Another week has flown by! The only big news from this week is that Brooklyn started her job at Pizza Hut and worked two shifts! We are so proud of her!
We have been bunny-sitting for our friends for the past couple of weeks. Milo is the sweetest thing. We had been expecting a tiny bunny, but he’s almost as big as Daisy and blind. I tried to cuddle him one day, but he was so scared he nearly jumped out of my arms. It’s a good thing, though, because I discovered I was allergic to rabbits after breaking out in hives for 24 hours after picking him up 😂. Slinky is so interested in him that he just sits on the steps watching him. Daisy acts surprised to see Milo every time she walks by 😂.
After work and school on Thursday, we dropped the dogs off at the kennel and headed to the airport for our Labor Day Weekend adventure in Sardinia.
Sardinia is a territory of Italy and an island in the southern Mediterranean known for its beaches. It’s only a little smaller than Italy’s other big island, Sicily, but much less well known. Since it’s so big, you can fly into the north, known for its more rugged but glamorous coastline, or the south, known for sandy beaches. It’s a 3-5 hour trip from south to north, so doing it all in one weekend is impossible. I chose the south for this trip because I miss sand, having lived in Europe for three years. I had planned on booking a few excursions, but Matt said “nothing organized” for this trip; we were going to be on our own time the whole weekend and make it our mission to find the best beaches in southern Sardinia.
We arrived at the airport pretty early, and since almost no one was traveling on a Thursday night, we decided to check out the observation deck on the airport’s roof. The deck is before security, so it’s not really convenient to visit unless you can be sure you can get through security quickly.
The roof deck was actually huge, the length of the entire airport. Ryan and I walked to the far end to get a better view of the planes landing and found that there is even a restaurant there! And since it’s before security, anyone can come to watch the planes and grab a meal or drink. We decided we’d definitely have to do that again in the future.
After seeing several planes land, we headed back downstairs and through security, where we ran into two of our friends who were also traveling that evening. We had some drinks while waiting for our flights and then said bon voyage before our flight departed.
We flew from Stuttgart to Milan, ran through our tight connection, and then took a second flight from Milan to Cagliari, Sardinia. We picked up our rental car and headed to the airport hotel, where we all passed out for the night.
Friday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel before heading out for the day. Our first stop was downtown Cagliari, where we did a little shopping and walking around. There was a ton of construction on the waterfront, and that took a lot away from the experience for us, as we were constantly dodging holes in the road.
When we were done shopping, we took a short driving tour of the rest of the city and the Poetto Beach district. Poetto seemed like a cute beach town, and the glimpses we got of the water were beautiful. After seeing everything, we stopped at McDonald’s for a quick lunch and then drove down the coast to Santa Margherita di Pula, where we would be staying.
We noticed several white birds in the lagoons we passed along our drive. After seeing a head pop up, we realized they were all flamingoes with their heads underwater! Apparently, Sardinia is a natural habitat for flamingoes, although theirs are primarily white and not pink.
Luckily, our hotel rooms were ready early, and we could head straight to the beach! The sand was so soft, and the water was so warm! Ryan was snorkeling from when we arrived until we left (his new favorite thing). The hotel provided chairs and umbrellas, so Brooklyn and I spent a lot of time laying out and reading while Matt split his time between the two.
After a couple of hours of relaxing on the beach, we dressed and headed to downtown Pula for dinner. The area around our hotel is so secluded that there weren’t any dinner options besides the hotel or a small market for the campground next door. Pula was a 15-minute drive away, but the cute, cobblestone town was worth it for the tiny bit of walking around and small restaurant selection.
After a little walking around, we chose a restaurant called Sincontru, which called itself a “pizza cucina sushi bar.” This ended up being a great choice as we could all get something we wanted; Ryan got sushi, Brooklyn and I got pizza, and Matt got steak. We ate dinner on the square, which got really lively after a band set up and played jazz music. The food and drinks were really good, and we had a great dinner.
After dinner, the kids convinced us to buy them some light-up helicopters they saw other kids playing with. All around Europe, vendors start selling these cheap toys as soon as the sun goes down, and they can catch the attention of little kids. We’ve tried to avoid them for years because the sellers usually look a little sketchy, but they were cheap, and we weren’t in a rush, so we finally decided why not. The kids had a blast running around and trying to see who could shoot their highest into the air, then chasing them to catch them before they landed; what an excellent €6 investment. We hope they treasure these jewels forever.
Saturday, after breakfast, we headed out on our first mini-road trip. We only had about 30km to drive, but after driving about 15 minutes east, we found ourselves on single-lane mountain roads. We wove our way through an almost deserted region. While there were some shrubs and trees, the landscape was really rocky, and we saw no crops, animals, or buildings aside from the two small towns we passed through.
Finally, we reached Porto Pino Park on the southwest coast of Sardinia. Once we paid the entry fee and drove through the gate, we had another 20 minutes of gravel and rocky road to cross before we reached the parking lot. Then, another 500-meter walk to the beach, past another flamingo lagoon.
