Shock and awe meets the l-u-r-v-e boat

We were obviously not well prepared for Sardinia. Thinking it to be perhaps a backwater in the same sense as nearby Corsica. Well known to the locals, maybe other Italians and a few hardy tourists but somewhat off the track.

After a very relaxing day of train travel from Lucca to Rome Airport where all connections were easily made, we boarded a full Air Italy flight to Olbia in the North of Sardinia. Apparently George Clooney is making a film Catch 22 at the moment based in part in Olbia but he was not to be seen.

But the airport was new, clean, efficient and operating flawlessly so it took us no time to load up the SEAT hire car and to join the traffic searching for pit stop one, Santa Teresa di Gallura at the northern tip of the island and just out of the Emerald Coast. Traffic was orderly and Tom Tom working well so now we are in this holiday town enjoying fine food, great beaches, friendly people and a relaxed atmosphere. Our hosts were impressed that we are from Australia, speak a little Italian and cannot do enough for us.

Can it get any better than this?

The Mediterranean here is to die for. Clean with the most amazing aqua colours and you just melt into the water. Often compared to the Caribbean apparently.

We took a one day boat trip to Maddalena island and back with visits to pristine areas and a couple of good stops for swimming along the way.

But now we are dealing with a completely different kettle of fish with just a couple of nights at a resort above Porto Cervo, playground of the rich and famous. Not much to our style but fascinating nevertheless. A Rolls Royce showroom alongside boats big enough to go to war. We are yet to find a city centre of sorts and car parking is very sparce indeed.

But from here we head to the other side of Sardinia where we are going to try an Agriturismo in a more rural setting. No wifi for four days will be something of a test for us these days as we are too much used to constant contact with the world. That is if we can find the place.

So we are beginning to settle into the Sardinian lifestyle and after the shock of finding it such a great place, we are keen to make the most of the opportunities here.