I rarely visit the UK for tourism. It’s been ages since I worked there. I treat London as a transfer city and I sometimes change planes there. I’ve never been to Cornwall before and my only visit lasted no more than 12 hours and yet I consider it one of the most valuable travel lessons learnt. The first thought that comes to mind is: how on earth you are able to learn anything in such a short time? And I must say that I am the first to be skeptical so let me tell you my story. I went to Cornwall for one reason: to accompany my niece. She is minor so she needed an adult in order to travel. So we went together to London and continued our journey further west. We finally reached our destination: a small town in Cornwall where she spent a week with a British family to develop her linguistic skills. Before I left her I spent the entire day with the family who lives there and this was one of the best days in my life as a traveler. First, we received a warm welcome at the airport despite a horrible weather and a 45 minutes delay. Kate was waiting for us and although we have never met before we recognized each other in a second. We started a conversation that lasted until evening. She took us home where we met the whole family: her husband Andy and their four kids. And what a family they have! Do you know the feeling of being at home away from home? This is how we felt when we entered their house. We had a quick bite (scones with cream) and went for a walk. In a pouring rain, we visited a spectacular site: rocky cliffs and old mine remains. We had ice creams, we watched surfers, and we talked. Despite the weather, it was fun! Being with them was like a SPA for our souls. Gentle people who simply care for each other and for their guests made this day memorable. Through a conversation, laugh, endless stories and the way they treated us we felt like we wanted to stay in Cornwall forever. They told us about their everyday life, school, work, friends, family life and entertainment provided by this small corner of the world, with a true delight. Happy people living in a lovely place! I had an impression that they discovered the most important secret of life: being happy in a place where you are and at the time that is given to you. Eating dinner together with this family was a treat! I had to leave the very same day but I felt I learnt a lot about life, people and traveling. Cornwall became a land full of peace, joy, and happiness. Even if it was raining all day I remembered it as the sunniest part of the world. I felt blessed and happy that my niece stayed with them for the whole week, having the best holiday ever. I can’t wait to meet them again. Lesson learnt? It is not always possible to stay in one place for a long time for a variety of reasons but when it is not possible focus on people. They are one of the best “medium” of culture. They will tell you more about life in a place than a guidebook and they will grab your hand and show you the best places on earth: a happy home full of love. It’s priceless!  

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Read the previous post. The industrial monuments are not beautiful. At least not to everyone. It is important, however, to visit at least one of them while you’re in Sardinia, due to historical and social reasons. The last 200 years of the history have been tightly connected with mines. And, as often happened elsewhere, the mining boom turned into a spectacular failure leaving behind hundreds and thousands of people in a tragic situation of unemployment. It all happened very quickly and until today this area has been marked by this scenario. We visited the biggest mine in the area called Montevecchio. Two guided visits focused on workshops and minerals excavations were an eye opening experience. First, the scale of this place impresses all visitors. The terrain of the mine is spread through miles and miles on the ground, and even further under the ground. The visit started with watching huge buildings which in the past hosted workshops. Although they seem quite empty today there are still a number of old machines collected so you could get a feeling of this place. A huge furnace, smaller gantry, milling and a variety of other tools and objects are in display. I found it touching that the tools are left in the exact spots as in the past and above our heads the black and white photographs showed the labourers working on them. Above all, the smell of this place is compelling. For me this was a smell of a garage owned by my grandfather. A place where a lot of unused objects where kept which meant an endless playground for me as a kid. This is a mix of old oil, a variety of metals, rust, and a child’s imagination. Workshops were a place buzzing with the energy of the people who worked here. The noise and the heat were mixed with a fellowship of the skilled labourers for whom this place was everything. The Daily Life of the Miners A modest daily income was only enough to survive and in the major part the workers’ length of live was really short. The incidents, injuries and deaths were the common events and to some extend the management of the mines were covering them up so not to pay any recompense to the families of the dead. The most what the mine could do when a father of the family died was to keep his job for his son. Men, women and children altogether were living in this dreadful place. I can’t even imagine the heat in the middle of the summer and their tiredness after a long walk from a nearby village and 12 hours shift. I’m trying not to think about all dead miners whose bodies were left underground and never returned to their families. We passed from the workshops to the very heart of the mine: a tunnel to the underground galleries. A huge engine is placed in a nice looking building just in front of the mining shaft. Both connected with a huge rope. Our guide told a story on how important the job of a controller of this engine was. At the beginning there was no communication between the engine room and the