Sardinia's History and Culture

We rode into Pula, a small historic town on the southeast coast. We had mixed feelings. We were finishing our 120 KM route which produced a feeling of success, but on the other hand our cycling adventure was coming to an end and it seemed too short. We would only have the bicycles for another day to tour the immediate area.

Our hotel was in the center of town. It only had about a dozen rooms, and a bar-restaurant downstairs. Marlene played the part of Juliet from our room balcony, and in the evening, I took in the busker performing at the front of the church across the street. The performance was still going on when we went to bed.

Going to bed while the rest of the town was still alive, brings me to an aspect of Italian life that we found interesting. Their siesta purported to be from 12:30 to 2:30 in the afternoon, did not fit our normal routine, even though we tried to schedule our daily activities around it. It was common for us to be looking for a bottle of wine and other groceries in the afternoon, just to find the stores closed, and often until 3:30 or 4:30. Once, we were looking for a café with a patio to have a quick lunch. It was 12:20, and their grill was shutdown in preparation for the 12:30 closing. At one resort, the unattended pool was signed for a closure during siesta. Now, without doubt, the siesta led to their very vibrant night life that included the whole family. It's a powerful cultural concept that resulted in quality family time and a strong sense to community.

On our last Sardinian day, we cycled to a locals’ beach, swam in Mediterranean, had a picnic on the sand, and hiked the rugged coastline up to a historic military lookout. The scenery was beautiful.

As the Cycling company shuttled us back to the airport in Cagliara, I think our strongest impressions of Sardinia were the reminders everywhere to the island's history, and the culture.

Our next stop is Venice, with some of the same, but with a marked difference. Click here for those stories:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2011/09/from-countryside-to-city-life.html