Author: terracedale

Today marks half way into our travels. It feels like we’ve been gone for ages and yet it’s gone so quickly. We’ve enjoyed the very busy times along with down time in between. Today is a down day. Another repack of the suitcase to try and make it work better and a self driven walking tour opposite to where we’ve usually walked.

This morning we walked through the gardens which had massive magnolia trees.

The gardens are below the Castello walls upon which are museums and galleries, once occupied by a prison. Large metal frames still exist on some of the windows.

And we discovered more magnificently designed churches. They are everywhere.

All this exploring required energy so we indulged in these amazing cakes. Chocolate coated mango and peanut, oozing appropriate flavour and crunch and washed down with espresso.

This marks the end of our time in Sardinia. It’s been wonderful. Not always easy – the language has been easier than last time but still something extra to consider. English is more widely spoken thankfully. The temperature has been as predicted. HOT!!

We did think it would have been easier to have gone to the beaches in Cagliari but one should never assume.

Arrivederci.

We took a tour in this green machine up, down and around the hilly city with an interesting and confusing commentary. Sardinia is yet another island that has had several owners including Spain and conflict in its lifetime. The area we are staying in, Castello is the mediaeval heart of the City where the nobility once lived, and was home to the middle class, including the merchants. Most of the current buildings are from the 17th Century. The city of Cagliari is 5000 years old! Mind boggling.

The origins of this Church date back to 1370 when it was built to offer spiritual assistance to soldiers engaged in the siege of the city. The Mercenary Fathers found a chest containing a statue of a Madonna – the Blessed Virgin of Bonaria – in water across the road. She became a symbol for the soldiers and is believed to have ‘bled blood’ when stabbed by a soldier.

Two cruise boats have been in the harbour today so the city is even busier. It’s sad to see graffiti everywhere plus many smokers and a number of beggars. There is also a very large police presence.

We spent siesta inside with our air conditioning. It really is too hot to be a tourist all of the day.

No swimming pools here. Lucky we have good books.

Earlier today people were setting up for some kind of musical blast with a DJ. We also witnessed someone performing CPR on a colleague. It was quite alarming as we will never know the outcome.

Delicious dinner – swordfish for G, a local favourite pasta dish for me. We passed on meat of the day – horse!!! A commonly eaten meat here. Hard to fathom. Lots of buskers out performing on a Friday night. Although it feels like every night is Friday, the waiter said it’s been a slow summer, blaming the Trump war.

Cagliari is the capital city of Sardinia. It’s known for the hilltop Castello, a medieval walled quarter situated high over the rest of the town which is where we are staying for the next three nights. Architectural highlights include the 13th-century Cagliari Cathedral.

Our drive followed the coastline for quite some time and was rather mountainous with the speed limit being predominantly 50kph. The sea was so beautiful and calm and went as far as the eye could see.

Eventually the road widened up and went inland, still very dry. A large flat area of completely barren land had been farmed in some form but really it’s hard to know what would grow. It all looks such a struggle with rough farm buildings and fences.

Lunch was at a truck stop along the way. You could buy most things there and so much was super sized. Fascinating.

Closer to the city we could drive at 110kph on a three laned highway. There were extensive areas of burnt land alongside. Apparently wild fires happen every year, and we could see smoke in the distance.

The roads were crazy when we arrived here. The drivers are aggressive and inconsiderate with a lot of horn tooting. Mostly at us I think! It was a relief to drop the car off after first delivering our luggage to our hotel via a very narrow road and some historic walled arches. Poor Graeme had to leave me and find a space to let those behind us pass.

The Hotel concept is interesting. At reception in a foyer was a small desk, but our building is about a 5 minute walk from this. They have three buildings. Breakfast is pre ordered via an app and is delivered to our room at a time chosen by us. We can visit reception or just chat to them via text, as we did in Olbia and Alghero. The modern world!

We are on the second floor and have entered the large building via codes and scanning a card. Then we enter the main corridor before our room at the end.

The priest was sitting in the confessional box waiting for sinners.

Our walk this morning before it got too hot discovered these little houses for cats. They were quite tame. Nice to know they are being looked after.

Neptune’s grotto is one of the largest marine caves in Italy and apparently one of the most captivating gems of nature in the Mediterranean. The grotto was formed about two million years ago. Inside are rooms with spectacular karst formations, a white sandy beach and a huge underground lake. The Coves de Neptú (in Catalan language) was discovered by a fisherman in the 18th century and soon became a tourist attraction. It extends horizontally for about four kilometres on the same level as the surface of the sea. 