underground thus it was up to the experience of the operator to stop the elevator with miners at the right depth. As the work was continuing 24h a day there was a constant move up and down. The elevator was carrying people and minerals so this was crucial place. And a few times it happened to stop an elevator in a wrong place making the miners a wrong idea of the gallery. Some of them jumped right into the darkness to be never found. In the peak of its activity Montevecchio was employing up to 3600 miners. In the course of optimisation of minerals’ excavation the management built a number of houses so the people would come to work less tired than after crossing a considerable distance from the villages. They also constructed a small train that would bring the miners to the mine. And the most important invention was a sort of a small train locomotive equipped in a loader. It increased the tonnage of the rocks excavated from 6-8 wagons per two miners per day to 60. The improvement was unprecedential in the history of mining and Montevecchio, where this machine was constructed, sold it to the mines all over the world. The Ecology Visiting the industrial sites is somehow a devastating experience. Not only in terms of social changes that deeply transformed the Sardinian society but also in terms of a pollution of the environment. Until today, there are some small streams and rivers polluted with sulphur, acids and heavy metals. Although it’s been years since the last mine was closed the repercussions of this industry still bother the local villages and the whole island. Looking at the landscape crushed by the human activity left me deeply disturbed. Sure, it’s been ages ago and the current technology is well advanced in keeping the pollution to the minimum but there are hundreds of places around the world where the human activity will leave scars on the face of earth. Broken glass of the buildings, rusty conveyors, small trains left to be rotten and empty pools make the overall impression of the final destruction. Armageddon would probably look very similar.  If you are interested in industrial sites Sardinia is the perfect place for you. The Montevecchio museum is highly recommended: not only the tours are interesting and well planned but also the staff is very friendly and knowledgable. If I was to chose one out of two – Galleria Henri and Montevecchio – I would definitely go for Montevecchio! In ten days weeks, I’m going back to Italy. I’ll bring you more stories from Emilia – Romagna so stay tuned!  

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Read the previous post. One morning we got invited to participate in cooking with the family we rent the apartment from. The mother and the daughter were waiting for us at 9:00 am in their apartments. There was also a silent father present who, with a kind interest, was watching his daughter and wife running the show. This was not the first time I participated in Italian cooking classes. It was still special because of the whole family present on site. I could observe and experience two generations’ meeting in the kitchen and the way these two extraordinary women work together. The Book I started a conversation with a question about the books I borrowed from them a few days before: a series published by the local paper with photos and description of the local traditional costumes. After a question why they stopped buying the books at part 4 the two women turned into furious beasts. They were so unhappy about the pictures, lack of care, terribly wrong details and, most of all, the sort of pictures taken. In some photos, the models were in aggressive poses and it worked poorly with traditional costumes. Both women showed their disappointment and thus we cold experience how important the tradition is for them. I couldn’t agree more. Although the albums were printed on high-quality paper and with an eye-catching hardcover, the narrative and the concept of making the traditional costumes ‘up-to-date’ was so wrong! This was poorly done. Somebody attempted to bring the tradition closer to the present times but failed. Due to copyrights I cannot insert here any pictures of these books taken on site. Soon, we left the books and focused on cooking.  The Cooking It all started with the preparation of a wooden table and bringing the ingredients. First, Maria Efisia – the mother – prepared filling of the ravioli. They used a particular kind of cheese called ricotta and although you can buy it all over Italy the one in Sardegna contains not only the milk of a sheep but at the final stage of the process, unlikely elsewhere in Italy, the farmers add more cow’s milk. This extra care results in extremely mild and delicate cheese. Thus, with few yolks, saffron, and nutmeg, a very tasty filling was formed. We, then, could focus on preparing the pasta and, what takes most of the time, rolling and forming the ravioli. Along the process, when our hands were occupied, Maria Efisia was telling us about their family and village, about tough times and few joys they have. She was extremely proud of her actions that saved old baskets made out of cane.  