We said goodbye to Dubrovnik to make our way to our next overnight destination of Zadar. It was Republic Day in Croatia so at times there was a lot of traffic on the road. We passed by heaps of fruit and vege stalls directly on the roadside with farmers selling their wares. They were very colorful and we loved the water flowing over the watermelons and juices to keep them fresh in the heat.
The mountainous scenery along the way was rather stunning at times but hard to get a photo when Harley is traveling at 130kph.
ZADAR is an historic old town with Roman ruins and medieval churches set on a small peninsula. Our apartment was in a great location with views of the bridge we had to cross to get to the Old Town, which is called Polutok.
We wandered the cobbled streets. The Narodni Trg is a very pretty square with a Renaissance City Guard building dating from 1562 and it’s clock tower was added in 1789.
The Church of St Donatus is classed as a medieval monument and was built in the 9th century. It is now a venue for summer music concerts , but only medieval renaissance music, thank God. The Bell Tower actually is part of the Cathedral of St Anastasia which stands behind. The Cathedral was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and was badly bombed during WW11 and has been partially reconstructed.
We strolled along the Promenade Alstadt and decided that a fish dinner was in order. We tried to reserve a table at quite a few restaurants but on a public holiday in Croatia , “ no reservations sir, you come and queue for a table “. After spotting some sea bass coming out from one restaurant, we declared that was where we would eat. We went home, frocked up, came back, and got a table straight away. 5 mins later there was a long queue. Lucky for us! We had 3 sea bass and it was delicious, up there in the top 3 for the holiday.
On our stroll back home the Old Town was magically alight. It was a good overnight stop.
That was our last night in Croatia.
Our thoughts……
Way too many people!
Very expensive, 16 euros for one aperol is outrageous.
We left our little hamlet of Stari Grad, put Harley on the ferry to return to Split and then drive to Dubrovnik for a 2 night stay. Dubrovnik has been UNESCO listed since 1979. In 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, it was besieged for 7 months and suffered significant damage, and after much restoration it has re emerged as one of the Mediterraneans top tourist destinations, and boy oh boy, there were a lot of tourists!
Our apartment was lovely, in a very quiet location, and had a great balcony with a sea view. We frocked up and headed down to the Old Town.
We had some great coastal views on the way down and eventually arrived at the Pile Gate, built in the 15th century.
Steps then take you down to the Stradun, the towns main thoroughfare, being 300 meters long.
The sunlight on the buildings was too hard for Greg to resist taking heaps of photos. Here are just a few.
We found a spot to have dinner, sea bass fillets, although Rhonda suspected it was sea bream as she is an expert on sea bass, and Greg had tuna which for him was very over cooked however the ambience was pleasant.
After dinner Greg wanted an expresso but apparently it is impossible in Dubrovnik to get an expresso after around 7pm, so we settled for a drink instead!
The next day we wandered back to the Old Town to do some more exploring. The Town Walls are nearly 2 kms long. It costs 40 euros per person to walk round them, we declined! There are 16 towers, 3 fortresses, 6 bastions and 2 drawbridges and the walls are 4 to 6 meters thick. The walls were constructed during the 13th/ 17th centuries and protected the city from many invaders including the Venetians.
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built between 1671 and 1713. Unfortunately no tourists were allowed inside as it was Sunday and there was a service happening.
We then headed up the Jesuit Stairs , a grand Baroque staircase designed in the 1730’s which leads to the St Ignatius Church, a baroque church built in the 17th and 18th century. Inside was stunning, adorned with frescoes and gilded decorations. There was a service happening here too, however us tourists were allowed entry. The marble columns and altar piece were rather spectacular.
We then came across the Statue of Marin Drzic. He was a well known Croatian playwright and often known as the Shakespeare of Dubrovnik. It is said that to rub his nose and knees will bring you good luck, hence Greg thought he would give it a go!😂
We then came to the Church of St Blaise, dedicated to the patron saint of Dubrovnik and dates back to the 18th century. The interior again was rather spectacular.
Dubrovnik has iconic narrow paths and steep stairways. We had a pre lunch aperitivi along one of the narrow ones, not up those steps! We then enjoyed a burger for lunch.
