Alsace and home

From Innsbruck it was a short drive to Zurich, a city rich in architecture and just about everything else, we seemed to pay double from the norm on this trip so we had a good look around, stayed the night and left early for Alsace, we would definitely return. The Alsace Wine Route north of Colmar passes through many lovely 'chocolate box' villages, painted many different colours and with a heavy concentration of wood framing. We particularly liked the medieval Riquewihr, the gem of the vineyards, a unique town within the old city walls which has retained it's character, although it must become very busy in tourist season, other favourites were Kayserberg and Mittelbergheim, where the architecture is renaissance and the colours more traditional .

A little further up the road, sitting high in the hills is Chateau du Haut-Kronigsburg a most impressive structure started in the 12th century, the massive pink sandstone terraces cover 1.5 hectares. It was looted and burned and lay empty for 250 years then was completely renovated in 1900 using many 'modern' inventions of the time: a crane, a steam engine and electricity. It is difficult to convey the scale of this castle but it is a 'must see' in this area.

Finally on to the last place on our scheduled itinerary for this trip and a city we have wanted to visit for quite a while, STRASBOURG. The cathedral is very different to any other we have seen and was a good place to start, after which we took the one hour river cruise. The mixture of architecture is fascinating, from the historic Petite France in the southwest through old Strasbourg:

to the European Parliament in the northeast:

Shown here is the European Court of Human Rights which appears to me to be the place where criminals who have been convicted in a proper court in their own country, get a second chance to get away, and often do. It was a fun night to be in Strasbourg, the 'City of Christmas' in France, for the lighting up ceremony and our last night away for this trip. Yesterday was the final sprint back to England via the Eurotunnel and we are safely at home having covered 10,652 kilometres since October 8th. As we review all the photographs and realise how many different places we have been and how much history, art and culture we have absorbed it is impossible to select a favourite place or moment, there were so many. However, if you want one of most fascinating rides you will ever take, try one of these in Palermo, until next time.....

Salzburg to Innsbruck

At this time of year we have to expect some less than perfect weather and Salzburg was rather foggy so there was not much point in going up to the castle. We contented ourselves with wandering the streets of Mozart, shopping and eating rather decadent finger food with spritz in the Carpe Diem cafe. It is a lovely city with a charming Old Town which is looking very ready for Christmas. In the morning we took the short drive to Berchtesgaden and the Konigsee (Kings Lake), the boat ride to St. Bartholoma is delightful and the fog lifted in time to see some beautiful Alpine scenery like this at Hintersee.

We cannot help but be impressed with Austria, the scenery is obvious but everything else is also so different from Southern Europe: the language and food of course but the streets are so orderly, clean and in good repair. Rubbish is the exception rather than the rule and the farms are immaculate, not littered with rusty equipment. You do not see unfinished buildings and abandoned cars and everyone is working. I suppose that's what you get when people pay their taxes! It was a gorgeous drive to Innsbruck, we stayed at Igls, a ski area just south of the city. This is where Clare first learned to ski and we stayed in the same Sporthotel as the family did almost 50 years ago. In the evening we ventured down into the city where the Christmas season is already in full swing, like Salzburg the Old Town is charming.

Innsbruck sits in a valley completely surrounded by mountains but there is another dominating feature and that is the Bergisel Skijuming Stadium which sits on a hill. Formed at the end of a glacial moraine it appears to rise almost from the city center and at night it is illuminated to good effect. The last Winter Olympics was here in 1976 (Franz Klammer, 4 gold medals)and this stadium has since been reconstructed and it is an extraordinary place to visit. If you have ever stood at the top of a ski jump it is a frightening prospect. I don't know if the architect Zaha Hadid intended to make it even more so but as the jumper stares down the 98 meter long inrun and the 28,000 spectators surrounding the landing area the first thing he sees beyond that is the graveyard!