Once we arrived at the beach, we set up camp. Thank goodness the beach was so remote. It wasn’t crowded at all, and we were able to get a spot close to the water. We had purchased some portable beach tents before the trip that folded up small enough to fit in our carry-on suitcases, which ended up being great for our trip.
We set up our tents and Brooklyn and Ryan immediately headed for the water while Matt and I alternated between swimming and relaxing in the shade from our tents. I’m unsure if it was because we were on a cape or just that day’s weather, but it was so windy. This meant the water was choppier than the day before, and we were constantly being hit by blown sand. It was not bad enough to make it unenjoyable, just a big difference from the relative calm of the day before.
The wind started picking up in the late afternoon, and we were getting hungry. There was a beach club at Porto Pino, but Matt and Ryan decided they wanted something different, so we packed up our things, hiked back to the car, and then started driving back towards the hotel, this time taking the coastal road. Our destination was a second beach with some food trucks, but after driving for a little while, we all decided we didn’t really want to stop at another beach that day. It was already getting close to 3 pm, so we decided to skip lunch and stretch ourselves on snacks until dinner.
We did make a stop, though, so Matt could fly his drone over the beautiful coastline. Although most of it is rugged and rocky, each corner seems to be hiding a cove with a beautiful sandy beach. Each outcrop is peaked with an old stone watch tower, left over from the days of looking out for pirates on the Mediterranean.
We returned to the hotel, took a nap, and then headed back to Pula in search of dinner. We walked around the square in Pula again and ultimately decided to return to the same restaurant from the night before, Sincontru because it was just so good. We each changed our dinner choices, though, with Brooklyn and I getting sushi this time and Matt choosing a pizza.
Sunday, we were up early again and, after breakfast, drove to Tuerreda Beach. We wanted to arrive early to secure a good spot on the beach so we could return to the hotel’s beach in the afternoon. We arrived around 10 a.m., and the first parking lot was already full, and the second lot was almost at capacity. Thank goodness we planned to get up so early, but we should have probably been even earlier.
This beach was beautiful, but it was packed because it was not remote at all and was on a huge cove of calm, crystal-blue water. We were able to find a spot for our tents, but it was pretty far from the water’s edge. We still set up and enjoyed relaxing for a couple of hours. Brooklyn and Matt made drippy sand castles while Ryan snorkeled. I finished my third book of the trip!
After swimming and playing in the sand, we packed our things and headed to the beach bar for lunch before leaving. Everyone ordered burgers except for me, who got pizza as usual. I’m not kidding—this is the best pizza I’ve had in a long time. Instead of the usual personal-sized pizza you get in Italy, this was served NY-style by the jumbo slice, and it was so, so good. The rest of the family thought their burgers were mediocre and were really jealous of me.
After our lunch, we drove a short distance up the road so Matt could fly his drone over Tuerreda Beach and as usual, he got some amazing shots.
We returned to the hotel, and since there was still time left in the afternoon, we headed down to the hotel beach. It felt so secluded, with barely any people after the super crowded Tuerreda Beach. We all agreed that while South Sardinia had more picturesque beaches, the best beach was actually right at our hotel, thanks to the beach chairs, umbrellas, and crowd control.
For dinner, we returned to Pula and were determined to find another restaurant to eat at besides Sincontru; we just wanted something different this time. We walked around checking out all of the restaurant menus and eventually settled on one. As fate would have it, the meal was okay but nowhere near as good as Sincontru. Sometimes, you just can’t beat what you know.
On Monday, we skipped the hotel breakfast, returned the rental car, and flew home. We had a really long layover in Milan, so even though our day started early, we didn’t get home until almost 8 p.m. It was a long travel day, but everyone kept their heads up, so it went smoothly.
So, what did we think of Sardinia? I have wanted to go for so long; Sardinia has been pushing tourism in recent years. You can’t scroll far on the internet or social media without hearing about its beautiful scenery. Our trip was limited to southern Sardinia, and it definitely did not disappoint with regard to its beautiful, clean beaches. The pure white, fine sand and warm water with almost no waves were top-notch. Even though Sardinia is trying to attract more tourists, Southern Sardinia still does not feel very touristy; it’s just not there yet. Fortunately, that meant it wasn’t so crowded, and the prices were ok (slightly cheaper than what we use in Germany). But, it was very quiet; had we wanted to do an organized tour or boat ride, they would have been hard to find, and we had to travel quite far to find restaurant options. Cagliari felt very industrial, and maybe we didn’t see enough of it, but I would not recommend it for a place near the top of anyone’s to-do list. The Santa Margherita coast, though, is a great option that is close by, and I would definitely recommend that. We would return if we wanted to do a “beach and relax only” vacation, but that’s not usually our style. I think if we return to Sardinia, we will try out the northern coast next time and see how it compares.
Gilcrests Abroad 