It is accessible via a 654 steep carved staircase after a 24 km drive – (Built in 1954). Quite thrilling I believe, with an overhanging wall. Maybe next time. We opted for the 50 minute boat ride to the entrance at the bottom of the cliff. Too hot today.

A fairly loose set of rules in Italy. Bags, food and water came with us. A couple of signs not to touch, but people did. Of course. But it really was a wonderful place to visit being so relaxed. A large group but at your own pace walked the pathway up about 14 metres above sea level. A live commentary with speakers along the way, in Italian, French and English was interesting.

Due to thousands of candles being lit inside over the years there is evidence of smoke staining. Many gatherings were held including orchestral concerts due to the wonderful acoustics, along with dancing on the small beach they boated inside to. How cool. Today of course, more care is taken.

Amazing. Then back in the boat for an easy trip home.

The photos are great for our memory but don’t do it justice at all. We spent siesta in the laundromat. Even with snippets of English us oldies were lucky to be helped by a local! Oh man!

Dinner was overlooking the waterfront followed by coffee at a place we found last night. Stand at the counter and enjoy your two sips of espresso for €1.30. Was €1 in 2017 so that’s not too bad. We put our coins into a machine at the counter. Easy for staff not to have to handle cash.

An organ recital was being held in this Roman Catholic church.

Close to midnight we sat on the rooftop in a very comfortable 22 degrees watching the satellites speed across the night sky.

Tomorrow we drive 3 hours south to Cagliari at the bottom of Sardinia. It’s been lovely here.

Our staff got a little excited this morning as a few rain spots appeared as we were leaving. Apparently northern Italy has had quite a storm with large hail stones and they wanted some of the rain here. It is bone dry, as was our 2 1/2 hour trip to Alghero, a city on the northwest coast of Sardinia. I really feel for the animals, along with the farmers trying to grow their produce. We noticed a paddock with two irrigation guns and another with sprinklers on poles. Not an easy life.

The drive was quite hilly and the road quality varied from almost single lane to two way and then dual as we approached the city and at times was quite rough. Maybe NZ isn’t so bad after all. We stopped in a small town and bought poke bowls for lunch. An interesting task, as we chose the contents ticking tiny pictures on a menu using my translate App. They were delicious.

Entry to our guest house is via code. It’s very old and four rooms are on the segregated 3rd floor, with many stairs to carry your bag. Breakfast is self help between specific hours with fresh produce appearing overnight. We’ve only seen four other guests.

Encircled by ancient walls, Alghero is known for its cobblestoned old centre. Its Catalan Gothic buildings include the Cattedrale di Santa Maria, with an imposing bell tower,

The nearby Chiesa San Michele has a colorful tiled dome.

The city walls are impressive and have been well restored.

Alghero is how I imagined Cannigione would have been and whilst it was good, it was smaller and had less happening, but our chill time beside the pool, along with the beaches was perfect. I love the Old Town here with its historical buildings.

After sunset, people morphed out of the woodwork like worms. They must have been at the beaches all day. The restaurants were booming and as per Italian style your plate disappeared almost before you put your fork down. It’s all about bums on seats $$$. Gelato shops had long queues. It was so crowded and dripping hot. We spoke to a waiter who said he’d never experienced such heat in the evenings – usually the temperatures reduce a bit.

This App threw me a curve ball and I ran out of space, but I do love to print a lot. Hopefully resolved and no more issues. The joys of the less technically savvy.

Well this was a fab day.

The La Maddalena Archipelago is a group of islands in the strait of Bonifacio between Corsica (France) and Sardinia (Italy). Created in 1994, the first in Sardinia, this national park covers more than 20,000 hectares of sea and land. It embraces 180 kilometres of coast and includes more than 60 islands big and small, of granite and schist, sculpted by wind and currents. 

We arrived with plenty of time as I was anxious not to be late. And no one was there. Eeeekk!! Well, even the Staff Coordinator was late. Definitely in Italian time. Despite this, the boat with our maximum 12 people left early. An eight member extended Polish family, two Italians and us kiwis. Our captain Marco and ‘mate’ Flávio took wonderful care of us. Lovely Mediterranean food and of course Prosecco!

