JUNE 2023 : DAY 20 : SARDINIA : Cagliari

Northern Hemisphere Summer Solstice today

Our 48th wedding anniversary 

A selection of Sardinian delicacies to celebrate

A lovely surprise at breakfast this morning to discover some vegetable options including white beans and bacon in a tomato sauce. 

Our destination today was the Piccola Marina as yesterday but today we took the bus.



I had booked a kayak tour. Another day in the water to cool down on these hot days.

But despite being on time we couldn’t locate the meeting point. A problem with some of these holiday pop-up activities. Fortunately they have allowed us to move it to Saturday morning instead.

There was a few minutes of stress where I ran off hoping to find our group and save the situation (it worked yesterday!) and Mark lost sight of me. I was thinking that another year might not be on the cards as I searched the beach and the bus stop. But there he was waiting at our original spot, patiently with a logical plan and no recriminations! On to 49 …

A pleasant morning by the beach, including a swim.

Enthusiastic water aerobic class in the shallows

We returned to Cagliari and through the hotel reception located a beauty clinic so that I could organise a gift for Paola. It has been a complicated process as I have been negotiating with the hairdresser downstairs, so I ended up using Google translate to clarify this situation.

Back to Sabores for lunch to sample their full menu - which changes daily.

Staff are very friendly, attentive and informed. It’s low-key dining but smart.

We had a beef tartare with mullet roe (bottarga) and cherries to share

For mains, I had a creamy mushroom risotto, garnished with tender prawns and Mark had a beef fillet with potatoes and beans

For dessert a very ripe soft cheese, walnuts and berry jam.

A special anniversary lunch but not expensive.

Although still 33o at 6pm, we decided to go out for our passaggio and do a little reconnoitre to find the starting point for an underground city tour we are doing tomorrow. A worthwhile exercise as it was not as direct as it appeared on maps.me.

As we walked up Largo Carlo Felice we saw that one of the statues was dressed in the Cagliari football colours. Paola told us, on our tour of the city, that locals do it  for special celebrations - this one is to celebrate Cagliari’s football team’s win over Bari in the recent grand final.

En route we saw the dome of the church of San Michele. A baroque church built in 1674. We popped in - a cool respite for a few minutes. We also discovered the city botanical gardens which we will explore tomorrow as it looks another cool haven.

No air conditioning in our hotel (or a pool!) which is unfortunate with the heat but otherwise it’s central and comfortable.

M&M