The story In the late 60s, people run mad about modern plastic objects and they were throwing away all that was old and hand made. It includes a total refurbishment of the local church which we saw last Sunday and which today looks like after a fire that destroyed everything that was ancient. Maria Efisia on the contrary: she was conserving not only the heritage of her family but also went to the courtyards where her neighbours were throwing away their old stuff away. She showed us her collection of baskets used in cooking. As this was hand made, the current price is really high so when she showed us her treasures she was holding them as something precious. Maria Efisia was emphasising how expensive these objects currently are. Watching this woman attachment to the past it felt very special. Although she showed us the most important things for her she did it as a person who realises that the past will never come back. She feels like a real hero in the contemporary times who struggles and fights against the odds in order to preserve the history of the family and the place. Miraculously, her family has always been and still is into the farming business, thus, the worst crisis that hit the island after mining business collapsed, bypassed them. It was touching to watch their struggle. They all are very proud of living in the same place for 7 generations, their hospitality is legendary. They, just like hundreds of others, struggle to find their place in the contemporary society. They feel very far from the mainstream society and the things that happen in Rome – on the continent, as they say. Contrary to the rest of Italy, where people tend to be optimistic, here you hear a tone of despair. People here know they live in the peripheries and that the politicians in Rome or Brussels care very little about their wellbeing. Some of them feel left behind and for some of them this is a call to act and to take care for themselves. I’d say that people in Sardinia are focused on survival with a strong flavour of tradition and their own identity. And so, talking through the history and presence, we successfully produced about 300 ravioli. They were all stored in old baskets in layers interlarded with a clean table cloth. It was left until the next day when we got invited for a dinner. The Dinner We came in the late evening. The whole family was there and so, with no further delay, we started the feast. The hospitality of this Sardinian family was overwhelming. The food was so good that after starters I ate enough but there was still the first and the second course, meat and the dessert with coffee. I skipped the meat but it smelled so delicious that I got a dog bag and I could taste it the next day. This was a very pleasant day. I learned not only the new recipes and cooking skills but also a history of the family from Fluminimaggiore. I also had an opportunity to watch their pride and hospitality from a close distance. Altogether this was a marvellous experience. More about Sardinia soon.  

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Read the previous post. I haven’t considered Sardinia a trekking destination but when Cesare told me there are some fine paths I couldn’t resist taking with me my trekking equipment. He forgot how poorly I bare the heat and it became a serious matter in planning a one day trek from Grugua to Cala Domestica. We came with a super clever idea of taking the earliest bus of the day, which was 5:50 am. It was still dark when we walked down the street to the bus stop but during a short 20 minutes bus ride, the sun rose. The plan was straightforward: we walk as fast as we can in the morning to exploit the chill. The whole path was divided in a few parts of a very different landscapes: we started in the woods, walked down through the farm of Modigliani family, proceeded through the canyons and mine settlements to finally arrive at the beach called Cala Domestica. The final 4 km was a path along the coast with breathtaking views. Cala Domestica All went as planned. To some extent. We arrived at the beach before 10:00 am and I felt the heat has started. Not only all others were in their swimming suits which made me feel weird in long trousers and trekking shoes but also this was a very warm day. We also walked about 18 km in a very fast pace so I felt a bit tired. Perhaps a dress of Cesare made the situation slightly more interesting as he was dressed like a 19th-century entomologist. He had white long sleeve shirt, a weird hat, two backpacks and a long stick with a microphone to register the local bugs (crickets). Literally everybody was staring at us as we crossed the beach. The Coast To gain a bit of energy for the final stage, we had a cold drink at the bar. After a while, we pulled ourselves together and started walking again. The heat was vicious but despite this we had to climb up to about 70 meters above the sea level. The first part of the path was nicely marked so we walked it in no time, but then it all started. The map was inaccurate. The terrain was covered with rocks and a low vegetation full of spikes. There was no sign of the path and all we had, was our common sense and a clear bearing. We could almost see Buggerru, from where the bus should take us back home, so the only thing was to cross the rocky hills. It was a very rocky walk, up and down, up and down. Just like mountain goats we jumped from one rock to another. The bus should leave Buggerru at 12:58 but half an hour before this moment we were still in the middle of nowhere. The panorama was breathtaking and I wished to enjoy it for a couple of minutes but the heat was squeezing out water from our bodies with no mercy and so we hurried up. I felt salt covering my body and a slight attack of panic. I could not bare the though of being late for this bus and staying for another 3 hours in the town waiting for the next one. So we started running. And the final 2 km we run like hell. Downhill, right to the middle of the town to catch the bus. I was exhausted! But we managed to catch the bus, go back home and lie down for the rest of the day. The rules Although Sardinia is a demanding terrain, I would like to encourage you to pursue an adventure here. It is warm and sunny in August but with good organizational skills you will enjoy unforgettable views here. A path along the coast was truly spectacular! Also, the breeze from the sea made the final kilometers bearable despite the noon heat. If you wish to find an original, not crowded, off the beaten track, fascinating and, above all, challenging terrain, Sardinia is the right place for you. Remember about taking a huge quantity of water with you or control the map and ask locals for the sources along the path. And start as early in the morning as possible. Alternatively, visit Sardinia in shoulder season. I’m pretty sure the locals will love you for doing this. Interested in local food and cooking? This post is for you!  

