Month: October 2023

Alghero has been a good city for a relaxed 4-night stay and the food here is really good. There were many options for focaccia at Bar Milese but the “Specialty of the House”made with ham, tuna, boiled egg slices and tomato was a winner.

Tuesday we drove to one hour south of Alghero to Bosa, a lovely town on the Temo River. 

It’s a colorful fishing village with pleasant streets and alleyways for wandering.

After a nice lunch of calamari and perfectly grilled tuna, we headed back to Alghero. Along the way, we followed signs that led us six kilometers on a narrow winding roadway, all uphill. Near the top, we found a very well-maintained archeological park with the remains of three Bronze-Age nuraghi.

Naurghe, a word of ancient and unknown origin, is a tower-like structure built of large stones that stands one to three stories in height. The structures date back to 1800 BC and there are about 7,000 of these structures left in Sardinia.

The photo below, shows the entrance to one naurghe – we went inside to see the complexity of the rooms and chambers.

While from the outside, it looks like a pile of rocks, the interior is a fascinating to explore.

The weather has remained hot and dry but temperatures will be a bit cooler today. There is plenty of things here to explore but tomorrow we move to our next stop on the northern tip of the island, Santa Teresa Gallura.

At first glance, Oristano didn’t look like much of a town but there were some beautiful piazzas, a small archeological museum, and some nice restaurants. The hotel, Mariano IV Palace, was well-worn but the hotel was comfortable enough, in a good location with free parking nearby and the staff members were very kind. We ate some good meals in Oristano including one at Ta Matete with grilled swordfish, vegetables and a delicious lasagna.

We left Oristano this morning and drove along the coastal road toward Alghero. The Sardinian countryside is dry and the rocky landscape is dotted with oleander, cactus, scrubby bushes, and olive trees.

The red Fiat rental car is zippy and does a good job on the curvy mountain roads – the driver (a.k.a. Larry)is doing an excellent job!

It was a 2-hour drive with little traffic on a Sunday morning. We arrived in Alghero just after 1:00. We dropped our luggage and walked toward the city center for lunch at Trattoria Maristella. Our pasta dishes were tasty…one, spaghetti with clams and olives and the other, fat shells filled with pecorino cheese, mint, and creamy mashed potatoes (yep, mashed potatoes) topped with a fresh tomato sauce. This stuffed pasta is called Culurgiones, a traditional dish from this region.

Meals are usually served with bread and a very thin, crispy flatbread called Pane Carasatu.

The sun has been intense and the afternoons hot. We took a walk into the city center – there is a nice promenade along the sea. We look forward to some longer walks in cooler temperatures. Alghero is a beautiful small city in a beautiful setting. It’s one of the prime tourist centers on the island.

Sunset is at 7:09 p.m.  We arrived just in time to see the setting sun.

We’re looking forward to exploring this region for the next few days!