This trip we brought along J's friend S from work. S was also looking forward to a few sunny days on the beach. S added a whole other fun dynamic to the trip. We're so happy she came along!
Friday, the first day, was a pretty easy 2 hour flight from Frankfurt-Hahn to Alghero airport. It was sunny, but only about 10 degrees F warmer than Germany: 60 degrees F!!! It was also windy, making it cold enough to debate wearing shorts.
We took a cab to our rented flat. Our cab driver was awesome! She was a middle-aged woman who zipped around in her car shouting and swearing in Italian to whatever obstacle was in her way.
I've decided that Italian is very pleasing to the ear, no matter what the context: anger, love, curiosity, confusion, annoyance, polite, or rude. I don't speak Italian, but I know a good amount of Spanish. Italian is annoyingly close to Spanish in that many of the words are identical, but enough is different such that an Italian will likely not understand you if you only speak Spanish. More on that later.
We got to our flat 30 minutes early, called our flat renter, and he sent his "cousin" to let us in. A different "cousin" came to let us out of our flat early, but more on that later. The flat was quite nice: right in one of the main squares (Piazza Civica) in old town Alghero. It had a low-ceilinged loft area for the bed, and the rest of the apartment was the kitchen/dining room/living room space with some closets and the bathroom with a shower. S slept on the fold-out couch while J and I slept in the loft bed. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it worked well enough. J was struck by the heavy dose of orange decorating the flat. We also liked the windows opening out to the Piazza from our room. Every single morning each one of us took a turn to look out those windows.
After settling in, I wanted to hit the Tourist Information center ASAP. I wanted a map, an update on the weather, and any other local touristy information I could get. Since it was cold, we were likely going to need alternate plans. I thought it was amusing that when we got there, they were helping Germans and were speaking German. The same people helped us in English when we got to the counter. Being multi-lingual definitely makes one employable.
We then decided to wander along the beaches nearby. Alghero is right on the coast, right outside of where we were was the city port, and immediately north of that was miles of public and private beaches. It was very picturesque, but definitely cold enough that no one was in their bathing suits. We decided to barefoot it just to see how cold it was...it was the kind of cold that reminded me of the Pacific Ocean at the same time of year: cold enough to make you numb after about 5 minutes or so. The beaches were nice, though. The sand was a fine off-white. There was TONS of plant matter washed ashore the ungroomed beaches. It made a kind of foot-deep mulch in some places. There were also a bunch of plant fiber balls everywhere. It was a little bizarre to behold.
Fiber balls!
S is enjoying the brief amount of sun that day whilst I try to figure out what adventures are available for tourists like us.
We then decided to peruse Alghero old town, a walled city mostly built from the Catalonian era when Spain had control of the island.
This is the westernmost pier from the walled city.
We treated ourselves at dinner to a standard Italian multi-course meal. You order an appetizer, a bottle of wine, a first course which is typically a pasta (Primero), a second course which is typically a meat (Secondo), and then a dessert. We ate at a restaurant that I unfortunately can still see in my mind but cannot remember the name. Rummaging through my Sardinia book, I think it may have been the Refettorio. I remember the entrance appearing to be into a dark alley only to open into a high-ceiling and very nice restaurant. The service was good, and the food was fantastic (a common theme in Italy). The three of us chatted and leisurely ate and drank over the course of a couple hours.
A curious culture thing: every restaurant where we ordered a bottle of wine, the server had me taste-test the wine. It didn't matter who ordered it, nor the fact that I might have ordered a different drink for myself. The three of us decided it was simply because I was a man, even though I drank the least of the three of us. It was an experience for me as truly no two bottles of wine (even if the same maker and vintage) tasted the same.
With that, we all went to bed. We decided to try to see the Neptune Grotto the next day. That turned out to be an adventure in and of itself.
2 comments:
Are you sure you are from MN? You can't wear shorts in 60F? I'm still rocking mine and its 40-50F.
Looks awesome. What was the food like?
Hey Kaleb,
I sadly do not have the triathlete blood pumping through my veins. You hold the upper hand on that one :)
The food was AMAZING! The meat was all seasoned very subtly but tasted perfect. The pasta and the veggies were also all tasting like they were freshly made only an hour ago. The fruit at the market was more disappointing. It was good, but with a higher rate of being overripe. The wines were also really good, but a little inconsistent at times. I drank more wine in Sardinia than anywhere else in my entire life thus far.
For the record, Sardinia is known for its seafood. ALL of it was the best I've ever had. I personally would be very curious to know how it would stack up against the flavors you encountered in Asia and Australia.
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