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Read previous episode. Yesterday was a very special day. Although it was terribly hot due to a circulation switch and I felt really weak, I went to a meeting with Maria Paola. A young girl who is a member of the local folk group. She is the owner of an old traditional costume that belonged to her grandmother and she invited me to join the dressing. Her folk group had an evening performance in Buggerru – a nearby town along to other 15 folk groups from the region. They performed not only a parade but also traditional group dance. Her house is only a few minutes from my apartment, but even such a short walk end up with wet t-shirt caused by unnatural heat and humidity. I could hardly imagine a person who dresses these layers of traditional costume one after another in this weather. Tradition The apartment of Maria Paola’s family is like a local museum – they keep all family treasures, like porcelain, furniture, portraits and even the costume original buttons. When I entered the room I was greeted by the whole family who got excited that a foreigner is interested in their traditions. I deeply appreciated the moment when I can meet people who are proud of their traditions and have this need of sharing it with the world. So there I was and my role was to listen, watch and try to understand. Maria Paola is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. Her typical Sardinian look fits not only the apartment and this context but most of all the costume. She had a makeup ready but felt the warmth too, so a big fan was brought to the drawing room and the process of dressing begun. She started from dressing a large white tunic that was more like a dress as it was large enough to cover her knees. This was an original piece of her grandmother clothes and it was made out of fine cotton and very particular lace on the neckline and the edges of the sleeves. After having this chemise on she got her shoes on too. This order seemed to be very clever since the rest of the dress is really heavy and it would be almost impossible to get her shoes after the skirt and apron. A very elegant pair of black shoes, similar to the flamenco dancers. Then, she dressed an old fashion underwear trousers and the first skirt. All of what she dressed was made of white cotton and she looked like figures in the old pictures already. While dressing next pieces of the traditional costume, she was explaining the purpose of each piece. The white skirt was giving an extra volume, a sort of corset was modelling her figure, slimming her waist and thanks to a sort of small pillow on the back it was holding the external skirt on place. Everything had a purpose Another smart feature was an additional piece in the circuit of her skirt and underskirt so when a girl was gaining weight or got pregnant she could still use the same robes just making it bigger. In the past, the costume was so expensive that the family bought it once in a lifetime, therefore it had to be flexible, to some extent and of the highest quality. The final four pieces of clothing were like a cherry on a cake. A colourful frilly skirt, jacket and a sort of shawl covered the white veil. Maria Paola methodically put one piece after another with a great care and attachment to the details. It was fascinating to watch how focused on the details her movements were. When she stood there in front of me fully dressed in this costume that was more than fifty years old I got amazed by the beauty of it. The final result was dashing. And what strikes me  even if this cloth was of traditional provenience it was very successful in extracting the natural beauty and the most beautiful female features. I went and visite Maria Paola again, August 15th, to watch another costume. And the pictures below show the new costume made for her by the local tailor. The figure of Maria Paola, her face and movements were perfectly matched making her even more beautiful. Later in the evening we watched her folk group dancing at the nearby feast in Buggerru. Tiny steps, joyful music and wonderful choreography made the show incredibly attractive. The proud of these people out of their heritage was visible to everyone. And for a while I felt jealous and sad because the generation of my grandparents who survived the war had no such opportunity to pass my anything related to their clothing or dancing traditions. Their generation was robbed out of their heritage. The extreme poverty and death took the chance of passing anything to the next generation. And even if it’s been more than fifty years passed I am the third generation that suffers. All I knew about the past of my grandparents was a few stories of how tough their lives were. And that night when I watched Maria Paola dressing her grandmother costume I felt the sadness of the people from whom such privilege was taken away.  More about Sardinia is coming soon.  

