⛵🎅 24 Hours in Bari, Italy: Orecchiette, Awesome Food on the Adriatic Sea | Newstates in Italy Ep.

Welcome to Bari. This is a very old place. There he is, Saint Nicholas. Okay we're heading down the street of pasta. It hits you in the back of the neck. Oh yeah. There are very few old communities left anymore. It's my kind of city. We're Howard and Caitlin Newstate, dog people, food people, adventure people. We've been living on the road for the past three years traveling through North America and beyond. Right now we're taking you along on an epic, beautiful, and delicious journey across Italy. From coast to coast, city to town, by boat, train, and automobile, you're with us as we visit over a dozen places in this gorgeous country. Last week we arrived in Turin, the former capital of Italy, where we confess that we might have overplanned this trip just a little. I felt ambitious, I'll admit. But we still made the best of our time there, visiting historic chocolatiers and checking out the tallest museum in the world. And today we say goodbye to the north and head off to start exploring the Puglia region of Italy, starting with the picturesque port city Bari, right on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Okay, we made it to Naples. Another three hours. Let's go. Okay, now we get the car. The car is not here. The car is in a garage across the street. Oh my goodness. Wow. That is quite an adventure. Because you have to find the rental office, there's no sign to indicate where the rental cars are. And then once you finish with the office, you have to go across the street into a garage. They literally have to give you a little card so you can even get into the garage. Amazing. Okay. Wow. Wow, it's right. Crazy. Ah, Italian. Yeah, like check this out. Like look at her. Look at these people. Literally just like hanging out. We made a little pit stop to get a snack. And this is like rest stop food. And it's so good. It's like a delicious sandwich with all kinds of meats, arugula, mozzarella on it's like grain bun. And then I got a croissant that has pistachio cream and Nutella in it. I'm telling you, Italian fast food beats American fast food almost all the time. Except for things like Chipotle and whatever. But like still. Like the food we had at the train station the other day. We were eating Cinque Terre. It was just so fresh and delicious. All of it. I love it. It was a long day, but we finally made it to Bari and we're at the Kaibari bed and breakfast and it is so cute. We just met with Elisabetta who manages, owns the bed and breakfast and she gave us all kinds of great info and advice, showed us to her room and then she brought up this wonderful spread. Howard's getting some work done right now. But look at this. We have prosecco, bruschetta, artichokes, olives. Nuts. I forget what kind they are. The little coffee bar over here. This is like our little veranda. And then we have the choice of having breakfast here in the morning or going downstairs and having it in the kitchen. Then we're going to go out and explore the old town of Bari tomorrow. Welcome to the city of Bari. This is a very old place. Dating all the way back. It was first referenced in the second century BC. This has seen a lot of different cultures. They believe started by the Greeks in the 10th and 11th century. There was a significant amount of construction as well. And then it switched hands and was under Roman rule for a while. And there are castles and forts. We're along the Adriatic Sea right now, the coast. And you can tell that this was definitely like a fortified city. It's a walled city, so it's built up, which we're going to be going into the old town to explore here shortly. All kinds of fun stuff here. Plus we might actually get to visit with the big man himself, Saint Nicholas. Howard's got all kinds of jokes today. It's in rare form, can you tell? It's gorgeous though. Like the white washed walls contrasted with the bright green of the palm trees and the deep blue of the Adriatic Sea. It's a stunning picturesque town. So as Kayla mentioned, this is a walled city and we're actually standing on the wall right now. We are walking along the outer perimeter of town, which gives you some really cool perspectives into the city. We've come down into the walled city. Let's go explore. Oh, Santa Caitlin, this kind of reminds me of Dubrovnik when we were in Dubrovnik, which is also a walled city. Had these very narrow corridors, lots of bustling activity. And here you're, I guess, just substituting Italian for Croatian. They are literally across the sea from each other, which is also very interesting. This is not as touristy as Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik got very, very popular because of Game of Thrones. And while this is still popular, it's not the same level of tourist activity. For sure. So if you're looking for that walled city experience, but maybe with way less crowds, consider Bari. We just walked through a residential street and you can smell all the laundry and it's like people are living their lives here day to day. It's really cool. So what's really funny is we're walking right now and if I turn the camera around, there's town. So there's the cars, all of that. It's just this clear view. One of the most iconic structures in Bari is the Norman Swabian Castle. Of course, it was closed on the day we visited, but this 12th century fortress was still impressive to see from the outside. It changed hands many times in its early years and parts have been destroyed and rebuilt, resulting in a unique display of mixed architecture and a stunning example of medieval construction. Today it houses a museum and is open for tours every day except Wednesday. There he is, Saint Nicholas. If the name sounds familiar, this is the guy that inspired Santa Claus. