8.17.2006

Sardinia



This weekend saw the adventures of Agnes and Matt continue in Alghero, Sardinia, Italy. Sardinia is the northern-most island off the west coast of Italy, and Alghero is a city at it’s northwest corner.

We rose bright and early at 3:00am on Saturday morning and at 3:30am set off on the hour and a half drive to Frankfurt Hahn airport for our flight. We got to the airport, enjoyed a cup of coffee and got on the plane. We figured out that RyanAir only schedules a few flights in the early mornings and it's the best time to travel with this crazy airline! Maybe it was because all the people were half asleep….who knows, but we didn't have to stress over the check in and security lines, which was a pleasant thing at 5:30am.
After about a 2 hour flight, we landed, got our bags and hopped into a cab. Onward we went....but as we drove, I don't know if Sardinia was what we totally expected.
Our thoughts:
- The only way to get around was really by car or cab. There are no bus systems, trains, etc. All cabs, no matter what the distance, seemed to cost roughly 30 euros. For example, our hotel was only 7km (a little over 4 miles) away from the hotel, yet it cost 30 euros to get there. To get to the vineyards that were on the otherside of the island, interestingly enough, the concierge at the hotel told us it would cost around 30 euros. Weird.
- The whole “scene” reminded us of Mexico. The area around the airport and on the outskirts of the Island were somewhat poor looking and had lots of graffiti. There seemed to be tons of stray dogs everywhere too. For example, we were eating at an outdoor café….and by “we” I mean, Agnes, me and the random dog that moseyed on up and stared at me with, well, a puppy dog look the entire time, and every now and then some other dogs would just pass by, sniff some butt, then move on. It was strange, really.
- There were lots of runners everywhere, especially along the boardwalk. To my dismay, the “spandex” phenomenon seems not to be confined to Luxembourg.
- There is a Spanish influence on the island; however, the language spoken is Italian. Side note: Italian men love to wear yellow, orange or red pants. Love it.
- As you could imagine at a seaside Italian town, the main parts of the diet include extremely tasty seafood and delicious gelato. Also we discovered that there was an abundance of very cheap and refreshing Sardinian beer (Ishnusa) and home grown and produced wines. With that being said, Alghero was not really a "going out" town, but rather one for absorbing the scenery and enjoying long meals and the delicious cuisine.
Anyway, we got to the Hotel Calabona and obviously our room wasn't ready...it was only 9:00am! So we dropped off our luggage and headed into the town to see the sights. To get to the town we walked through the pool area of our hotel (which was not yet open, but looked great) and ended up on a street that put you out, facing the Mediterranean Sea. There was a small private beach for hotel guest right there as well. It was quite a sight.
It seemed like the hotel had lots of excursions you could sign up for that would take you to and from the hotel. These excursions include all-day boat rides, snorkeling, vineyard tours, etc. We were only there for a couple of days, though, so we couldn’t be bothered with that…we were there for the sun, the pool and the beach.
We started our walk (which was about 1km) into Alghero. It was an awesome stroll along a wide boardwalk, the sea on one side of you and restaurants and cafés lining the other side. There were people running by, stray dogs just coasting the street and the waves were crashing into the rocks.
Alghero was quiet being that it was a Saturday morning but we window shopped and managed to weave in and out, down and through the narrow, cobble stoned streets. The town was pretty small and had a quaint and comfortable feeling to it. We ended up on the other side of Alghero, right at the port (which was really a yacht club). It was beautiful! Ships and boats were all over and people were out and about at cafés, walking, taking care of their boats, etc.
When we got back to the hotel, our room was ready. It was a very average sized room, but nice and had a balcony with a view of the sea. We sat pool side for some time, having a few drinks and reading, etc. but then decided to head into town and sign up for one of the local tours. The tour we went on was to the Grotta di Nettuno and it was an experience! Not only was it just beautiful, but the way we got there was nuts.