We then made our way back home, sat on the balcony, and watched the sunset.
We enjoyed our time in Dubrovnik, certainly put some kms in the legs and Greg’s knee stood up to the pressure quite well.
Next stop was Zadar, but that’s next blog.
Weather is certainly warming up here, 36 degrees today!
Our ferry ride to Korcula was about 2 hours and we were lucky to grab some seats as it was quite full. Korcula Old Town is a medieval walled city and surrounded by thick stone walls and towers that date from the 14th century.
St Peters Church is a small Catholic Church dating back to the 14th century and one of the oldest in the old town. We sat and had a drink in the tiny square admiring the church but wished we had moved on more quickly when we received the bill. It was 16 euros each for an aperol spritz…..thank God it was Judy’s shout! 😂
The Revelin Tower was built in 1485 and is the main entrance to the old city. It is adorned with the Venetian Coat of Arms.
St Marks Cathedral built in the Gothic Renaissance style was completed in the 15th century.
The Korcula Town Hall Museum stands opposite the Cathedral and was the Palazzo Gabrelis built in the 16th century. St Michael’s Church was founded at the beginning of the 17th century.
We had a fabulous lunch, a wonderful fish platter for 2, eaten by the 3 of us and we were absolutely stuffed. It consisted of 2 grilled sea bass, 2 grilled calamari , grilled tuna, Swiss chard and potatoes, with a side of tomatoes and fries! Yummy!!!
Jude did quite a bit of shopping while we did quite a bit of sitting and drinking. Wandering the narrow cobbled streets was fabulous, albeit with a little bit of ups and downs which didn’t agree completely with Greg’s knee, however we enjoyed the day immensely.
We were approaching the end of our stay on Hvar, so decided we needed a swim. Again the water was super clear and very refreshing. As per usual, we needed the obligatory drink after our swim, so we chose a bar with great water views.
Our host had told us about a great winery that we should visit so on our last day we thought we would check it out. He did tell us it was through a tunnel, but didn’t say it was a one way, pitch black tunnel, sharply carved out of rock by the army in 1962, and directed by a traffic light system at both entrances…..thank God. It was the longest 1.4 kms that us girls had ever experienced, however Greg loved the drive!😩
The best thing though was that on the other side of the tunnel, we drove along a beautiful coastal road to the winery called Bilo Idro, a restaurant/wine bar where you can “drink with the fish”. We spent a lovely couple of hours there but still had the trauma of the tunnel on the way home!😂
On our last night in Stari Grad Greg cooked up a storm on the bbq, and he very kindly bought us a dessert, ice creams from the supermarket, chocolate coated, banana flavored “things”. The jury is still out as to whether they are worth buying again. 😂
We saw some wonderful sunsets over our 6 nights in Stari Grad. We really enjoyed our stay but had to return to the mainland to have a 2 night stay in Dubrovnik, so that is to come next time.
The weather is still great, although there are hotter days to come apparently, just hope it’s not too hot. Gregs knee is causing a few little problems, but Rhonda has her fingers crossed that he can last out another 2 or 3 weeks.
We have a huge catch up to do with our travels. We’ve been very busy sightseeing, eating and drinking but the pace has slowed down now.
We spent a fantastic 6 night stay on the Croatian island of Hvar staying at Stari Grad, one of the oldest towns in Europe and supposedly has a history dating back 2400 years! Our apartment was fabulous with a great balcony for relaxing and a fantastic bbq which Greg utilized extremely well.
On our first night we wandered round the town and had a great sea bass and calamari dinner on the gorgeous waterfront which was aligned with heaps of boats both big and small and we even found one named Ronda!
St Stephen’s Church dats back to 1605 and its clock tower was built in 1753. The Church of St Roch was built in the 16th century.
We loved wandering the back narrow streets and we were amazed at how clean everything was…..also the huge number of cats that layed everywhere sunning themselves.
Along the waterfront promenade, there were numerous places for us to hydrate with both coffee and other beverages.