Three countries in one day

Our plan after Zadar was always to visit the Plativice Lakes National Park and although the weather has turned dull on us we drove inland to see it. It is claimed that this park is in the top 50 places to see in the world and it is surely unique. A series of subterranean rivers and lakes interconnect and flow through a steep gorge creating numerous large and small waterfalls. The natural flow is separated by travertine dams built up over time by deposits of moss, algae and bacteria. The colours range from green to azure and are probably at the most spectacular in the summer but it was also beautiful to walk the boardwalks with the trees and grasses in autumn colours for the return across the lake by boat.

We returned towards the Adriatic intending to stay in Rijeka but it was dark when we arrived and it was quickly evident from the smell and haze that this shipyard and oil refinery city was best avoided so we carried on further to Opatije. This coastal town boasts the best views in the country and for centuries was the playground of the wealthy of the Ausro-Hungarian empire. Some of the former villas were so large that they eventually became hotels. By luck we ended up at the amazing Miramar Hotel, perhaps the head of reservations took pity on us but for a pittance we had bed, breakfast, 5 course dinner and use of all facilities. As I sat in the sauna I was reminded of the stories of people sitting side by side on planes having paid vastly different prices and was tempted to ask the chap next to me how much he had paid! After a morning walk we drove to the border, a little apprehensive about the car but we entered SLOVENIA with no trouble. Slovenia is small, you never hear much about it but it has rich history. Stopping in Ljubljana the obvious place to visit is the castle on the hill, now a museum where we had a most interesting history lesson. We thought that we had seen evidence of some very old civilisations in Sicily but man first inhabited this area so long ago that the experts don't know who the people were. They first inhabited the marshes in houses built on poles, like Venice which provided ideal conditions for preserving artifacts and here is the (5,200 years) oldest wheel known to man.

The autostrada system is brilliant after weeks of driving on single lane roads. We began the long climb into the Alps eventually passing through the longest mountain tunnel (9.8km) we can remember, and once through we were in AUSTRIA. The change was immediately noticeable, the alpine architecture, green pastures and snow on the mountains was quite different from the scene at the other end. We spent a night in Flachau, a ski resort with a hundred hotels but only one open, in 2 weeks it will be a different story. Awaking to a brilliant sunny day it was on to SALZBURG.

An historic day

Arriving in Dubrovnik we checked in at the Hilton, perfectly placed for visiting the Old City which we did in the evening and following day. It took a lot of shelling during the war and the Serbians were close in the hills above but never came in. However the town has been completely rebuilt, you would never know except for the fact that half of the population fled and never returned. Many properties were bought by outsiders as holiday homes and consequently it is buzzing in the summer but the rest of the time is very quiet and the make up of the people has changed. It is a lovely town but not much was happening.

The coast road up to Split is scenic and slow but the atmosphere in the city was noticeably better than Dubrovnik. The city is built on and around the remains of the Dionesius Palace and our hotel in the center used the old rampart walls in places. Fish dinner was outstanding and we went to bed unprepared for the following day. As we ate breakfast the television was on and the entire country was waiting for the verdict from The Hague in the war crimes trial of 2 Generals, Gotovina and Markac who have been held for 8 years. They had been accused of plotting the ethnic cleansing of Serbians from the Krajina region. NOT GUILTY! The waitress and hostess were in tears (of joy), church bells started to ring, gunshots rang out and when we walked into the center the crowds were already celebrating, flags were flying in abundance. It was declared a holiday and the scenes were quite extraordinary.

This was an important moment for all Croatians, although the fighting ended 20 years ago there has been a cloud hanging over them with this trial and yesterday they could finally feel that the WAR is over and we could understand that sentiment, as we talked with various locals it was clear how much it means. We drove into Zadar in the late afternoon and the bands were playing, horns were honking and we watched the fireworks from the hotel where the Croatian bubbly was on the house.

CROATIA, but only just

The overnight ferry SVETI STEFAN rocked and rolled in the heaviest seas we have yet encountered but the pills were working and we avoided any sickness. First sight of Montenegro exposed a rugged coastline and we arrived early into the only country which uses the Euro as currency but is not in the EC, how did they manage that? We were immediately questioned about car registration as apparently we needed a 'green card with red writing' which we don't have. After some stern words we were allowed in and proceeded to Kotor, a delightful town in the bay of the same name which is really more of a fjord. This island on the way is typical of what we were expecting on the Dalmatian Coast.

