…and Away We Go!

The Go-Opti van ride from Trieste to Ljubljana took about 1 hour and 20 minutes – it was only a few minutes after we left Trieste until we crossed the border into Slovenia. We are staying at Bed and Breakfast Slamič., a hotel where we stayed many years ago. It’s been expanded and renovated since our last visit. It’s in a good location not far from the city center, the room is large and the breakfast is very good with yogurt, homemade granola, and fresh fruit.

The city is bustling on a Saturday morning.

We didn’t realize that this a big weekend in Ljubljana as there is an event for runners with about 13,000 people competing in a marathon, half-marathon, and 10k. It’s a festive scene in the city this morning with school children running the course today and the marathon event tomorrow (Sunday). The race course loops around the city and is blocking traffic in a major part of the town.

The River Ljubljana runs through the city and it’s lovely at night. There are many restaurants and cafes along the waterfront throughout the city.

We’ve left the culinary land of pizza and pasta and traded it for schnitzel and strudel.  We have lots to explore here and a couple of days to do it.

Now, we’re off to join the festivities!

We’ve been very happy wandering around this city but it’s time to go.  Our Go-Opti Van will be here soon and we’ll be on our way to our last stop for this adventure – Ljubljana, Slovenia.

 

We’ve had good luck renting from a company called “Cars by Sicily” but today our luck ran out. Larry is an excellent driver and constantly amazes me driving through narrow alleyways, dodging cars darting from seemingly nowhere and managing roundabouts with ease. Today when pulling into a parking space to return the car, he parked a little over the curb and scraped the underside of the front bumper. The damage looked like this:

The “damage” isn’t visible and doesn’t make the car less drivable.   A very testy agent was determined to charge us $350.00 for the damage. We’ve had a excellent experiences all over the island, meeting kind people and seeing lovely sites – this is a bummer but it won’t ruin the trip for us.

After we returned the car, we took a city bus for the airport to our hotel in the city center. The bus was modern, clean and it was a short ride.

To soothe our ruffled feathers, we had a nice lunch at Anticas Licanzias,

The ravioli with tomato, ricotta and basil was great.

Olbia is a bustling port town, busy on a Saturday afternoon.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Sardinia. We’re looking forward to our next stop, Trieste, Italy.

San Teodoro is a small town with about 5,000 full-time residents.  It feels more resort-y than other towns we’ve visited.  The town center is cute with shops, restaurants, a church, and several piazzas for lingering. The town is not old and unlike the other places we’ve been, there’s nothing of historical interest here.

On the right side of the photo (below) by the church, there is a large stage with gigantic speakers set up for a free concert which will start tonight at 10:00 p.m. We’re not certain we’ll be attendance but judging by the size of the speakers, we’ll probably hear it from our hotel. 

In the summer, people flock here to visit the white sand beaches. It’s not so crowded now but even in mid-October the water is still warm enough for swimming.

Yesterday morning we walked along trails in a nature preserve called Stagno di San Teodoro. The vegetation is interesting and looks to be in need of rain. We’ve been fascinated by the rocky mountain in the distance.

In the lagoon (stagno), flamingos feast on crustaceans in the shallow water.

It’s still quite warm here. The only evidence of fall is in the grocery store (supermercato). Wandering around the grocery store is an adventure in itself.

Many of our days begin by wandering around town. Today we discovered the cemetery. The tombs are mostly (local?) granite and many have photos of the deceased.

We’ve enjoyed a late afternoon aperitivo here in San Teodoro. This Campari and soda spritz came with chips, olives, salsa, and other snacks. It’s practically a meal!

We’re staying at Hotel Stella Marina. The cost is $81.00 U.S. Dollars per night. The rooms are small and clean but we’ve just discovered a small sign on the back of the door that says that the water is “non-potable”. We’ve been drinking it so not sure what the outcome will be? On a positive note, breakfast is included in the price with pastries, fruits, yogurt, coffee, cakes,  juice and more.

So, San Teodoro is a low-key place with plenty of activities to keep us busy for a couple of days.  It’s been great to have a rental car to get around the island but tomorrow we’ll return the car to the Airport in Olbia. We’ll spend two nights in Olbia before we fly to Venice and then travel to Trieste, Italy by bus on Monday.

We are missing family and friends but Sardinia has been a great destination – one we’d recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing place to land.

 

 

 

 

 

We left Orosei this morning and drove through dramatic and rocky landscapes  to our next stop for 3 nights, San Teodoro. We had a few adventures along the way –  the Internet is slow here so this will be a quick post to say that all is well!

We’re staying at Hotel Gli Ulivi in Orosei. It’s a modern hotel and a short walk downhill to the town center. We have a nice balcony with a view of the town and the setting sun. The sea is beyond the town.

The only museum in Orosei is closed for the season.  The town is a museum itself with old churches and interesting buildings all around town.

There are some interesting frescos from the XIV century in the Church of Saint Anthony.

Today we drove inland  to a nearby town, Dorgali. It’s at the base of a very rocky hillside.

We ate a delicious lunch at a tiny restaurant called Osteria Gastronomia Sardegna Finger-Food that was more like a French Bistro than an Italian Trattoria. Larry ordered chicken with roasted potatoes, carrots, and parsley in a delicious beer sauce. The owner/waiter/chef was especially proud of his sauces. My Vegetable Risotto was tasty but the chicken dish was a winner.

The restaurant was tiny but everyone there seemed to enjoy their meal – we were almost the last to leave.

Melons are in season and we’re lucky enough to have melon at breakfast most mornings. In Orosei, you can buy one from a truck parked on the street.

Orosei is atmospheric, especially at night. We’ve found plenty to do here, including laundry. We have one more full day here before we move on.

It’s so beautiful here and an easy place to feel relaxed and refreshed. This morning we walked on a stone path that follows the coast.

It was a good day for sailing!

The rock formations are unusual and there is a lot of interesting vegetation that grows in the rocky crevices.

It’s off-season here and there are plenty of people around but we’re sure that it’s less crowded than it would be in the summer.  We’ve enjoyed our stay at the family-run Hotel Da Cecco – everyone has been so kind. I’ve had a chance to practice my Italian with mixed results but most people have been happy to help.

Larry flew the drone around this tower (commissioned by Philip II of Spain) and we’re anxious to see the resulting video.

Tomorrow we’ll drive down the western coast to Orosei.

Enjoy the weekend!

 

We drove to the northern most tip of Sardinia on Thursday – the roads here are great, according to Larry, the driving is pretty easy, and the rocky hillsides scenic.

Santa Teresa Gallura is one of the prettiest towns we’ve seen. The houses are colorful, the streets immaculate and,

…there are plenty of cafes and good restaurants.

There is a ferry that sails between Santa Teresa and Corsica, the French island to the north – a 50 minute trip but rather expensive for a day trip at 70€ per person, round trip.

The intense sun makes the flowers brightly colored;

And the pomegranates are happy in the sun too!

There is a view of of the tower and the surrounding sea from the hotel balcony.

Hotel Da Cecco is clean and comfortable!

We’re going to settle into this seaside town for the next few days. It’s a relaxing place. 😎

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.