We decided to take Harley for a drive and our first stop was at the gorgeous little village of Vrobska, not far from Stari Grad, and the smallest town on the Island. The Fortress Church of Saint Mary of Mercy is unique in the Adriatic region. It was fortified at the expense of the local people for their defense against the Turks in 1571.
The girls climbed to the top, up a rather steep spiral staircase (Greg declined the offer) and had some great views of the town below.
We then continued onto the town of Jelsa, a larger holiday destination and stopped for a coffee on the waterfront. The Church of St Ivan was built in the 15th Century and sat in a very pretty square away from the touristy promenade.
We then continued along a rather winding road to Sućuraj, the most easterly point of the island. It was very laid back with a quaint fishing harbour and a lighthouse on the point..
It was a rather long day for both Harley and Greg so we stopped off on the way home for a couple of refreshments, then home for a “Roberts Caesar Salad” for dinner. It was a great day.
Another day we decided to catch the ferry and check out the island of Korcula and it’s stunning Old Town. We first had to drive to the town of Hvar and park Harley for the day.. The ferry port had heaps of yachts and boats, both large and extra large!
Behind the port there were loads of the usual small cobbled streets and also quite large open piazzas. We found it a little too touristy for us and were quite happy that we were staying in quiet little Stari Grad.
There will be a Part 2 to follow with the remainder of our time in Stari Grad. Too many photos of Korcula to add to this blog!😂 It was a photographers dream.
The weather has still been great, not too hot, the wine and beer is still good, probably too much of it!
Time to hydrate, and so far today Greg has walked over 9 kms, so his knees are, for a better word…shit!
We left Zagreb and had a 4 1/2 hour drive to our next destination, Split, the 2nd largest city in Croatia. Our little apartment was fabulous, a little distance out of the madness of the Old Town. We had our own little garden to relax in….when it wasn’t raining!
We found out on our first night that Uber works well in Split. Our driver dropped us off at the Esplanades and waterfront called Splitska Riva. Boy oh boy, we were hit by wall to wall people, it was extremely busy.
The Riva is a 500 metre long waterfront boulevard stretching along the Adriatic Sea with stunning views of the harbour and lined with palm trees. After our long drive we needed to hydrate so found a nice spot for an aperitivi before dinner.
Dinner was next on the agenda so we wandered and wandered and wandered and finally decided on a great little restaurant in the back streets of the Old Town. The sea bass, the calamari, and the grilled veges were absolutely delicious. Good choice!!
Behind the Riva is the Old Town and it is centered around the Diocletian Palace. In 295AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered a residence to be built there for his retirement, as one does!
The Cathedral of Saint Domnius is considered to be one of the best preserved ancient Roman buildings still standing and was built as a mausoleum for the emperor. The Bell Tower was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries and reconstructed in 1908 after it had collapsed. That was the reason we decided not to climb it as we thought it may be due to collapse agin….had nothing to do with Greg’s knee!
The Fruit Square was once a bustling fruit market and now is full of restaurants, bars and shops. It was impressive both during the day and at night time.
The People’s Square dates from the 15th century and has many beautiful buildings built by the nobility over the years. It has a Romanesque clock tower with the remains of a medieval sundial. Again it was stunning day and night.
The following day we opted to walk down the steps to the Old Town to get some water views and quite a few steps there were. However the views were worth it looking out over the Matejuska port. One of our party was a little quicker than the other 2, who seemed to be lost at some stage and looking for something but God only knows what!😂
We wandered again toward the Old Town and came across Republic Square, said to resemble St Marks Square in Venice…..we agreed.
After a coffee, Greg sat and made himself comfortable while Rhonda and Jude went shopping! Greg had enough time for 2 or 3 beers while the girls dodged people walking through the Old Town, going in and out of shops, checking out bargains, and working up a thirst to meet Greg 2 hours later for a well earned drink themselves. The Croatian National Theatre is in Split and was opened in 1893 and is one of the oldest surviving theatres in the area of Dalmatia.
We enjoyed our time in Split, particularly the time spent in our lovely quiet apartment far from the noisy pushy tourists in the Old Town. 😂 It was soooooooo busy.