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Read the previous episode One of the evenings last week was especially enjoyable. We drove far north, crossed few little towns (Arbus, Guspini, Sanluri, Las Plassas) and found ourselves in a different subregion. The area located far from the sea differs greatly from where we stayed. Fluminimaggiore is only 7km from the shore and is surrounded by the mountains of about 1000 meter high. A new region called Marmilla was quite different. Its flatness and dryness was what striked most. Rocky hills are left in the south and the whole region is a great burnt plain. Every little hill gave us an opportunity to see far in every direction. Dried fields, olive groves, modest shruberry were pretty much all. After a few kilometres, there was a curiosity: the remains of the volcano that created a regular plain formatted about a hundred meters above the rest of the plains called Giara. Not only being volcanic makes it special: it has been formatted out of basalt few thousands of years ago which made it a surpassing in this dry land a rich reservoir of fresh water. Out of this height four different rivers have their sources and there are many natural wells. Such unusual natural conditions caused the appearance of a bronze age culture called the Nuragic civilization after nuraghe – a characteristic building remains just like the one below. Archeology The Nuragic Civilization had a few distinctive characteristics, however, most of the issues related to their social life and religion is obscure. Many of the scientific theories remain unconfirmed. They were living in a relative isolation for few hundred years and created fortifications and large villages in this area. As Sardinia has been conquered many times throughout of history by a variety of dominate groups like Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantine Greeks just to become a playground of powerful kingdoms and duchies in mediaeval and modern times. As a result of such turbulent history, there is an exceptional mix of all elements of the past rulers. Therefore, there is plenty of archeological sites in Sardegna and I wanted to visit at least one of them. We started our journey at 16:00 but until 20:00 it was so hot I could hardly remember of what I saw. We entered an archeological site of Giara accompanied by two little local dogs. The view made us partially sad and partially fascinated with what we saw. The site looks like abandoned many years ago, there was only one wooden board with basic information about the place and the other ruins and remains were left as they were found. There was a road constructed out of basalt, few houses, and a high wall. Although the panorama was beautiful as we were watching vast plain below of a bleach colors, the place was unfriendly. A strong wind made this impression of hostility even stronger. The large part of information about the place came from Cesare, whose master thesis was based on the field archeological research he did more than thirty years ago. He was deeply touched with what he saw and shared spontaneously his own memories. I think the absence of care for this place made him very sad. He looked like a person whose mind was in the same place but trapped thirty years ago and who was trying to make sense out of what he sees. Quite unsuccessfully, I’m afraid. As the heat drained us in a few minutes, we continued our visit by car and visited a small town of Gesturi and further Barumini. A UNESCO Site A description by UNESCO is very helpful to clarify what nuraghe is: “During the late 2nd millennium B.C. in the Bronze Age, a special type of defensive structure known as nuraghi (for which no parallel exists anywhere else in the world) developed on the island of Sardinia. The complex consists of circular defensive towers in the form of truncated cones built of dressed stone, with corbel-vaulted internal chambers. The complex at Barumini, which was extended and reinforced in the first half of the 1st millennium under Carthaginian pressure, is the finest and most complete example of this remarkable form of prehistoric architecture”. First, we stopped at the main square of Gesturi when a local feast was taking place. The square was decorated with color little flags that made a loud noise ruffled by the wind. Old ladies were leaving the church with their hair covered talking in the dialect that is impossible to understand. Their local saint has had 133 anniversary of birthday and so the town was celebrating. Then, we went to visit a must-see place. The UNESCO World Heritage Place called Su Nuraxi di Barumini. Even it was 19:00 in the evening it was still hot. I could hardly understand the guide and eventually gave up. I was just hanging around in the remains left out of the biggest known nuraghe. It was similar to the experience of walking the Pompeii complex though this one was much more modest and primitive. The round houses cuddled together and crouched around the main protective tower looked like little chickens with a hen. The guided visit caught my attention when we entered the tower through a very small passage with unregular stairs only to discover the inner circulation of the air was very limited. I became pale in a second and felt really bad so the rest of the visit I spent sitting on the of the rocks. As I rest a bit I felt better and could ask some questions to the guide. A concert In front of the ruins, there was a concert of the folk music organized by a band from Sardinia. We and a hundred of other people were sitting in the dark and watching an illuminated stage. It all started with the first song by Tenores di Neoneli Orlando and Eliseo Mascia – a well-known folk band of international fame. The sound was exquisite as these men performed a throat singing. Their powerful voice was echoed by the oldest ruins in the area...