Kotor is protected by steep mountains and a fortress above and the architecture is reminiscent of Ortigia, white stone, marble tiles and predominantly green shutters.

After some wandering and a very welcome lunch (no proper food since the Porky ones!)we proceeded on to the border with Croatia, this time being scolded for not having 'Montenegro Insurance' and proper 'document car'. Who cares? We are leaving! So he relented in the end. Home free. Not so fast, 100 meters up the road was Croatian immigration and this time was far more threatening, in total we waited almost an hour and at one point we were denied entry as we could not bring an 'illegal car' into the country. Eventually the boss man came onto the scene, chastised us for not having that green card and also for being over the limit of wine, olive oil, marsala and other items which we have collected along the way. Then he let us go, we are now in Dubrovnik.

Matera

The last meal in Italy was in Bari and it was hilarious, herewith a sample of some of the dishes and we promise they are word for word off the menu. The chap who created these dishes could rival Heston Blumenthal for originality but could he find all the ingredients? Carpaccio of mushrooms, rucola and nuisance- Carpaccio of melon and fig trees with patch in parma- Tagliolino with velvety to the black hypocrite and you escape veal- Spaghetti to the rock cliff- Laughed venere by black grain with tails of mazancolle to the oriental- Emince of ox to the porky ones- Lobster and Greek crickets- This was not a Chinese restaurant and after we stopped laughing Clare settled for the Risotto of shrimp tails to the champagne as opposed to Risotto with perfume of the Adriatic and I had fresh pasta with brandy and tomatoes and little things which must have been the porky ones! On long trips like this one it is sometimes more interesting to visit places with no previous research, a case in point was Matera, close to the southern coast in the 'arch of the boot' of Italy. This area was inhabited by one of the earliest civilisations, older than the places in Sicily we have just left. The Sassi people lived for centuries in caves, some natural, others carved out of the porous stone, and continued to do so until 1956 when a new law forced them to vacate their cave houses for reasons of hygiene. Although they had developed ingenious methods of digging tanks and channelling rainwater there were no toilet facilities and they shared accommodation with the animals. The town has a very biblical feel with the holes in the rocks and many houses dug deep into the cliffs as was the dining area and part of our room at Hotel D' Angelo, a unique place to stay.

Many religious Italian films have been made here and Hollywood also used the area for King David and as Jerusalem in Mel Gibson's controversial 'Passion of Christ'.

At the top of the old town is a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering, a cistern dug entirely by hand measuring 5 stories deep and almost as long as a football field, impressive.

Reflections on Sicily

For many years we have wanted to visit this crazy island and after 17 days we have a fair idea of what happens here having done virtually a full circle around the coast though not in a continuous way, and through the center. As noted previously there are numerous things here to irritate and confuse and then there is so much fascination, a more diverse history than probably anywhere on the planet of which we have seen many examples but by no means all. Western Sicily is more simple, slower and definitely sees less tourists and we prefer it there. Over the last few days as we have gone up the East coast the prices have gone up, many people are less friendly and accommodating and quite willing to take advantage of you when they can. That is not to say that one should not visit this area because there are many sights worth seeing, like the Greek Theatre at Siracusa:

Further up the coast is the hotspot city of Taormina which has become the victim of it's own success and now suffers from everything that comes with mass tourism: too many souvenir shops, expensive restaurants, parking and accommodation. However, if you avoid the summer crowds as we did you cannot help but enjoy the spectacular setting, high on a steep hill with the sea on one side and Mt. Etna on the other, it was an incredible place for the Greeks to build another theatre.

As we sailed from Messina this morning we could not see the volcano in the clouds and we never did get to the top, but we have seen it from other angles. You will see better pictures of Etna with more snow and from closer up but as it appears to be the visual symbol of Sicily we think it appropriate to be our final shot of this amazing place. Mission accomplished.

