“Do they celebrate Halloween in Sardinia? In short, no. Well, not quite – not the one you’re thinking of anyway.”
I’ve been nominated for a Sunshine Blogger Award for 2020! I’m humbled, and grateful to Matteo at Cosmorevas.tk for the nomination!
Hidden in the valley of the River Antas, in the mountains of Sardinia’s southwest Sulcis Iglesiente, you’ll find the spectacular Temple of Antas.
“When you travel anywhere around the island of Sardinia, you’ll eventually come across the ruins of seemingly isolated circular or honeycomb shaped stone towers – these stone towers are called Nuraghe.”
Do Sardinians live for a long time? Well, on average Sardinia has 10 times more centenarians than the USA – one of the highest percentages in the world!
“Sardinia is an island full of history, art, and culture. It’s definitely no surprise then that it has been the topic for a huge range of books either about, or set on the island.”
“Sardinians obviously speak Italian – but not only. The main local language, inherent to the island of Sardinia, is Sardinian or Su Sardu.”
“Italy is definitely no stranger to a huge range of award winning wines the world over. Sardinia is no different.”
“Now, it’s no secret that a large part of what keeps the economy going in Sardinia is tourism. So, if you find yourself reading this, it’s probably because you’re thinking of travelling to Sardinia this summer.”
“Looking on the brighter side of things, life in Sardinia is gradually returning to a new kind of normal.”
For this chapter of Viva La Dolce Vita’s ‘Beginner’s Guide to Sardinia’ I’ve decided to cover the Sardinia’s main city, the Mediterranean jewel, Cagliari.
“If last week’s post about Sardinian maggot cheese Casu Marzu left a bad taste in your mouth, don’t worry, Sardinia has plenty of other great local food worth trying!”
“Cheese aficionados often liken the taste of Casu Marzu to a stronger type of Gorgonzola.”
“Barbagia is the true heart of Sardinia. It’s a place steeped in history and traditions, some dating back thousands of years.”
“Carloforte is most famous for their world-renowned bluefin tuna – the quality is so good that the fishermen actually ship a large amount of their tuna catch to Japan, to be used for sushi.”
“White quartz-stone beaches, Roman and Phoenician ruins, wild west villages, Byzantine churches, amazing mountains, waterfalls, and it’s the home of the last wild horses in Europe – with all of this in mind, it’s easy to see why Oristano is definitely up there as one of my favourite areas of Sardinia”
For my first chapter of ‘Viva La Dolce Vita’s Beginners Guide to Sardinia’, I’m starting with my favourite place on the island, and my wife’s hometown, Alghero.
“There have been days when I feel numb and robotic, but I always feel safe within these walls.”
“In four weeks, I haven’t gone much farther than 1 kilometre from my home – and that was only for shopping, or to go to the pharmacy – now we’re facing another three weeks of the same.”
Let’s be honest, being on lockdown is no fun. For anyone who loves to travel, or just generally loves being…
“Italy has now been on lockdown for three weeks, and speaking from personal experience, filling your time with something worthwhile can be a challenge.”
“Closer to home, in my town of Decimomannu, with a population of 8,000 people, we have received news of our first confirmed case of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.”
“It’s only really been 18 days since the country went on lockdown, but it strangely feels like months ago.”
“If your country is just about to go on lockdown, and you find yourself afraid of what lies in store, don’t be – everything will be alright … it’s not so bad.”
“Sometimes it’s just necessary to spend time with the people you love, being silly … allow yourself to disconnect from the bad for a moment.”
“Given the uncertainty of how long this lockdown will continue, we have both realised that taking things day by day seems to be the easiest way to handle things.”
“I think that high schools are quite slow in the process of organising lessons online … they were not prepared at all.”
‘In my town, and in towns all over Italy, there are cars equipped with megaphones driving around the streets, repeating the same message over and over, “Stay at home”.’
“The evening news is showing videos of people singing and playing music from their balconies. We know we are in lockdown, but we know we’re not alone.”
“Since my previous post on Saturday, the number of confirmed positive cases of the COVID-19 Coronavirus in Sardinia has jumped to 84. This is an increase of 39 cases in two days.”
“So how do you explain the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic to a five-year-old?”
“At home, it felt like a holiday initially, but the novelty quickly wore off as we realised the seriousness of the situation.”
“The only people on our usually busy main street are Police officers with face masks, and a few stragglers carrying grocery shopping.”
“Music playing in the background was constantly interrupted to advise shoppers to stay at least one metre from others, to cover sneezes and coughs, and to avoid touching their faces”
“Today is the first day of the national lockdown, and Sardinians, well almost all, are taking the threat seriously. There are less people on the street, and there is definitely a sense of tension in the air.”