight on for about 20minutes of aerobics. It had been a while and that was all I needed. Good that it was free too. From there it morphed seamlessly into trying to toss a little ball into a hoop round the neck of one of the staff.

We wandered off and joined in the morning game, which entailed indoor shuffleboard. Half a dozen or so people (including my beautiful editor) who managed to get one in the small square won little MCS wallets. Better than measly little golden vouchers.

And so onto THE FIRST QUIZ. Took the format of asking (in 5 languages) for the capital cities of a list of countries. If we had known Estonia, El Salvador, Morocco and Angola we could have tied with the other 4 teams that got 12/12. No – go and look them up yourselves J Help Dereeeeeeeeeek! Interesting that they actually took away all the sheets and marked them while they were telling us the answers. That was a good touch and eliminated all the bickering. Well done MSC.

We tried the sit-down lunch just to see how it was. We were sent to a table where 4 Germans who all knew each other were chatting away in German, having already ordered and been served drinks and bread. We sat there for about 20 minutes before anybody noticed us. Soon after that a fellow from Manchester was added to the party. Not a bad lunch and in fact the coconut ice cream was very good (not surprisingly). Just a limited selection of pretty plain fare. We had taken our own bottle of water.

We just nosed into the harbour at Bari at this time. OK just this once  . . it was Talinin, San Salvador, Rabat and Luanda (We think). We sauntered off looking for an internet place but learned that Gubment regulations demand proof of ID to use internet. There was a picturesque seafront and a few attractive castles, one of which we explored. Lotus (*tick*).

J writes:  I liked Bari.  The old walled city has a maze of tiny, twisting alleyways, which were very pleasing to look at as we wandered through. 

 Nearly all the shops close for afternoon siesta at 2pm, so much of the newer part of the city was shuttered up.  The large castle we explored was Castello Svevo.  The original building on this site was built on the ’will of Roger the Norman’.  Since then the Byzantines built on the site followed by the latest version in the 13^th century built by Frederick II.  From the outside you can see the different building styles in the foundations of the walls.

There really was a St Nicholas (Santa) who died in Turkey.  In 1087, some sailors snatched his body and brought it to Bari where it is laid to rest in the cellars of Basilica di San Nicola, which was built specifically to inter him.  An appropriate final resting place.

It's almost Christmas

Back at the boat, our balcony was an absolute suntrap and in fact our whole room was bathed in warm sunshine. Glorious to be able to bask on our private balcony in a Mediterranean harbour in December. Mother Nature obligingly turned on a very pretty orange sunset. You just have to remember that 4’ away your neighbours are sitting out there as well. (Note to self . . . don’t go for the high notes on “Don’t let the suuuuun go doooown on me”). Did an audit of fridge magnets – seemed to be missing the Giant Panda one?

Later that night . . 2011. Dinner went off well. We all had water, to the irritation of the waiter who said we should have bought it in the restaurant. Tonight was Greek night and they served all the things George’s mother apparently likes to make – spinakopita, Greek salad and mousaka.  The light coffee mousse was excellent and not too unhealthy. When you come out of the restaurant, there is no escape but to edge through between the row of people sitting listening to the music coming up from below and the row of stalls on the left from the on-board shops, which overflow out in the evenings. One big table full of the chunky watches Amanda used to sell that you can buy all over Asia for $3 each.

WOW!!! What a show!!! By far the best we have ever seen at sea. It was a Disney production with at least 3 outside acts, all top class, supported by a very good onboard crew of singers and dancers. If we had been to the first show, we would have skipped dinner to watch it again.   Very good female illusionist who made a motorcycle disappear before our eyes.  Two male acrobats who performed a balancing act and an aerialist who performed on a ring.  So many Disney characters parading on for different acts.  Loved it!  Amazingly, we bumped into Nanette and Manuel (Phillipino/Americans) afterwards and she had slept through it?? Apparently they had a sleepless night and have also just made a very big west -> east flight.

There was a midnight Greek banquet with all sorts of tasty bits. Baklavas (of course) dolmades and lamb bits from kebabs. All very delicious but then we woke up feeling bloated and didn’t sleep well. We resolved not to eat any more midnight feasts (until we realised tonight is CHOCOLATE!). Ok . . after tonight.