Cefalu-Enna-Syracusa

We arrived in Cefalu on the north coast after dark and spent the following morning visiting the town which is very quaint, wedged between a giant rock called simply 'La Rocca' and sandy beaches. There are noticeably more tourists here as the autostrada network allows easy access from Palermo and Catania. Apologies if you are tiring of cathedrals but the Duomo at Cefalu dominates the town and it's the best photo we have!

It is a short drive through the brown hills of central Sicily and we stopped in Enna to climb the watchtower at the Castello di Lombardia and experience what is probably the premier panorama of the island. Mt. Etna in the distance was smoking a little ( we should get closer tomorrow) and we were above the Saracen town (951AD) of Calascibetta, perched on a cliff.

Our final stop of the day was in Ortygia a small island connected to the city of Syracusa by 2 bridges. The showpiece of the island is the rectangular square tiled in white marble. It is a masterpiece of Baroque planning flanked by flamboyant palaces like Arcivescovile and a pleasant area for an aperitivo and people watching.

Syracusa was at one time one of the largest cities of the ancient world and the archeological site contains the remains of an oval shaped Roman amphitheatre, used for gladiatorial combat, chariot racing and sacrifices and a semi circular Greek amphitheatre used for drama and music! After wandering around the site we drove 'around the houses' for a while eventually heading for the autostrada. Once we found the right road we thought we were in business until we got to within 200 metres of the entrance and a barrier which appeared to have been there for some time. No signs, or diversions just a dead end and we had to u-turn and drive about 5 kilometers as did the stream of cars behind us. You would think a sign would be appropriately placed to save thousands of people the trouble every day, very Sicilian! We eventually made it to Noto, a town with the highest concentration of Baroque palaces and cathedrals of anywhere in Sicily, having been rebuilt in the 18th century. What is unique here is the colour of the stone which glows golden almost pink in the afternoon sun, beautiful.

There a re no ferries from Bari to Dubrovnik so we will leave on Tuesday for Bar in Montenegro. On to Taormina tomorrow before leaving Sicily from Messina for the sprint across southern Italy. Pray for the wagon.

More churches

Over the past five days we have been joined by our good friends the MacLeods, together we have driven many miles, shared many laughs and marveled together at the sights of Sicily. We visited many new sites but also returned to two of our favorite places for a more in depth look. The first was Mazara del Vallo, city of art. The largest fishing port in Southern Europe it has a mixed population of 50% Sicilian Catholic and 50% Tunisian Muslim, who have co-existed for centuries and never had any troubles. Children learn both Italian and Arabic and as you exit a cathedral you can hear the call to prayer. In addition to the lovely architecture the streets and walls of the city are decorated with hand painted ceramic tiles, not wall to wall but in series and in some places as murals with poetry and verse. The street names and directions to points of interest are also hand painted as are many pots and vases, unique and fun.

If you have ever been to Europe you may have experienced the feeling of being "churched out". There are so many cathedrals and chapels and we have seen our fair share but they are extraordinary works of art and after visiting the cathedrals in Mazara and yesterday in Palermo, we wonder if the definition of "baroque" isn't "over the top"! The cathedral of Mazara

Every inch of floor, wall and ceiling is ornately decorated, brazen statements of the wealth and power of the Catholic church. St. Catherine's Cathedral in Palermo.

We have had a few disappointments in our travels, arriving to find the venue closed or the star attraction "missing" and we were advised at the Tourist Office that we would not be able to go into the Norman Palace as parliament was in session. We went along anyway and to our delight the politicians had all gone home and it was open to the public. It is an extraordinary palace having been occupied by so many different peoples over the years, they have all added or changed some part of this very large edifice. The tour of the Royal Apartments is one of the highlights of Palermo but photographs were not permitted. However, we were allowed access into the Cappella Palatina (St. Peter's 1130 AD) and to take pictures. This is the highest example of architectonic plan showing the encounter between different cultures and religions involving Byzantine, Muslim and Latin handcraft masters. The ancient mosaics represent the most important episodes of the Gospel and the wooden ceiling is executed in muqarnas, islamic painting with human representation. It is our favorite church in Sicily.