After 2 nights in Split we put Harley on ferry to make our way to a much anticipated 6 night relaxing stay on the island of Hvar, staying at Stari Grad. And it has been exactly that but that’s for the next entry!
So it’s that time again, time for a mineral water as we all thought it was time for an AFD! 😕🙄🙃😝
Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow!
weather still great, not too hot, wine and beer still cold
After a great time in Ljubljana, we left Slovenia and headed into Croatia. Before crossing the border we popped into Novo Mesto, a very cute little town. It also had a great shoe shop, good outcome for Rhonda!
We then crossed the border and made our way into Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It has an upper town and lower town. Our apartment, although not flash on the outside, was great inside with a small balcony where we could overlook the gorgeous building on the other side of the street!
On our first day we decided to explore the Upper Old Town.The first thing we noticed was the huge amount of scaffolding on many of the old buildings due to restoration work being done primarily due to the earthquake that struck in 2020. The Cyril and Methodius Church was built around 1830 and rebuilt after the earthquake.
St Marks Basilica is one of the oldest buildings in Zagreb and dates back to the 14th century. It’s tiled roof was created in 1880 and bears the Coats of Arms of different areas.
The main square, the Ban Jelacic Square was rather large with the famous trams running through the middle and standing proudly in the centre was Count Josip Jelacic one of the most important Croatian politicians in the 19th Century.
The Dolac Market is a large Farmers Market, open daily , selling flowers, fruit, veges and meat. We loved the red umbrellas which we found all over Zagreb. It has been operating for over 80 years. The statue of Kumica is a tribute to the hard working women of Zagreb. Greg thought she was pretty cool!
Very few parts of the Old City Walls are still standing, most were demolished in the 19th century. We decided to have a typical Zagreb lunch and opted for the Zagrebacki Odrezak, a pounded veal cutlet filled with cheese and ham, then rolled , covered in breadcrumbs and fried! OMG , it was delicious!
We continued on our tour to walk our lunch off and came across the Stone Gate with the statue of St George, after he had slain the dragon, not before. Sorry no photos of the Stone Gate and the statue of the Virgin Mary, too man tourists in front of it!
On our way home we walked through the Tunnels of Zagreb. They were built during WW11 as a bomb shelter. They fell into disrepair and renewed in the 1990’s. They also functioned as a shelter during the Croatian War of Independence tween 1991 and 1995.
Of course in between this walking there had to be time for hydration and we had plenty of bars to choose from.
The following day we hit the Lower Town and found some beautiful buildings that had already been fully restored, well on the outside at least! The Croatian National Theatre was magnificent and built in 1860. At the entrance to the Theatre is the Well of Life, a sculpture depicting people in various phases of life , crouching and twisting their bodies. Sadly a couple of “ring ins” crashed their party!
Greg was impressed with the statue of Nikola Tesla, a Croatian inventor and engineer, best known for his design of the AC electricity supply system.
The beautiful Art Gallery was built in 1896 and the statue of King Tomislav, the first king of Croatia stands proudly in the square.
The Croatian State Archives , again a lovely restored building was built in 1913, and further along the street was the Italian Embassy.
Of course as we wandered we had to try the cream cakes of Zagreb….verdict……Ljubljana wins hands down!
Here is a selection of buildings that didn’t have scaffolding on it.😂
We must admit we were a little underwhelmed by Zagreb when we first arrived, however it did grow on us and by the time we left we loved it. We had great weather, found good watering holes and ate some great food, both out and about, and also prepared by our in house chef!
We are a little behind with our posts, sorry, been a bit busy but we will try to catch up.
No need for an update on Greg, apart from his knee , all other ailments have disappeared!
We sadly left our villa in Tuscany to continue on our trip. We now have Judy with us so more fun and frivolity is ahead.
Before we left Montecatini though we visited a couple more places. We made a trip to Montecatini Alto via the funicular for a morning tea.
Montecatini is home to many thermal spas , so we decided to visit one of them! We went to the Tettucio Thermal complex, which served as a meeting place for many of the greatest figures in music and politics. It was originally built between 1779 and 1781 and then reconstructed in 1928. The architecture was amazing and the thermal waters that flow from taps in the complex is supposedly good for diabetes to stomach problems.
