Sardegna
After Rome, we went directly to Alghero, in Sardegna. The stark difference between Milano and Alghero was salient once we got off at the bus stop in the middle of town. Alghero reminds me a little of what I see when I travel from Singapore to Penang to visit my relatives. It seems as though I had stepped 20 years back in time, quiet and not a tall building in sight. Completely peaceful.
It was definitely a nice change. Even though Milan is in no way as hectic as it was when I was in Singapore, Alghero was a nice refuge away from everything cosmopolitan.
However, if I were to go again, I would probably not pick the middle of winter to go. First of all, it was pretty breezy most of the time I was there, which meant that I had to wear my coat a lot. Winter is also off-peak season, which means that while it was cheaper, buses were less frequent, attractions closed early and a whole host of other inconveniences.
One of the major attractions in Alghero is Grotta di Nettuno. We were all psyched up to see the caves after visiting the tourist information. We hopped on a bus which promptly took us on an extremely scenic ride during which I took this picture, my favourite:
Chelsyee, a fellow traveller, commented that the way the sunlight filtered through the clouds and cast light on the sea was so beautiful that you almost expected angels to descend from heaven and some divine creature to rise from the sea/come down from heaven.
Anyway, back to our story. When we got to the entrance of the caves, there was no one, which was odd. It should have been open by then. Suddenly, a male voice with a waving arm came from the direction of the cafe (which was closed since it was winter). Someone went up, only to be notified that the waters were too choppy that day, and that we had to wait for another hour. And so we did, shivering out in the cold especially since it was right along the coast. Another hour passed before the same guide came to tell us that there was NO way we could enter the caves that day. Well. There was more bad news. The bus would only come by at 12 noon, which was in another 1.5 hours' time. We were hence left to freeze out in the open, much to our combined horror and disbelief.
Not long (read half an hour) after that ominous bit of news, a familiar blue bus came rumbling down the road just as we were starting to get frostbites! We were saved! Apparently the guides had informed the bus service company that we were left stranded at the entrance, and they were kind enough to send the bus by to provide us with some shelter and warmth, even though the bus had to follow the bus schedule and not leave the place till 12noon.
It was definitely a nice change. Even though Milan is in no way as hectic as it was when I was in Singapore, Alghero was a nice refuge away from everything cosmopolitan.
However, if I were to go again, I would probably not pick the middle of winter to go. First of all, it was pretty breezy most of the time I was there, which meant that I had to wear my coat a lot. Winter is also off-peak season, which means that while it was cheaper, buses were less frequent, attractions closed early and a whole host of other inconveniences.
One of the major attractions in Alghero is Grotta di Nettuno. We were all psyched up to see the caves after visiting the tourist information. We hopped on a bus which promptly took us on an extremely scenic ride during which I took this picture, my favourite:
Chelsyee, a fellow traveller, commented that the way the sunlight filtered through the clouds and cast light on the sea was so beautiful that you almost expected angels to descend from heaven and some divine creature to rise from the sea/come down from heaven.
Anyway, back to our story. When we got to the entrance of the caves, there was no one, which was odd. It should have been open by then. Suddenly, a male voice with a waving arm came from the direction of the cafe (which was closed since it was winter). Someone went up, only to be notified that the waters were too choppy that day, and that we had to wait for another hour. And so we did, shivering out in the cold especially since it was right along the coast. Another hour passed before the same guide came to tell us that there was NO way we could enter the caves that day. Well. There was more bad news. The bus would only come by at 12 noon, which was in another 1.5 hours' time. We were hence left to freeze out in the open, much to our combined horror and disbelief.
Not long (read half an hour) after that ominous bit of news, a familiar blue bus came rumbling down the road just as we were starting to get frostbites! We were saved! Apparently the guides had informed the bus service company that we were left stranded at the entrance, and they were kind enough to send the bus by to provide us with some shelter and warmth, even though the bus had to follow the bus schedule and not leave the place till 12noon.
posted by vanessa e' tornata a casa at 11:43 PM
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