SARDINIA!

A few months ago, when the weather was cold and wet and I was missing home, Peter and I discussed two options to bring sunshine and happiness back into our world:

1. Send me home solo for a dose of sunshine, family and friends, or
2. Find cheap flights in Europe to somewhere warm and within our budget

Since our savings is currently on hold for my next visa application, his "send me home" fund would be coming out of his hard-earned photography account. This is the sweetest offer and I am so lucky for that, but I wouldn't have it. 

We looked at Spain and the South of France for a few weeks but I wasn't really convinced. Honestly I wanted to go even further south for the most sun possible. Malta. Morocco. I would have even said yes to Africa! (That's how desperate I was feeling). 

Then one afternoon I opened my skyscanner alert and saw that the 'lucky dip' that week was to Sardinia. After a quick Google image search, I was convinced and had to make this happen. We worked out dates, got them quickly approved by both of our bosses and booked them. £39.99 round trip, each, Thank you very much. 

We flew from Luton (slightly more out of the way than Gatwick or Heathrow) but we had an early flight so we left early anyway and missed any sign of traffic on the M1. I took my journal with me and wrote in it each night to remember everything we did (and for the purpose of this blog), so I'll swap over for more details.

Day 1:
We made it! This morning was an early one for us. Last night, I packed my little suitcase full of the summer dresses, swimsuits and sandals that I've been so excited to finally wear. This made me so happy and also made for a surprisingly light suitcase, perfect! This morning our alarms started buzzing around 3am, I was out of bed around 3.15 and we were out the door by 4. We got to Luton quicker than anticipated - 5.30 so we parked on the road and waited for a half and hour since our car park ticket wasn't scheduled to start until 6. After parking and getting out of the car, I was in shock at how cold it was outside. I'm not joking, I was shivering. Once in the airport, I had my special security check (non-EU) and we headed to security where we felt like we were attached to a ball and chain in the endlessly long zig-zagged line. We grabbed a coffee and headed to our gate once we were through. On the plane, we sat in row 23 and Peter let me have the window seat. When we came above the clouds and into sunshine and blue sky (this sounds really dramatic, I know, but...) I literally got emotional. Peter slept during the flight and I was relaxed and warm with the sun on my shoulder. When we landed in Alghero, we realized the ticket machine wasn't working to print out bus tickets. Looking back now, this was our ONLY bad experience in the entire 3 days we were there. At the bus stop, I stood and quickly learned how to say "two single tickets to Via Catalogna please," in Italian. Go me! Only, when I tried to pay for the tickets, the driver was obviously annoyed and frustrated with something. Since I was only second in line, I couldn't figure out why. It was after watching him have the same reaction to a handful of others that I quickly realized what it was. Our tickets came to €3 and I paid with a €5 note. Apparently he was trying to tell me that he wanted me to pay in change because he didn't have enough spare change himself. Annoyingly, I thought he was trying to tell me that each ticket was €3 so when I offered him another €5 (equaling €10 now!) he took it!! And only gave me €2 back! After I realized the tickets were in fact only €3 , I went back and got my €5 back and didn't care how annoyed/frustrated/upset he was!

Our bus ride wasn't long when we made it to the Lido and heart of Alghero. And it didn't take us very long to find the B&B since it's just on the main road, a few blocks away from the high street. Bruno, our host, came out to greet us and carried my suitcase up to the second floor where we were staying. He welcomed us into his lovely place, it smelled amazing and had the coziest feel to it. I noticed lots of attention to detail, it was so clean and just perfect for us. We chatted with Bruno for a little and eventually we found out that he'd lived in London AND SAN DIEGO before!! Apparently he knows the owner of Heaven Scent desserts in Northpark! Small world or what!

We put our stuff away in our room, freshened up and asked for his advice on where to head to for food. He gave us tons of suggestions and we went on our way to find one and explore. We found the focacceria he'd suggested and couldn't believe the cheap prices. We could see the size of the sandwiches around us and really couldn't believe they were only €2.50

After our late lunch, we went back to the B&B to grab our sweaters so we could stay out and explore the rest of the evening. We found the high street and marveled at the sweetness of the shops and buildings. Of course, we couldn't help ourselves to trying out the gelato (it's hard not to when it's everywhere!!) and that was amazing too. Then we headed to the sky bar that Bruno suggested for a panoramic view of the town. Seriously, stunning views up there. I was in awe and felt so darn grateful to be there at that moment. Everything about that moment was so perfect. We ordered drinks and were pleasantly surprised to find that our drinks came with traditional tapas. Again, we were shocked by how cheap it was...€7! I honestly would have been happy to pay that much just to sit up there. On our way back, we stopped in a grocery store and grabbed a few snacks for our bike ride the following day then went back to the room to relax and sleep! My overall thoughts on Alghero: I love the climate. It feels like home and is SO ME. I love Italian food. I love prosciutto  Gelato. Everything. I love how gorgeous Alghero is.