One of the best (second only to food adventures) aspects of living in Europe is experiencing the many cultures. We love our German host country, but are also mesmerized by the Italian culture. So, it was with great anticipation that I booked a trip to the beaches of Alghero with my mom (recognizing fully that brother John should be with us).
Day 1: Mom's first adventure of the trip began with Ryan Air (GhettoAir), which is an entire college course in Sociology within one flight. I believe there was an entire village of Italians on our plane. What an interesting group.... I wonder if Italians can talk without their hands....
The rental car/hotel fiasco: I have rented many cars in my lifetime, and it's been easy every time. Well, that streak changed as I stood in line for 1.5 hours, being only number 5 in queue. I was beyond frustrated. No worries though, they wouldn't use my card since it didn't have some bumpy thing. So, I had nothing else to weigh my patience (sarcasm intended). Suddenly, I developed Italian speaking hands. It looked cooler than it sounds!
The rental car was a neat little Smart Car, perfect for whipping in and out of traffic for the 15 minute ride to our hotel. Well, 1.5 hours later, 1 run in with the Alghero Policia, pending roaming charges on my phone, and a healthy tour of the city, we finally made it to our hotel. Which, just so happened to be in the home of the nicest Italian couple on the planet. The funny part: I am pretty sure they think my mom and I are married. I am not going to tell them otherwise, what a great story they now have!
Day 2: I learned some things today; I love snorkeling and Italians are not afraid of their bodies. Yep, lots of skimpy swimwear on people who don't need it. Kinda begs to question how they fit in their thimble sized showers!
The water here is azure blue, cold, and a welcomed reprieve from the sun. Our first beach was gently sloping, drenched in a cool ocean breeze, and the perfect place for a nap, and nap we did. We hit the road just as the beach got crowded. We decided to make our way to Neptune's Grotto, a set of caverns carved out of the cliffs from 100's of thousands of years of erosion. What an amazing 640+ step walk down and back up... Whew!
After baking in the hot sun, we decided to make a pit stop at a tiny beach that was all of 30 yards across. This area was nestled amongst rocks and coral, making a great locale for some snorkeling. Got some under water video of that! Couldn't coax mom to snorkel. That's okay, the nude sun bather next to us probably made her think twice about getting in the water:)
We wrapped up the day with a 45 minute drive to the 800+ year old village of Castelsardo. We ran across a tortoise making his way slowly along the road. My sister always would stop to help them venture safely across roads. She said it was because I loved tortoises as a boy. I know she loved them too, so it we decided that God placed us on that road for a reason!
Dinner in Castelsardo was excellent, tried something that I have wanted to for a while... Salted/Cured mullet roe. That's right, cured fish egg sac... Yum! I had mine served garnished over a bed of fresh pasta tossed in buttered garlic and chili pepper. It was 100 times better than most people think it would be. I really loved it! Mom wouldn't even try it, her loss! Castelsardo, what a beautiful place!!
Day 3: Decided to take it slow today, so we rolled out of bed at 9:30 and walked the old town of Alghero, had a cup of espresso on the old city wall, and enjoyed the cool Mediterranean breeze. I love Italian cities!
Well, our slow day turned into an adventure after a trip to the visitor center. I had read somewhere that a Spaghetti Western had been filmed in Sardinia. I understand it was the Clint Eastwood Classic, "For a Few Dollars More." I love old westerns and thought it would be cool to see this. I was able to find someone at the center who understood me, and tried to tell me it was no longer there, but the area it had been boasted a wonderful archaeological site, Therros. We opted for this 2 hour drive gladly taking the coastal route, and oh my did we choose right!
Therros was absolutely fascinating. The ruins were remnants from a Phonecian city (8th Century BC), which was built a top remains of a settlement dating back to 1900 BC! WOW!
Well, still being focused on that Spaghetti Western movie set, I asked the ticket person for Therros. He, like the previous person, told me it was long gone. Even showed me a picture from long ago. He did tell me where it was. Being stubborn I decided that it was worth one last try. Found it!!!
Our day ended with a great dinner back in Sardinia. Look at the view from our table!
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