This morning we left the coziness of Antico Corso Charme Hotel in Cagliari to go to our next stop, Oristano. The Charme Hotel had everything we needed…air conditioning (it’s still hot here), a kettle for boiling water to make coffee or tea, a comfortable bed, a closet with hangers and good WiFi. It was perfectly located on a major street with restaurants and shops nearby but at night it could be a little noisy. In spite of that, it worked well for us.
Cagliari is a great city with just enough character to make it really interesting. This stairway has been decorated and rather than being tacky, it’s fun!
The Archeological Museum in Cagliari is very modern and well organized. We learned about the history of this region and especially liked the many bronze statues found nearby. Here’s just one with a few more in the background:
It’s easy to get to the Airport from the city center-just a 7 minute train ride and very cheap. We picked up a Fiat Rental Car and headed for our next stop, Oristano.
The guidebook describes Oristano as “modestly beautiful” and explained that “you won’t find fancy hotels here but what you find will be genuine.” We haven’t had time to find out if that’s all true but there is quite a lot to explore in this region and this town makes a good base.
Today we dropped our luggage at the hotel and set out to explore Ancient Tharros, founded by the Phoenicians around 730-700 BC,. We spent several hours exploring the Archeological site with ancient ruins, the sea, and the sky.
We climbed to the top of this tower on the hill for a great view of the ruins and the sea. It was extremely windy at the top!
We found Bar Focacceria Casas in the tiny seaside village of San Giovanni. Larry tried the porchetta with radicchio and I had focaccia with thin slices of roasted eggplant and Gorgonzola cheese. We found our favorite soft drink – Chinotto – All good here!
We’ve had a busy day but we’ll rest up and be ready to explore more of this region, the Sinis Peninsula tomorrow. If we’re lucky, we might see some flamingos!