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Read the previous episode. Fluminimaggiore The location of my apartment was very unfortunate. It was located along one of the streets that cut the town east – west. Even though it was not the main street, the traffic was pretty heavy. It did not bother me during the day, but the late nights and early evenings were particularly difficult to enjoy. In the late evenings, some youngsters trapped in this city drove their scooters just outside my windows. Over and over again. Luckily, the town acknowledged siesta thus between 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm the silence cut all noises. I guess the level of the noise would be easier to deal with if only I did not normally live in a small and very quiet village. Apart of the traffic the walls and floors of this old house were exceptionally thin. In the night, I had an impression there were people in my room who were talking, laughing, playing cards and, when the booze finished, they were snoring. This was so loud! This was not a surprise then that I often woke up early and went out of the apartment to hanging around a bit in the early morning. First couple of days I was sleeping better than during the rest of my stay because of being exhausted by the journey and by the heat. Unfortunately, after three days I was struggling with falling asleep every night. I wonder if other travellers and tourists has the same problem. Morning My favourite moment of every morning was 7:00 am. At 7:00 am the bell from the church rings loudly announcing the day officially has started. And suddenly, every sound rises its volume: the town wakes racily up. The shop around the corner opens its door with a smash, the trash collector throws glass to his car with a sharp noise and the dog starts barking at everything he sees. The bell continues ringing: a melody of Ave Maria announces that the day has started and that everything that happens today will praise the Lord. After 7:00 am the bars are open and flooded with the residents. All of them needs a modest encouragement to start the day. Coffee is one of their daily treats. A quick check of the lottery raises their blood pressure too. Worst case scenario, a glass of cold beer wakes them up. The town in the early morning with trash vehicle collecting glass and scooters driving around makes a curious impression. The poverty, visible at every corner is mixed with a rush of the residents eager to start working before the heat of the day hits them. There are dogs with no owners hanging around and the cleaning ladies sweeping the streets. When a vehicle collecting glass takes another load, the people in the bar shout like if their team scored in the game. I am not sure where does their enthusiasm come from. There is a hairdresser just in front of my temporary house. It opens at 7:30 am with a loud greeting by the owner to passing people and opening the sunblind. The frequent customers start coming. The door is open and a conversation sparkles. A loud greeting, a noise made by hairdryer and the scissors cutting hair is mixed into an everyday melody of this town. All windows and door along the street is open: people try to catch some fresh air before the heat come. The bell rings again. It’s 8:45 am and all should be working by now. The sun will silence everyone after the noon. The heat will be unbearable by then. It warms the walls, stairs, roofs and air so the main effort of all resident will focus on keeping their houses cool. They will close the door and the windows, they will keep drinking cold water and eating fruits. They will not rise their voices and before it’s 1:30 pm all will be silent again. A small town routine Everyone has a small garden here. This is the secret method of flourishing despite the odds. We saw hundreds of small gardens outside the town while driving here and there and they are a prove that all depends on water. If a small field is watered the vegetation is as lush as in the tropical garden but if the water is scarce everything is burnt out. The main task here is therefore watering the garden. In the mornings and early afternoons, the local farmers try to sell their fruits and vegetables in small booths along the main road. Sometimes in the town there are door opened and few fruits are being sold there, directly from the farmers. It strings the process of production and consumption to the minimum. From the garden to the table the distance is really short. So green and eco! People here are nice. We get often questioned about our stay in Fluminimaggiore and almost all locals ask whether we go to the beach today. It was weird at the beginning and I thought we have some beach related objects or dress that would suggest our intention of spending time at the beach. When I heard the same question again I thought there must be a pattern. And there is. The locals are convinced that the beach is the only attraction for tourists and to keep them happy all you need to do is to send them to the beach. Thus, when we declared we have no intention of spending our holiday at the beach they looked at us in a suspicious way. Fortunately, we speak Italian, which always helps. Celebrations And so the life goes rather slowly here. It has a certain charm, though, of a tiny place where everybody knows each other. It seems like they all know their limits, which includes even a quantity of bread baked daily. When I go to the bakery after 10:00 am there is very little left. Every day the same people buy the same things and thus a baker has an easy task...