We island hopped and stopped for hour long periods whilst we were fed and watered. Very well I might add. It was amazing to dive off the boat and literally float on the water, being so salty. Very easy to swim to shore, some sandy, some a little grainy. The colour of the water was a lovely reminder of the Maldives. Where it is azure blue, there is sand and dark is sea weed types. Beautifully warm, but still refreshing water.

All in all, another special day. A bit pinker than planned. An early night after a long day in the sun.

Of heat. Even the staff say it’s hot. Each day begins hot and gets hotter. At times the car said 39 and 40 degrees but my watch sat on mid 30’s. The air is thick. But we are so lucky to know that each day will be a goodie.

We took a test drive to our location tomorrow of Palau, for our catamaran trip around the archipelago of Maddenla Island. It was good to see the coastline and area without the anxiety of needing to be there on time – 8am. Sounds easy except for the traffic and 30 and 50 km speed limits to travel only 13 kms but GPS allows 25 minutes and that’s how long it took!! Then to find a park. Nothing is free, and there are many narrow and one way roads that weren’t made for cars. So we kind of have an idea now.

But the bonus was a little beach where a car was parking on the roadside. We followed them down a steep rocky track to a sweet little beach. Maximum number was 10 whilst we were there. Lovely and refreshing.

Further along was a larger beach with large boats and a camping ground in the distance. Camping would be challenging.

The landscape is hilly, rocky and mountainous, reminding us of Malta and Spain. Quite barren and burnt off in places but still green with olives, native bush and floral plants.

Picnic lunch on our balcony before another swim and lounge beside the pool waiting for the day to cool off for 5 o’clocks in town at 7! Still busy with people queuing at restaurants at 10pm.

This little town was once a quiet 19th-century fishing settlement, and is now a bustling tourism hub renowned for its marina, crystal-clear beaches, and boat excursions to the La Maddalena Archipelago.  Only a half hour drive from Olbia we came along some fairly narrow and ordinary roads. The speed limit varied between 30 and 50 kph. Not Ferrari speed, but we did see two.

Our little adults only hotel has 27 rooms. We are not the eldest but there’s a lot of young 30 somethings enjoying the peace. About a km from town but a nice view of the sea. Out of the shade was very hot. Three dips in the pool since we arrived this afternoon. We ate a takeaway salad in the park beside the beach as we were a tad early.

We struggled to find somewhere for dinner as there is such a fish culture in this town – didn’t cross my mind. Always pizza available of course. As the night went on the people appeared from everywhere including children sleeping in pushchairs. It was certainly cooler by 10pm – about 30 degrees lol.

A craft style market popped up at 9pm and became busy quickly. Such a different way of life. Families out and about until late.

A nice easy day.

Good morning from Sardinia.

We landed after a bumpy approach and a few gasps as we lost altitude and then rose, due to the hot air – even a sideways fall. Yikes! – to 37 degrees.

Olbia old town is a lively area and as the night approached became more busy. So warm. Of course we couldn’t come to Italy without partaking in the obligatory Campari Spritz which came with the complimentary food. Almost enough for dinner.

Lots of piazzas and little streets lined with tables. Only one night here as we head further north about 30 minutes away to the beaches.

Dinner was an authentic Margherita pizza and a carafe of wine as is the common way. We enjoyed lots of people watching and soaking up the atmosphere. A great first night.

Our entry to Bristol was over this magnificent suspension bridge. Completed in 1864 traffic access is controlled via a gate system to preserve it, so a £1 toll is applied.

Pedestrians and cyclists are free

We’ve had a lovely time with Alison and David – they have been great hosts and walking tour guides. We were also lucky or perhaps unlucky to watch the football with them. Sadly it didn’t go England’s way. Naturally, the locals were gutted. 2-1 to Argentina.

Bristol sits on the River Avon after it has meandered past Bath and out to the River Severn and the Bristol Channel. It is very tidal but has a gate structure to keep the harbour boats afloat. With a rich history of maritime and engineering Bristol has a population of around 500,000.

The Houses’ live in the lovely village suburb of Clifton and our hotel was just around the corner. We had an easy walk into the city and past some magnificent Georgian and Victorian buildings before heading back to Clifton and enjoyed lunch at The Ivy, a brasserie restaurant in a former bank. Stunning. Even the toilets were pretty.

It’s so lovely with the harbour right in the city centre.

Today marks the end of our English stint. We are staying at Gatwick and have only 100 metres walk to the baggage drop area without stepping outside. No stress necessary.