SELINUNTE

From one earthquake site in the west we drove to another in the east, the World Heritage site at Ragusa. The original city was badly damaged in 1693 whereupon the inhabitants were divided, some chose to rebuild on the old site at Ibla and others started a new city named Ragusa Superior. As you descend from the new city Ragusa Ibla reveals itself below sitting in the middle of 2 ravines, shown here looking splendid in the afternoon sun.

There are many fine buildings and monuments in both cities but the most beautiful is the Duomo di San Giorgio with it's magnificent three tiered golden facade.

In the last few days we have put quite a few kilometers on the clock but there is so much of interest to see that it is never boring. We made the relatively short trip west to SELINUNTE another ancient city which was built in the same period and suffered the same fate as did the old Agrigento. Covering over 600 acres Selinunte was larger both in area and in scale but there are fewer temples left intact due to an earthquake which was believed to have occurred in the tenth century. Many piles of huge stones and columns surround the temples.

POGGIOREALE

Sicily is definitely one of the most extraordinary places we have visited, it stirs the full range of emotions, one minute we can be enthralled by a beautiful work of art, architecture or ancient ruin. Then we can be appalled by the neglect of some of these places, the waste of unfinished buildings and highways (usually where the project, probably funded by the EEC, has run out of money because the balance was stolen). The freshness of the antepasto in the mountains or the mussels in the seaside towns makes eating a pleasure. Then you drive home past the piles of rubbish overflowing the bins and filling the ditches. There is annoyance or laughter at the casual attitude as a Sicilian walks in front of the car, not the least bit concerned and the delight as they show their warmth when you ask for directions or enter a restaurant. The Belice Valley sits on a natural fault line and in January 1968 there was an exceptionally destructive earthquake in that valley. At least 70,000 people were made homeless and there were many deaths.

So there was again a mixture of emotions as we walked around the once beautiful town of Poggioreale, where the only inhabitants now are the goats and ghosts of the past.

Within the wreckage one can see the remains of the beautiful frescoes in what was a thriving town; a mixture of fascination and sadness.

THE WEST COAST

Having seen quite a lot of Agrigento Province both inland and on the coast, we drove west to Mazara Del Vallo, Marsala and up the salt road to Tripani. There were a few specific things we planned to see, starting with the Dancing Satyr in Mazara. The bronze which is one of the most significant recent discoveries was caught in the nets of local fishermen in the Sicilian Channel in 1998 and a museum has been created to house it. This city is a fishing port and has had a strong Arab influence and is much wealthier than the places we have been thus far. After wandering in a few of the alleys and piazzas we found the museum, as we bought our tickets the lady said “Sorry, the Satyr isn’t here, it is on loan to the British Museum”. Damn! So we watched a film instead a little disappointed we wondered further. Almost immediately our spirits were lifted when we came across a wonderful little theatre that we knew nothing about.

This theatre constructed entirely of wood in a horseshoe shape has two person boxes surrounding about 60 seats with standing room in the “Gods” which makes it very intimate. As are many streets, palazzios and buildings in every town it is named after that man “Garibaldi”. A little further up the coast is the city of Marsala, home to the fortified wine of the same name and very similar in feel to Mazara. Due to the wine and salt industry it is one of the richer cities in Sicily and as this photo shows, the origins were around 500 BC but the Duomo is relatively new.

