A Week at the Beach

It's been Michael's long-term goal to visit Sardinia, and after seven years we were finally able to make it happen. Although we didn't get to include Eleanor and Matthew or Jim, the rest of us (plus Sharon) went for a week at the beach to celebrate Florence's 21st birthday.

Leo took us to Civitavecchia, the port town just northwest of Rome, from whence we took the 5 1/2-hour ferry to Olbia. From Olbia, we had a further 3-hour drive. Door to door was about 12 hours: not a trip to be undertaken for only three days!

The ferry was the largest I'd ever been on. You had the possibility of booking berths (tiny, as in a cruise ship or small train compartment) or seats (attached, like in a movie theatre). Otherwise, it was open seating in the interior lounges (air conditioned) or up on the deck (shaded and unshaded benches without tables) or in the restaurants and pubs. There was a very small decktop pool that they filled mid-trip with sea water, and of course the (unused for its purpose) helicopter pad for the best ocean views.

Dog kennels

Bar below, restaurant above

Interior lounge

Corridors for the berths

The sea color was amazing

Up on the deck

Looking down from the deck

The wake looked like polished marble

We enjoyed the Looney Tunes theme

Once in Olbia, our NCC driver picked us up and shuttled us directly to Torre dei Corsari. This appeared to be a purpose-built settlement dating to the 1980s that never really took off as a tourist destination. It consisted of a town piazza that held two bars, a gift shop, two pastry shops, and a pizzeria. Otherwise, there was one small grocery story and an attached restaurant and bar. There were gated residential communities made up of small efficiency apartments near this booming city center.

Sights from the road

On our way

Quite a variety of landscape! We also saw cane and cornfields

One day we saw an incredible lifesaving procedure using this boat and a LONG rope

Fall protection from the raised patio? Nah.

The landscape next to the beach was unearthly

The locals were very welcoming, and the beach was fabulous: a coarse sand with completely translucent water, with a rocky point where we could observe fish, sea urchins, crabs, and the like.

All in all, the routine was sleep, eat, lie out, swim, lie out, eat, sleep. It made for a delightful week!

Love,

Alexandra