I suppose I should do this now and get it over with, considering I have my first midterm this Thursday. Yikes. So here we go.
CAGLIARIIIIIII!!
Friday: Got up ridiculously early to catch multiple buses to Madrid-Barajas airport. Arrived in Cagliari and met up with my dearest big, Susanna. Antonio, the gentleman who owned the bed&breakfast we were staying at, picked us up from the airport.
On the way to the house, he told us about the sights to see in the surrounding areas and pointed out where we could catch the bus to the city and the beach. All in Italian, of course. Oh and by the way, apparently, Andrea is the Italian way of saying 'Andrew'. So Antonio was expecting Susanna and a young man named Andrew at the airport that morning rather than myself haha. But anyways. The Neptune B&B was SO cute and SO clean and just what we needed for our weekend. There was another woman who was staying there for Friday night who was from Germany, and she was very nice too. As soon as we got in and threw our stuff down in our little double room, we hopped on a bus to go into the city of Cagliari to do some exploring. On the way, we saw REAL LIVE FLAMINGOES in the lagoon and it was wonderful. It was great to get familiar with traveling by bus this weekend, since my main mode of transportation has been Madrid's Metro. But anyways.
It was all just so beautiful, friends. 60s and sunshine and just lovely. We looked around in some shops (I bought a pretty ring!), aet our much-needed panini by the pier, and tried looking for a castle that actually didn't exist. Woops. The whole city is pretty much on a hill, which makes for quite a hike. But when we found ourselves at the top, it was just such a gorgeous view of the sea and the whole city and everything! We looked for a gelateria where I had gelato for the very first time. So. Yummy. And then we came back down to the pier to watch the sun set. We hopped back on the bus to the little town where our B&B was to get some pizza, which was also yummy. Finally, we crashed around 10:30-11PM. It had been a very long day.
Saturday (the photos of this day's adventures are courtesy of Susanna, since my camera battery died on Friday): Up and at 'em early! Antonio set out a delicious breakfast for us with juice, coffee, pastries, EVERYTHING. Great way to start the day. So today, we had decided to hit up the beautiful beaches of the area. We would take the bus from Cagliari to Pula, and then from Pula to Chia. Cagliari to Pula was a success. We arrived and walked from Pula to the beach in Nora, which seemed a lot further than the guy at the newspaper stand told us it was gonna be haha. But we get to Nora and were greeted by palm trees and a picturesque coastline. We also had the opportunity to go look at some ancient ruins, but didn't really wanna pay 5.50 to do so. Ah well.
Took some pics, enjoyed the sunshine, and back to Pula we go. This is when it got interesting. We planned to take the bus from Pula to Chia, which was where some of the most beautiful beaches in Sardinia were. We stop in Chia, which appears to be in the middle of nowhere save for two resorts in the area. The bus pulls away and we realize that there is absolutely no one around. No one. Resorts and restaurants closed, very few cars passing by, and even the bus schedule had been taken down for the season. Apparently Chia is a really happenin' spot....in the SUMMER. Woops. So here we are, stranded in the Italian countryside like something out of a horror movie. We sat on the side of the road, contemplating out situation and trying to think of what to do.
We weren't even sure if another bus was gonna come along, but decided to stick it out for at least an hour just to see. Two videos and some silly pictures later, a bus pulls up and we are SO excited. We decided that was enough venturing for one day and back to Cagliari we go to try to find a more populated beach near the city. We managed to find a beach and catch a bus to said beach just in time to watch the sunset. Mind you, we were bundled up and hungry, but it really was beautiful nonetheless. I can't even imagine what this place (and Chia haha) is like in the summer.
Our long day of travel called for some panini. And more gelato. And crepes. And chocolate. And finally, we return to our little pizza joint by the B&B for pizza and really cheap red wine. Oh yes.
Sunday: Time to go home! Up early (because the only flight from Cagliari to Madrid is at 10:25AM. Lame.), ride to the airport. Get creeped on in the airport, putz around the duty free shops. And then it is time for farewell. On the plan ride home, a British (?) family with the cutest little boy (maybe, like, not even two years old) sat across the aisle from me. The little boy came over and poked me, waking me up from my nap. We then played with the seat belts and tray tables and he sat in my lap and looked out the window at the clouds until he returned to his mummy and passed out asleep. Probably the best plane ride ever.
So here I am, back in my apartment and dreading classes tomorrow. Aindrea and Sari and I took a run to McDonald's (woops), so I'm pretty content. Gonna Skype with a certain someone and then it's off to bed. What a great weekend though :) Was great to see my dear friend again and get a taste of the culture of a different country. Italy is just marvelous and I can't wait to go to Sicily in April!!