Next stop and item number two on the “ must see” list was the Island of Mozia which sits roughly a mile off the coast of the salt pans where the old windmills still pump the water using the Archimedes Screw and the salt is stored under roof tiles beside the main road. It is a short ferry ride across a shallow lagoon to the Phoenician Colony (800 BC) of Mothia. The island was restored by the Archeologist Joseph Whitaker of the Marsala wine merchant family and what was his home is now a museum. In 1979 the Youth of Mozia was discovered in the Sanctuary. This marble statue of Greek origin dates from 440 BC and it is a unique piece. It is the first known sculpture of that era which is not naked the model was draped with a semi transparent gown which created a sensuality not seen before. However, we only know this from the pictures because as we purchased our tickets the man said, “I’m sorry, the statue is not here, it is in London!” Double damn! So if you are in London and have a chance to visit the British Museum please tell us about these pieces!

We finished a long but very interesting day in Trapani but only had time for a short stroll down the lovely pedestrian avenues in the centre where the architecture was stunning and the shops were like Bond Street.

Into the Hills

For some reason we expected Sicily to be quite dry, brown and scrubby like parts of Sardinia but it is not. The view from any hill is most definitely green. A patchwork of different grasses, yellowing vines, the deep green of citrus and the silver green of the olive groves. The olive harvest is on now so there are often plumes of smoke rising from distant factories as the oil is processed.

From a distance the villages and towns look interesting but close up many of them are actually quite ugly. For so many years the mafia controlled the construction and they did not build beautiful (except for themselves). Often the original buildings of interest are hidden in a maze of tall apartment blocks painted the usual Mediterranean colours, pink, yellow and brown but all quite gaudy and not the soft weathered look that one sees in places like the Amalfi coast. Occasionally there is an exception and mountain village of Palazzo Adriano is one. Here the construction is natural using mountain stone and the streets and alleys are beautifully cobbled.

People do not work much here, everything is closed from 1-4pm. Many of the olives do not get picked, there is nobody to do the work. Rather surprising in a place which is so poor but many people seem to have given up. They are very warm and accommodating but when you talk to them they just say "What's the point? We are poor, the politicians have stolen everything." So they sit around bemoaning the fact, some work.

Valley of The Temples

Our accommodation is ideally situated for excursions in all directions, we are spoilt for choice but opted first to head east to Akragas and the temples. The city was founded in 581 BC by the Greeks and quickly rose to prominence due to the fertile land surrounding it and proximity to the sea. It traded in produce and horses and was soon declared by the Greek Poet Pindar to be "the most beautiful city of the mortals". Laid out in 'processional composition' and sitting on a rocky ridge the highest of the 8 temples built in the Doric Order is Temple of Juno:

The Greeks traded with Carthage peacefully until 406BC when the Carthaginians destroyed the city, Temple of Concord remains the most intact.

The city became a battleground of the Punic wars between the Carthaginians and Romans with the latter eventually taking control and renaming AGRIGENTO but it never regained it's former glory or status.

Above you see the remains of Temple of the Dioscuric with the modern (and not very attractive) Agrigento on the hill. The original inhabitants occupied the area between the two. Unfortunately the museum was closed as it contains many artifacts recovered from the site. Such was the wealth of the city and quality of the pieces that there are entire rooms of them in The Louvre, The British Museum and Kleinkunstmuseum in Munich.

Palermo

We have not ben able to bring you all the wonderful things we have seen until now, we finally found in the Art Cafe in Sciacca (pronounced Shacka) someone who speaks English and understands internet speed because in Sicily everything moves v e r y s l o w l y. Our bodies told us not to play golf on the last day in Sardinia so we visited Cagliari. The city is on a steep incline, so much so that there are various lifts provided for assistance. We walked to the top to the Archeological Museum, built over some of the original city walls that now make up part of the internal exhibit. That and the Palace were quite interesting but otherwise we did not find Cagliari to be too exciting, there are some lovely wide piazzas with far reaching, if not beautiful views but everything is spoiled by the graffiti, which is a global epidemic but here is the worst we’ve seen. Arriving at the port in good time I proceeded to hand over our internet printed booking. The woman behind the desk immediately started shouting that this was the wrong paper and ripped it into a dozen pieces, shaking her head and waving her arms she then put our name into the computer and out popped the ticket, just like any other airline or shipping desk. Finally she handed it back to me warning in a loud voice: “NEXT TIME, BRING TICKET!” Charming! The ship was called “TUSCANY”, appropriate because she was as old as the hills, and it was a voyage of superlatives. Having encountered the rudest ticket agent we then boarded the smelliest ship, serving the coldest most expensive food quite a contrast to our previous voyages. We refused to use the shower but remarkably the bunks were comfortable and we slept like babies. (Travel tip: bring your own pillows). There are some places that must be arrived at by water: Istanbul, Venice, Sydney and probably Palermo. As the morning haze lifted we could clearly see the Sicilian hills as we docked in Palermo, in front of the city. It was a glorious day and as we got closer the details of the buildings, the old gates and domes and the towers on the roofline indicated that we were arriving somewhere special. This city has a rich history from Baroque, Bourbon, Byzantine, Muslim and Norman that have been woven together.