We stayed 3 nights in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Our apartment was an easy stroll to the very picturesque Old Town. The Ljubljana River runs through the centre with bars and restaurants all along both banks.
The Triple Bridge , obviously named, dates back to the 13th century and is the oldest in the town. It was redesigned and expanded in the 1930’s, and is UNESCO listed.
The main square, Preseren Square, sits at a medieval crossroad and the Franciscan Monastery and Church dates back to the 17th century.
We decided to eat out on our first night and had eaten enough pasta and pizza over the last few weeks so we decided on a burger. We chose the very aptly named “Pops”. It was a great burger and the onion rings and fries topped off a great meal.
Walking home was rather magical with beautiful illuminated buildings and Greg was extremely happy with the reflections on the river.
The following day was again spent wandering the Old Town. The dragon is the emblem of Ljubljana and is considered a symbolic protector of the city. It represents strength, courage, and might and is depicted on the city’s Coat of Arms. One of the main attractions is the Dragon Bridge named for obvious reasons. Legend says that if a virgin crosses the bridge the dragons will wave their tails. Needless to say there was no tail wagging when Rhonda and Judy crossed!!
The Robbov Vodnjak is a marble and limestone fountain with an Oblisk dating back to the 18th Century. At every corner you wander around, there is more stunning architecture.
The Ljubljana Castle is a key landmark of the city, and accessible by funicular. Most of the buildings date back to the 16th century. The castles watchtower was added in the 19th century. We could have walked the 95 steps via the staircase to check out the view but we opted to take a photo instead. The chapel below dates back to 1489 and is the oldest surviving remnants of the castle.
For lunch we decided on a typical Slovenian sausage called the Carniolan. We knew it had to be good by the long queue of people lining up at the door……and it was.
For dinner it was decided that we needed dumplings so off we went. We were the only ones in the restaurant when we entered, and the waiter had to call the chef to come in as we wanted to have fried , not steamed dumplings. By the time we left the place was full and the dumplings were delicious.
The next day we decided to take Harley for a drive to Lake Bled, a beautiful blue/green lake in the Julien Alps. Bled Island sits proudly in the middle and is accessible by the traditional wooden Pletna Boats. Their origins date back to 1590. There are only 23 of these boats on the lake and very popular for the tourists.
As the boats reach the island you are met by 99 steps which lead to St Mary’s Church. Their origins date tradition for locals who marry inside the church is to take a Pletna boat to the island and the groom MUST carry his bride up all the 99 steps, they marry in the church and then ring the Wishing Bell that is inside and that guarantees them a long and happy marriage. People who enter the church can ring the bell, locals and tourists alike , and the Pope decreed that anyone who rings it 3 times will have their wish granted.
The Clock Tower has 99 steps as well to climb for an apparently lovely view. We took their word for it!
We disappointed Judy by not stopping in the town of Bled so that she could try a Bled Cream Cake. Instead, when we returned to Ljubljana we decided to try their version. It was very similar, full of cream and very light custard.
We enjoyed our stay. Ljubljana is a wonderful vibrant city.
An update on Greg’s knees……sort of holding up! Starting to walk further distances, and still exercising as often as he can. Shingles have finally disappeared, but that can’t be said about the waistlines!!!,
Weather is still around 30 during the day and 20 overnight….perfect.
Sorry for the delay of this next blog but we have been a bit busy as you will see later!
We sadly said goodbye to Sardinia after a fabulous 3 week stay. We were booked on an overnight ferry from Olbia to the port of Livorno on the Italian mainland. On the way to Olbia we passed by the rather impressive Santa Trinita Di Saccargia, the surviving part of a huge Benedictine Monastery built in 1112.
Before boarding our ferry, we had plenty of time to wander around the town. Of course we had a few drinks, pizza for dinner and Greg had to have his pistachio ice cream.