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Visiting Sardinia and going beyond trendy beaches of Costa Smeralda was a challenge. And last two weeks spent on this amazing island was a hard proof that this is the current circumstance. After traveling around the world, this was a surprise. Sardinia is located not further than one hour flight from Rome, Nice and Barcelona! It almost sounds like a center of Europe only it is not. We all seems to have believed that the world is a global village, but this is true only for selected spots. Bangkok, Paris, Abu Dabi, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco might be quite closely connected, but there are hundreds and thousands of small towns that are much less so. And Sardinia is one of the places located close to the European most vibrant cities while in fact it is light years back. To tell you my story from Sardinia I decided to share with you my diary. I was writing it every day and I think it captured pretty much the atmosphere of the Sardinian little town: Fluminimaggiore. Thus, the posts published in episodes will be much less like a ‘Travel Tip’ sort, and much more like a narrative. It should be read slowly, preferably with your morning coffee. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my stay in Sardinia. Where it all started It all started about thirty years ago. My friend Cesare came to this island for the first time. And he has been keeping back ever since. Once, when we had a dinner in Ferrara he asked me if I would like to join him next time in Sardinia and since he was telling amazing things about it, I thought: well, what the heck! Why not?! Few months later, here I was: sitting in front of an old house and dying out of the warmth. August in Sardegna is hot. The warmth of this place reminds me the oven opened after baking a cake. It forces you to change your habits sooner than you can consciously decide to do so: it puts you in the bed sooner than you expected and later than you normally do. You first go to bed in the early afternoon, joining all Sardinians in their daily siesta. And then, you stay up until very late to enjoy the freshness of the evening. First what strikes a tourist who comes to Sardegna in August is dry terrain, mountains covered with short trees and bushes, and a smell of warm grass, rosemary and hundreds of other aromatic herbs mixed together. When I was crossing few mountain ranges driving from Cagliari to Fluminimaggiore, the landscape reminded me a mix of Sicily and northern Spain. A very dry and unforgiving terrain. Right after arrival, we met the owner of the place: a friendly woman called Maria Efisia. Her second name was especially eccentric for my ear but totally normal in Sardinia. Saint Eifiso is a well-known saint in these parts of Italy. Maria Efisia welcomed us like her relatives and brought directly to the apartment I rented for 2 weeks. When I entered the apartment in the late evening the only thing I was dreaming about was falling asleep. Funny thing, though, happened. After the owner left I discovered there was no water in the bathroom nor kitchen. I was so unbelievably tired, I decided to wait until the next morning to share this issue with her. And so, I slept until the late morning next day, with short brakes caused by a barking dogs, cars driving next to my window and a neighbor upstairs who woke up at 6:00 am. Next morning did not cause any change in water supply. There was still none in the tap. Although it might have been a serious problem in a warm climate I felt a holiday mood which meant nothing could drive me mad. Before I went out to meet the owner I had a careful look at the tap outside the door. Just in case. The water was there and in abundance! Alleluia! It’s just someone turned the main tap off. As I later discovered it was the owner: she made it out of routine and was terribly sorry for the whole day. With water everything looked quite different and a shower turned me into happy and curious tourists. The Winds and the Stars The best time of the day is late evening. Light breeze from the sea cools the town down. The location of Sardinia makes the heat of full summer bearable. Four winds clash here: the island is blown by the Scirocco from the south and by the Mistral from the northwest; Libeccio from the southwest and finally Levant from the east. The circulation of the air makes the heat of the day a nice memory while in the evening you need to wear long sleeve shirt. The winds have shaped this land for thousands of years and you can trace its activity in every corner. All trees of the coastal area is tough because of their neverending fight against these winds. Yesterday, after a wonderful dinner eaten at the central square, we went to the seaside. The moon became very thick and the night was pitch black. Due to the scarcity of artificial illumination, the area of Fluminimaggiore is perfect for night shots. We left nothing to a pure luck and thus we went to a particular location to make sure it is as dark as it gets. Capo Pecora – Cape of the Goat – is a thin, rocky peninsula reaching far into the sea. Sitting there and watching the stars in a light breeze was magnificent. The Milky Way was hanging just above our heads. The longer we sit there, the more stars we saw. Pitch black night, shooting stars, moderate swoosh created by the waves and a smell of warm earth and herbs turned this small piece of land into a contemplative room. I swear I could see the earth moving when I was watching the stars above. Read the...

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I’ve just got back from Sardinia where I spent more than two weeks. There is a lot of stories to tell and hundreds of pictures to share but I can tell you one sure thing: a variety of landscapes and attractions in Sardinia is amazing! It is a wonderful beach destination and all sand & sea fans will find themselves in a paradise. Even within beach business you will find an extreme variety. From white sand and pristine water, through stones and rocks up to the beaches surrounded by high peaks with monuments on top of them. Further, if you are a fan of industrial historical sites you will find yourself in Sardinia like a fish in the water. A widespread mining industry that collapsed more than 50 years ago left here its marks. Sardinia is also a wonderful playground for long and short trekkings with spectacular views. Sardinia means also culture and tradition and what I found delightful the sort of tradition still kept alive by the locals. Through the folklore groups, music bands, and religious feasts’ celebration the culture in Sardinia is easy to trace. I was lucky to participating in one of the biggest feasts in Sardinia organized August 15th and devoted to Virgin Mary. And above all Sardinia surprised me to be just a perfect site to watch the stars. I simply cannot wait to tell you all that happened in last two weeks and sharing interesting stories. If you have ever dreamed about visiting Sardinia, reading these posts is a great way to start. Stay tuned! Click here to read the first episode.  

