A Northern Excursion: Bosa & Alghero

In a moment of respite from our engineering courses, our group ventured to northern Sardinia for a weekend excursion. Our explorations furthered my appreciation for the island's natural beauty, rich history and diverse cuisine. After an hour and a half's drive north, we stopped in the town of Bosa for a wine festival and lunch. 

 The wine festival was situated atop a hill by a castle. Our climb to the top was breathtaking for more reasons than the slope! The cobblestone streets, pastel painted walls, hanging flowers potted in cans imbued the city with a distinct Sardinian charm.

Accompanying our group for the weekend was our tour guide, Franco, from Trekking Excursion Tours - Sardinia. 

 At the festival, vendors sold typical artisan crafts from the region, such as hand woven baskets using recycled material and cork product, an important export from the region. The food was sublime: I tried a year-aged pecorino cheese and four types of local honey. The honey vendor went so far as to bring his bees with him, highlighting the freshness of his product.

Whether contrived or unintentional, the festival had an old-world atmosphere: a band of old men dressed in traditional garb singing in Sardo walked from stall to stall and a woman struggled to pull her donkey along.

 In Bosa, an invasive species of insect from China has caused significant damage. In recent years, palm trees throughout the island have been decimated.

For lunch, we went to the Bosa Marina and ate in a former pirate ship! The semifreddo was decadent! The walnuts provided the perfect textual contrast to the half frozen cream. The drizzle of local honey impressed a lingering sweetness on my palette, and I was left craving more!

Later that evening, we went to Alghero. The city is ideal for biking: many cyclists can be found along the waterfront. Should we have had more time in Alghero, I would have liked to rent a bike myself! The Giro d'Italia, an annually-held bike race, just occurred in Alghero. Decorations for the occasion can still be observed around the city.

After a tour, Franco, Annalisa, some friends and I went for an aperitivo along the waterfront.

Afterwards, we went to the beach to watch the sunset.

 The next day, we went on a tour of the cliffs surrounding Alghero. We stopped for a swim and some snorkeling in the crystal blue waters.

 Here you can see the three flags of Alghero: the Sardinian (left), Italian (center) and City (right) flags. The city flag resembles the Catalan flag, to represent the lasting impact Spanish rule has had on the city. To this day, many of the city's residents can speak Catalan.

The day ended with a cave tour, which had an impressive display of stalactites and stalagmites.