The Intercity train to Bari left Milan promptly at 7.05, scheduled to arrive at 17.05.

It's a long way -- further than it was from Paris to Milan -- and there are lots of stops. In fact, Bari is the 32nd station... There are other services that would shave at least two hours off the journey time, but they are more expensive, and often involve a change of trains.

At the beginning of the journey we actually stopped even more frequently because of a police investigation into an incident involving a person earlier in the day. But at least they kept us informed, and we knew it was no bluff because we actually went past the site of the tragedy...

The other issue was that there was no provision of food, not even a beverage cart. We'd brought our own sandwiches, but we had been hoping for at least a supplementary pastry and a cup of coffee.

On the upside, the aircon kept the temperature at a sensible level; the seats were comfortable; and we avoided the pesky half-window that has dogged us on so many train trips...


Best of all, the whole journey acts as a sort of introduction to Italian geography. You start in the plains, with the rice and wheat fields. As you move south, you see the Apennines in the distance, some still flecked with snow. Then the vines start to appear. Next is the long stretch along the coast. Often you run along right at the back of the shore, looking out at the azure water and the serried ranks of beach umbrellas. Sometimes you're burrowing through coastal cliffs. By the time you get off in Bari, you're in the land of flowering cactus and olive groves. A different world.



Pretty much all the way along the route are huge scarlet drifts of poppies (impossible to photograph).

We finally arrived in Bari at 17.20, and walked from the station to our latest Airbnb, which sits deep in the twisty streets of the old town, and within hearing of at least two sets of full-throated church bells.







We haven't been eating out much on this trip (you'll have noticed all the references to jam sandwiches), but given that we were pretty hungry by this time, we installed ourselves in the first pizzeria that was open, Biancofarina. A couple of beers. A couple of starters ("rolle", which turned out to be flatbread wrapped around strong ricotta, cherry tomatoes, and rocket; and grilled vegetables). And a shared thin-crust "white, red, and green" pizza, with stracciatella cheese, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes. Certainly not hungry any more after all that. It cost EUR 35, though. Not for doing often.


First impressions of the city have been really favourable. I'd expected the old town to be quaint and pretty, of course, but the new town also has a number of very fine buildings, and is attractively laid out. And who can resist an evening harbour?