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This was a delightful day! Although in the evening I was very tired I had a great time. It is the middle of the summer here, in New Zealand so last Saturday I went to Waiheke. This is a popular recreational destination, not only for tourists but most of all to Aucklanders. It is easily reached by a ferry from downtown Auckland. A ride lasts about 35 minutes and a ferry goes every hour. Bike Not always, popular places are beautiful. It often happens I am disappointed with top touristic sites. But this was not the case of Waiheke. Although there was a crowd on the ferry the island is large enough to accommodate all visitors. First, I went by bike, which was a challenge itself. I’m not a great bike rider as you probably remember from my previous post on Aran Islands, but I enjoy recreational riding just like I did in Athens. Anyway, this was a different story because Auckland is very hilly city and Waiheke Island too. The great thing about this trip was that I could take my bike to a ferry for free. I was wondering why more people do not do this. After all I checked the price for bike rental on the island and 50 NZD daily rate seemed to me very expensive. But soon enough I knew why people rarely take bikes with them. Making the long story short: Waiheke Island is very hilly. I was not prepared for this! The first part of the trip – from Kingsland where I live in Auckland to harbour – was downhill but the moment I started my ride on Waiheke I thought I should get back home at once! First kilometer was uphill and I felt like my legs and lungs were burning. And it was no better further: up and down for next 9 km! Only because I was really determined I eventually reached my destination: a winery and restaurant “Wild on Waiheke”. Wine Waiheke is called the island of wine. There are as many as 25 wineries on this island and most of them offer wine tasting, restaurant, garden and a place to have your party in. I tasted few wines in ‘Wild on Waiheke’ and I can tell you this: if only for wine this trip would not worthy my effort. Now, I know this might be due to my previous experiences in Italy and my particular taste shaped by Italian wines (not luxury nor expensive but still). And I really understand people who go to Waiheke to taste wines. I do! After all, this wine was better than the one I had in Paris (shame on you!). What is really great about Waiheke and wine tasting is that you can have a very small glass with your meal for just 2 NZD. It allowed me to taste as many as 4 different ones and I did not have to spit! The more friendly version of professional wine tasting. Just for people like me and a million of Aucklanders who come here. Food and people If not wine than food! What else makes you determined enough to ride up and down for an hour? “Wild on Waiheke” provides high quality and very tasty food. Their garlic bread, salad and a variety of cheese and ham were excellent! Also, people who work there are friendly and helpful. When I arrived at noon all seats and tables were taken but they were still able to find a place for me. I had a look at ‘typical’ Kiwis having a great time. These people are chilled out beyond my imagination. They are not slobs, though. They keep their being chilled out well balanced so people who watch them do not feel embarrassed or disgusted. Kiwis chill out makes you relaxed and eager to share their state of mind. In this restaurant, I felt like being a part of a big party. Even though people did not know each other it still felt like somebody’s wedding. And let me tell you that the dress code was not wedding focused! Landscape The best part about this island is landscape. I was riding a bike and at some point I felt really exhausted but it did not prevent me from watching breathtaking views. Little bays, hidden beaches, gentle green hills, white boats on the water and blue sky over all of this was a reward for riding uphill. Just like elsewhere the middle of the summer makes a place colourful and smelly (in a good sense!). A variety of trees and flowers is delightful here and the whole island was like a big garden. New trend What I found most amusing was a popularity of this place. Yes, it is beautiful but often this is not good enough for people to come. Apart from a chill out of New Zealanders I can’t still well understand I think creating new trends works really well here. Wine has become a desirable and widespread drink recently. It is fancy to drink red wine instead of anything else. So people do. They have their favorite wines but also visiting a winery for a day became a great idea for a weekend. Waiheke would be still beautiful without wineries but for its beauty people would not come. If you are spending your summer in Auckland this is a great one-day trip. I think it is worthy to visit this island for its atmosphere, beauty and for people. I enjoyed my stay there very much and I hope to go back there soon. Travel Tip When you take a ferry don’t sit on the back lower deck. I did and after 15 minutes I was completely covered with salt and water. I looked like a wet chicken and for the whole day I had sticky hands. So make yourself comfortable inside the ferry.  

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