Our ferry was due to depart 10pm but we needed to board with Harley by 8:30pm. It was a very interesting exercise! We had booked “suites”onboard with our own shower and toilet and we have to say it wasn’t too bad at all. However there was a scramble by those without cabins to grab the longest couches in any corner they could , then lay their blankets down to “mark their territory”. Some even blew up lilos to sleep on. We were due to disembark at 6:30am and we were told we needed to be out of our cabins by 5:30am. It took us a while to drive off, as when full, which it was, it means that 1300 cars need to exit.
We needed to stop for lunch somewhere and Sienna was on the way. Julie had not been there so while Julie wandered the Old Town , we enjoyed a couple of beers, a nice lunch and the spectacular view of the Piazza del Campo where the famous horse race takes place each year.We would have had some photos but somehow the blog will not load them so sorry! But trust us , we did go there!
Then it was time to move onto the destination which the whole holiday has been center red around. 1955 was the year of our joint 70th birthdays so we had booked a villa in Tuscany 2 years ago to celebrate with family and friends who had happened to be holiday inn in Europe at the time.
Our Villa was in the spa town of Montecatini Terme in Tuscany which is located half way between Pisa and Florence.
Our first night saw us welcome our immediate family, Erin and Rich, and our 3 gorgeous grandchildren, Stew and Lyndsay, and our dearest friends and extended family, Judy, Alan, Julie, Tina, David and Louise. Excitedly for us, some of our “Swiss Aussie Family” also came, Esther and Jean Pierre, Claudie and Sandra and their gorgeous cute little nearly 2 year old Lio , who stole every bodies hearts!
The first night we decided we decided to eat at the villa. We had some fantastic pasta and then the boys cooked a great bbq!
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The next day was spent swimming and lazing by the pool. Our last two guests arrived also, Janet and Michael.
That night Erin and Stew and Richo and Lynds had organized a fantastic rustic dinner for us all at Menghino, high up just out of Montecatini.
Remember to click on individual photos as some are minimized! We had a fabulous meal, lots of traditional rustic Tuscany food enjoyed by everyone.
What a great night it was, the food, the view, the company. Fantastico! Thank you so much kids, it was a night to remember.
There were trips that some people took to close villages and some of us just lazed by the pool with a few drinks…….well some had more drinks than others but what happened in the villa stays in the villa!😂
One night we organized a dinner in the villa for us all. It was a magical night and the food was great.
We had a fabulous dinner poolside! We started with a calabrese salad, followed by a pasta entree , followed by roast pork with grilled veggies, ending with a pannacotta.
Some of us tried to improve our cooking skills by doing a cooking class with Giuseppe at the Olive Press Kitchen.
We first met Giuseppe at the local market in Montecatini where we bought our ingredients for our lunch. We never knew there were so many varieties of tomato’s
We then arrived at the old mill and the process began. We prepared fried zuchinni flowers, nude pasta, and zuchinni risotto. We finished with a Marsala Zabaglione. Not only was it a lot of fun, but we all learnt a lot. During the cooking process we consumed numerous bottles of wine and that continued whist we ate the fruits of our labour! We took heaps of photos, here is a very small selection!
It was a great day and we would recommend the class to anyone, we had a ball.
One night in the villa, Stew, Rich, Lynds and Ez cooked pizzas for us all in the great pizza oven. Stew and Rich would like donations so they can build their own at home. They did a fantastic job, the pizzas were sensational and the after party after all the pizzas were eaten was rather raucous , but again what happens in the villa stays in the villa!
What a fantastic week we had. Thank you to all our family and friends who made it so very special for us. It was 2 years in the planning and it was perfect. It was very hard to decide what photos to put on the blog, we have so many, but here are just a few more,
So after that effort to do this blog, it’s definitely time for a drink or 2 or 3. W are now in Slovenia, in Ljubljana, but that’s for the next one!
We have been enjoying ourselves in Alghero and still discovering new places.
We had heard about the most famous beach in Sardinia called La Pelosa about one hour from home so thought we should check it out and give our opinion.We googled a little about it and discovered quite a few obligations”about visiting. There is a limit of 1500 People allowed on the beach per day. It costs 3:50 euros per person and you can only book online 48 hours in advance to receive your QR code to enter the beach You must lay your towel on a straw mat, otherwise the “towel police” can fine you 100 euros. After reading all this we decided a drive by to see what all the fuss was about. Yes it was quite beautiful, the water was an amazing color but if you wanted to actually swim you needed to walk out a looooong way. It was very shallow! Give us our free beaches any day!