We drove around for about an hour and seeing cars parked double, perpendicular, on sidewalks and blocking the alleys we realized that the place is chaos so we retreated to the seafront to park the car and set off on foot. We asked two policemen for directions to the Tourist Office. They both got out of the car, opened the back door and rummaged in their briefcases for a map of the city which they gave us with a farewell in English “Enjoy Palermo”. At enormous expense we hired a motorised rickshaw and were immediately on a whirlwind magical mystery tour! The architecture is incredible, passing a church then a piazza like Pretoria and the fountain of shame seen here.

One minute you can be down an alley twisting and turning, half expecting dishwater to rain down from an upper window to arrive at something like this...

before getting back on the main track past an Opera House or a Museum to arrive at the extraordinary Cathedral and Episcopal Palace.

Palermo has long been neglected but many structures are being restored. It is beautiful, ugly, poor, dirty, vibrant and hectic, except at lunch when everything stops! We hope to return, one day is not enough. We had a pleasant drive through the western vineyards and olive groves down to our lovely apartment by the sea at Piana Grande.

Mostly Golf

The writer was not expecting to leave Corsica twice on this trip but was able to retrieve the car on Sunday having been told nothing was possible until Tuesday, but that rather sums up the attitude there. We did a lot of sightseeing around the Costa Smeralda but unfortunately it was rather hazy so the photos are not clear. We took yet another (short) ferry ride to La Madalena and across the bridge to Caprera, a big island which has one house on it and was only ever lived in by one family, that of Giuseppe Garibaldi. He moved there to retire after his exploits as a general, fighting around Europe and in South America. He had 3 wives and a number of children including one by the housekeeper so he was clearly a lover as well as a fighter. His house is now a museum and worth a visit. The man...

This is mostly golf week and having played twice in Pevero we drove through central Sardinia to the west coast to play Is Arenas near Narbolia. The fairways weave through the pines near the beach, a lovely course perhaps the best on the island. When we were not playing we visited Tharros, ancient city on the coast where the Phoenicians first settled in 800BC which makes this church from 600 AD look new.

The next leg was to Is Molas GC west of Cagliari where we first played on honeymoon and where our friend Luciano, who is travelling with us until tomorrow, used to be the professional. He likes to make sure we are not bored so we took a slight diversion to San Sperate, a small village which is home to Pinuccio Sciola, the stone sculptor. His outdoor gallery is huge and we just drove in. It would be better to google his name to understand how he carves (with machines) and how he makes the stones 'sing'. The village is also very unusual as a large percentage of the buildings have intricate murals painted on them and even the concrete streets are painted. Some examples of his work:

One thing which is really noticeable is how much cheaper things are the further south one goes. Remember the days when 3 people could go out and eat pasta with fresh seafood and drink oodles of house wine for about $15 a head? Down here you still can! We have moved east through Cagliari to Villasimius in the southeast corner, a pleasant surprise. We have never heard of it but it has lovely beaches and a very scenic course, Tanka Golf Club. There are some good hotels and enough amenities but the area is not over developed and as you can see, the weather is ideal. One more day, maybe one more round if our bodies can take it and we then sail for Sicily tomorrow evening.