2014 Trip to Italy and Malta
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The Hendersons Sardinia |
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2014 Trip to Italy and Malta |
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September 27 When we arrived in Sardinia, we met Pietro and Antonella and had lunch with them after a little sightseeing. Pietro is one of our Skype language partners. Later that afternoon we continued to Alghero and checked into our apartment.
Alghero is a pretty town until you get a couple of blocks away from the water. Our landlord, Pierpaolo, was a very nice person and the apartment was quite adequate. Because of problems with the car, we arrived rather late. We had called Renault Assistance, and they sent a truck to tow our car to the garage. We walked to the nearby supermarket and did a little more shopping, then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant. September 28 Because this was Sunday, repairs to the car would be delayed. We walked along the waterfront into the old town center and looked around before having lunch at a pizzeria. The walk was pleasant, but it was surprisingly warm and rather humid. We decided to have dinner that evening at the same restaurant (it was quite good) and would cook dinner in our apartment the following night. September 29 Monday we did some laundry, then spent more time walking along the waterfront and stopping for a gelato. We checked on the car repairs, and indications were that it would be ready on Tuesday. Mel was able to produce a very nice dinner despite the limitations of our kitchen. September 30 Tuesday was a rather stressful day with one delay after another. Renault Assistance took very good care of us, but their failure to return phone calls was very annoying. Eventually we were able to go pick up our car at something after 5 o'clock in the evening. We still had a long drive to get to Cagliari, but were able to arrive by about 8:30. We got checked into our apartment and then went out to find dinner. Wouldn’t you know it, we had booked an apartment in the only place in Italy that doesn’t have a restaurant easily within walking distance. We walked around quite a bit and saw some girls carrying pizza boxes, so we stopped to ask them where they had purchased their pizza. Fortunately, the pizzeria was close by. They had a dining room as well as take out. We learned that on Sardinia, horse is a very common meat. In fact, the menu had about six different cuts of horse, and one of beef. At least it tasted like beef. By the time we got back to the apartment after dinner, we were both incredibly tired. Mel woke up at a reasonable hour the next morning, but I slept until 10 o'clock. October 1 Wednesday morning we had a leisurely breakfast, then went out to find the local open air market. We returned to the apartment and had lunch, then drove to a nearby town named Pula. Pula is a lovely little town, and we wished we had stayed there rather than in Cagliari. We had a gelato and then walked around the town and looked into the local church. We drove back to our apartment and made reservations for dinner at a local restaurant. We walked to that restaurant and it was a very nice stroll. The restaurant is called Lord Nelson and the food was excellent. The stroll back to our apartment was relaxing.
October 2 We had read about an archeological site in a little town named Nora so Thursday we drove there and joined a tour that was being conducted in English. Since we were late joining the tour the guide asked us if we spoke English. We told her yes, a little. The tour was very interesting. The site had been originally settled by the Phoenicians, then captured by the Carthagenians, and finally by the Romans – urban recycling. After the tour we continued on to Sant Antioco - a little island on the southwest coast. It was charming. We headed back to Cagliari for our last night on Sardinia.
October 3 Friday was our last day in Cagliari and we had arranged for a walking tour. We killed time before the tour having lunch and walking around on our own. Our tour guide was a French girl who had moved to Cagliari. After the tour we made our way to the ferry dock and then onto the ferry to Sicily. It was another overnight ferry but at least we could communicate with the crew. The cabin was much like the one on the French ferry, except cleaner and in better repair. The food was just as bad.
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