We decided to go to the 2nd best beach called Le Bombarde considered to be again one of the most famous on the island. It was stunning, even the coffee was good.
We decided we needed a mini holiday so we packed an overnight bag and headed north to the Costa Smeralda, known as Sardinias “millionaires playground” and includes the beautiful archipelago of La Maddalena. Our first coffee stop was at a cute little spot called Golfo Aranci, not quite in the area of mega ya hats and Ferrari cars, that was to come.
We attempted to have a look at Porto Rotondo and Porto Cervo but for us mere mortals there was no way we were getting anywhere close to the water. There were loads of massive homes built into the cliffs and many gated communities closed off to us plebs! Both places are “go to “ villages for international stars and celebs….. not us obviously, so we moved onto Baja Sardinia, a much more laid back resort type village and decided to have lunch.
Greg ordered a tagliatelle vongole and Rhonda decided to have a basic gnocchi with tomato sauce. Greg enjoyed his but Rhonda’s was disgusting. It had obviously been premade and reheated in the microwave. It was inedible. The restaurant owner asked if we enjoyed our meal and Rhonda said no! He took it back to the kitchen and agreed. We weren’t charged and later there was a rather loud argument coming from the kitchen.
We continued on around the rocky coastline with magnificent views around every corner until we came to our destination for the night, Hotel D’Orso near the resort town of Palau. We found a lovely beach nearby for a swim and between the beach and our hotel we stumbled across the Bear Rock Cafe for a well earned drink.
We decided to return for dinner and Rhonda’s meal was the exact opposite of lunch. She had the best parmigiani melanzane she has ever had. Greg’s curligiones we’re pretty yummy too.
The rocky terrain was amazing with the colors changing throughout the day. One particular rock is known as “Bear Rock” but to get the full effect of seeing the actual bear one needed to pay 5 euros per person. We declined!
The next morning we stopped off at the Palau Marina for a coffee and watched all the tourist pour onto the yachts for their day trips.
We now have Greg’s cousin Julie staying with us but before we drove to Olbia we decided that Harley was way too dirty so he had a great Italian wash, great value at 14 euros.
We have been showing Julie around a little , not too much though as she has been pretty busy touring around herself. We have had many drinks in the old town, and we have swum at our favorite beaches, Maria Pia and Le Lombarde.
We enjoyed a street food Sardinian style dinner in the old town one night. It was rather good.
We took Julie to Bosa as we thought she had to see it. Like us, the trip along the coast reminded us of the Great Ocean Road.
While Julie wandered the old town we sat at the bar and had a couple of drinks. We had to take more photos of the gorgeous colored houses plus a few more things we discovered.
Yesterday we spent the day trawling the Old Town here in Alghero. The town sea walls were built in the 16th century, the original wall once had 26 towers but now only 8 remain. The Torre Di Sulis overlooks the marina and was named after a Sardinian revolutionary who spent 22 years imprisoned within its 6 meter thick walls.
We finally found a spot to take a photo of the beautiful tiled dome of St Michael. Although the church dates back to the 17th century the tiles were only added in 1960 but that does not detract from its beauty. Every corner you wander around , you find a new vista and you must always remember to look both up and down. You do see some interesting sights.
On our wander we had decided to try a typical Sardinian focaccia and had decided on the place to go! Well we didn’t check it out very well and it was closed however we did find Tommy’s , a typical Sardinian Bottega. The focaccia and beer were both good and the ambience of the place was quite hilarious as you can tell by the photo!
We are still having beautiful sunsets from our balcony and Greg is still providing great food for us.
Sadly tomorrow we depart Sardinia so needed one last swim at our favorite beach,Beach Mugoni.We swim with the tiny fish and the odd whale😂
The weather is still fabulous, the drinks are still cold and the waistlines are increasing.