The ride was by boat and took 45 minutes one way. I’ll try to explain this the best I can. You rode along the coastline, which was awesome. As you approach the caves, first off, the boat doesn't dock. The guy throws a rope over a pole. Then, a "moving" plank with wheels on the bottom of it is leveled out to the land. As the boat and waves come into land, the plank on wheels rolls in toward land as well. As the waves and tide pulls out, the plank goes too...but stops because of the "magic" rope that is around the pole, holding you to the land. There are 2 bars on either side of the plank for you to clutch onto as you are walking this 8 foot moving plank to solid ground...getting back on was the same way...just hold on, walk fast and don't look down!
Once you are on solid ground, you and a mass amount of people somehow get tickets and go through this 30 minute walking tour of the caves/Grotta. The caves were awesome and the tour took you back to grade school when you learned about stalactites and stalagmites. When we were done with the tour we had to wait a bit for our boat. We opted to climb the stairs that were basically built into the side of the cliff. We wanted to see what kind of view we could get. Obviously, if you didn't take the boat, you could drive across part ofthe island, park and walk down the 687 stairs to the Grotta.
Anyways, the boat came back, we got on, and within an hour we were on land snacking on pizza and sandwiches, sipping on a few beers. We were at a bar that was in an awesome location, situated on a corner of the boardwalk that had chairs and tables set up, facing all the hustle and bustle of the port. It was great!
We thought we should head back and shower before going out that evening so we finished our snacks and drinks and started walking back on the boardwalk taking in the sights and sounds. The restaurants were hopping! We got back, grabbed a few glasses of wine from the hotel bar and went back to our room....and then the rain came...and came....and came....and then we fell asleep....no going out for us!
The next day, I was really disappointed that we didn't make it out...mostly that we were on vacation but were in bed by 10:00pm! But, Aggie informed me that she woke up a few times throughout the night and it had rained non-stop. We would have been miserable if we would have gotten caught in the storm, so I guess it all worked out. We did wake up feeling like superstars because of the 10 hours of sleep we got...the sun was shining…it was time to hit it!
Breakfast was set up outside under a lovely tent by the sea, kind of reminding us of a wedding reception. After breakfast we were poolside from 9:00am till 4:00pm! During this time, we did take a few beer breaks and headed down to the private beach for a bit as well. I can also confirm that I have now worn a Speedo on an Italian beach.
Around 4 or 5:00pm we showered up and headed into town. We got some gelato and a 3 euro bottle of Chianti Classico (not to drink right then and there, just to bring home) and just walked around for a bit. We ended up getting a drink and a banana (served on a plate with a fork and knife, for some strange reason) at a random Irish bar and then ended up at our "prime-time" people watching bar along the port again! After a glass of wine (this time served with apples and potato chips…????), we headed out for a proper dinner.
Dinner was probably one of the best parts of this whole trip for a few reasons: great company and conversation, we sat outside along the boardwalk and sea, awesome sunset, delicious food, did I mention great company? After our steak and fish, pasta and salads with refreshing wine, we walked on down the boardwalk toward our hotel.
It was getting late and we took our time walking back. People were everywhere and the restaurants were packed. Lots of vendors lined the walk as well, selling all sorts of random stuff.
That night, we went to sleep with the balcony windows opened, listening to the waves crashing on to the rocks. This is the way to live!!
Monday morning we rose early and left the hotel around 7:30am for our flight back to reality.
This upcoming weekend we don’t have a whole lot planned…just random errands and hanging out in the GD (Grand Duchy). The weekend after, though, watch out...Darren and Nicole Ludwig, good friends from Chicago, are meeting us in Milan. From there, we head to Vernazza, one of the five villages comprising the Cinque Terre national park in Italy. We‘ve heard nothing but excellent, excellent things about this part of Italy, so we are real excited and we‘ll make sure to post a comprehensive blog about it in the coming weeks. But for now, ciao!