Med Cruise: Brindisi, Italy

 Our first port of call was Brindisi, Italy.  Brindisi is on the "boot heel" part of Italy, if you know what I mean. It isn't a major tourist town and was kind of an odd place for a cruise to stop... but I'm not about to complain about having a sunny afternoon stroll around Southern Italy!

 

We didn't arrive in port until after lunch, so we spent the morning exploring the ship and playing a few holes of mini golf on deck.  Toby is playing golf this Spring and liked showing off his new skills despite the fact that the slight rocking of the ship, combined with the cruddy green made this a very unpredictable game.

 

One of our lefties, putting rightie.

 

 

We had no major sights we really wanted to see in Brindisi, so we just strolled the Old Town.  Some of the buildings were in really rough shape.

 

 

But there was authentic Italian gelato.

 

 

Like much of Italy, there was a mixture of buildings from many different eras, some dating back to the Roman empire.

 

The tempio di San Giovanni al Sepolcro (Saint John Sepulchre Temple) was built in the 11th and 12th Centuries.  This church was once held by the Order of Holy Sepulcher (Templars Knights) and was a really cool find on our walkabout.

 

The frescoes inside have been terribly damaged over the years but pieces of the pictures are still visible in places.

 

  

The wooden roof is obviously new, but this tiny sanctuary was really lovely, light, and quiet inside.

 

  

We looked out the back door just out of curiosity, and found this lovely flower and vegetable garden in the courtyard.

  

There were tons of flowers, a few fruit trees, and some rows of veggies: including, artichokes, lettuce, and other greens. I loved it!

 

  

 Pit stop!

 

The next spot we explored was the San Pietro Degli Schiavoni archaeological area. This is an interesting area that was found and is being excavated under the city's main theater.  It was an ancient Roman street with shops and everything.  We walked around the perimeter and talked with the kids about what an archeologist does and how it is similar to and different from a paleontologist (Jake recently went on a field trip to a dinosaur museum.)  It was shady and cool under the theater and the sight was free which was perfect.

 

Well Brindisi, you were a very relaxing first stop on our cruise itinerary... but it was about time to get to some serious sightseeing!