Tomorrow night we are on an overnight ferry back to the mainland. We have lived our time here in Sardinia. The weather , the beaches and the food have all been fabulous. Off tonight for a farewell dinner to have one last little suckling piggy!
We are still enjoying our time in Sardinia finding some interesting places and glorious beaches. We took Harley for a drive to Capo Caccia about 25 Kms from Alghero and in the Porto Conte National Park. It is a limestone promontory known for its dramatic cliffs and stunning views.
It is the most western point of Sardinia. It is possible to descend from the top of the cliffs to view the grotto, however at more than 600 steps we opted out, the scenery from atop was stunning enough for us.
On the way home we stopped off at Spiaggia Di Mugoni, a lovely sandy beach with amazingly clear Mediterranean waters. It was a great way to finish off a great day.
The nautical theme of the day continued with another great spigola cooked on the bbq for dinner.
Greg was desperately in need of a haircut so he sussed out the traditional Italian barber. He was a young guy, with duff duff music playing and told Greg to go and have an apritivi on the beach to check out the “dolly birds”. On his recommendation Greg had a “00” up the sides and a #3 on the top! (What little hair is up there) 😂 It was a pretty cool hair cut and we celebrated with a drink on the way home! Any excuse!
We are still continuing to try the traditional Sardinian food, and suckling pig is one of their favorites. We spent a good amount of time deciding which restaurant to book for dinner to try our piggie. We finally decided to book a restaurant at lunchtime for a much anticipated suckling pig dinner. We began the evening with a couple of glasses of rose at the Vintage Bar, a great spot and then proceeded to the restaurant. On our arrival, much to our disappointment they had neglected to write our booking in the register and they were full. Greg’s words were “ so where am I having my dinner?”. He was not impressed. The owner was very apologetic, said it was his mistake and wait. He jumped on the phone, made a couple of calls and said “ come with me”. We ended up at a Restaurante Sa Nessa and were warmly welcomed by the owner.
Luckily the suckling pig was on the menu as was a dish of Sardinian pasta called fregola made with semolina and water and then toasted and served with tomatoes and zucchinis. We also had a plate of delicious grilled veges washed down with a glass of rose. At the end of the evening when we asked for the bill, to our pleasant surprise we were told that “GG” , the guy that stuffed up our other reservation had kindly paid our bill. It was a freebie, should have had a whole bottle of rose!😂The meal was delicious.
By the way, you will not be disappointed to hear that Gregory has been having the odd pistachio ice cream.
We took Harley for another spin to the village of Orgosolo, a 2 1/2 hour drive into the middle of Sardinia. The village is reknown for its painted murals on many of its buildings. The first murals were painted in 1969 and were politically inspired by an anarchist group. No other murals were added until 1975 when a high school teacher organized for students to paint many more and it continues to this day.
It was fascinating wandering the streets of the old town and around every corner we found a different mural, a photographers delight and these are only a few of the many photos we took.
On the journey back home we passed an area that has many nuraghes. They are a symbol of Sardinian and apparently o ly found here. They are an “ ancient megalithic edifice” all made of stone blocks hilt around 1730 BC, so bloody old. No one is sure what their purpose was but there are thousands of them.
We are definitely in a bit of a routine now. A casual breakie on the balcony or Sundays at our Brunettis called Ciro, then it’s off for a swim mid morning ( too hot in the arvo) at one of the many lovely beaches in the area, stopping somewhere on the way home for a cool drink and spending a quiet relaxing arvo with the AC going and then dinner on the balcony waiting for our magnificent sunsets.
We decided to go out for dinner last night to give the chef a rest. We went to a seafood restaurant and shared a green ravioli filled with ricotta for entree and had calamari for the mains. It was yum!
By the time we had finished dinner, the sun was setting and the colors across the old town were very pretty
Update on Greg’s knees……he is still exercising each morning, and there has been no deterioration or improvement 🤦♀️😩 On the shingles front the rash is slowly disappearing , we think the salt water swims are having an effect on that.
Rhonda is fine, just putting up with Greg’s whining! 😂😂
Well it’s 5pm and the G n T s are calling. By the way it’s a balmy 31 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and the Med is sparkling from our balcony.
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