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named Saint Nicholas who lived in Myra, which is now modern-day Turkey. So how exactly did his relics end up all the way here in Bari? Well, some sailors sort of stole it. When Myra fell under the control of a dynasty who didn't approve of Christianity, a few merchants from Bari saw an opportunity for their city to bring the saint in pilgrimages to his tomb here to Bari. Call it spiritualistic tourism, perhaps. They promised to build a beautiful tomb to honor Saint Nicholas and it was completed in Their plan worked and thousands have visited the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. Even the Pope paid a visit in 2018 when he invited leaders from the Middle East to Bari to pray for peace and end the conflict in Syria. While there is no admission cost to visit the Basilica, if you want to dig deeper into the history of Saint Nicholas, there is a paid museum and tours are available. Okay, we're heading down the street of Pasta. This is where all the ladies come and make a very specific type of pasta. It's only found here in this region and they're making it out on the street. The making of orecchiette, which translates to little ears, is a craft that dates back to the 8th century here in Bari. Traditionally made by women, the art of rolling the ear-shaped pasta has been passed down through generations. Strolling through this particular street in the old town, you can watch them work their magic and even buy a bag or two to take home. We've read that some food historians believe the shape mimics the roof of the historic Trulli buildings down in this area, while others think the true translation of the word mirrors the pasta's shape. Either way, the rolling of orecchiette is incredible to watch and it gives you a much deeper appreciation when enjoying a bowl at a local restaurant here in the Puglia region. Okay, I had to grab it because it just looks so interesting. This is fig. She said only fig. So I say okay. Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh, it's crunchy. It's like little pasta with fig sauce on it. Wow. Oh man, it's so good. Hey, Caitlin. You have to feed me. Yeah. Crunchy. I don't know if this is just regular. I don't think this is regular pasta. Is that good? Wow. Two thumbs up. Wow. This street so far has been my favorite. So this is Primitivo, which is the regional wine and it is really strong. 14.5%. It hits you in the back of the neck. Oh yeah. Wow. Wow. It's sweeter than I was expecting. It's very good. Okay. Mine's only 13.5% though. Only 13.5%. Well, that was a perfect lunch stop. Excellent. Yes. And we got to try local pasta, local wine, and it was delicious. Yes, it was all very good. Mine had spinach and anchovy paste in it. It was delicious. And then he brought us like this little vial of spicy oil to pour on top and it really made my flavors of my pasta pop. Well, at first I thought it was like a shot. Like I thought it looked like a little like a limoncello or something. Yeah. And I was like, what is this? And he's like, he's trying to explain to me that it's like spicy oil and I'm not expecting the words spicy oil. He's like, don't drink it. Don't drink it. It was in a shot glass. That was very good. I kind of wish I had taken it. Done a quick shot of a, oh, that would have been so bad. Spicy oil. Caitlin, first day thoughts. It's beautiful here. It's a very walkable city. We're staying in the newer part of town and it only took us about three minutes to get to old town. So I loved walking around the old town. I love walled cities like that just because it's like so compact tight knit community and I don't know, it just feels special. You don't find that anymore, obviously. No, there are very few walled communities left anymore. I like the juxtaposing of the old city with the new city. This is a city that is over 2000 years old, which is incredible. And it's a fairly large city. This is the capital of the Puglia region. So there are a lot of people here, but it does not feel like Turin or even Parma or any of the other larger cities that we've been to. This is definitely smaller than that. Yeah, for sure. It's my kind of city. So we may not be in Ciputera anymore, which is where you're supposed to get limoncello, but we're making up for it now. Here's Mari, the limoncello spritz. Next week, we're doing what we do best, taking a road trip all the way from the Adriatic to the Ionian Sea, exploring the rugged coastline full of secret grottos and beautiful seaside towns. Don't miss any of our upcoming adventures. Subscribe and click the bell to come along as we finish out our cross-country Italian journey. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you soon.