view from the Pisan 'Elephant tower', built in the early 1300's

We've thoroughly enjoyed spending the winter in Cagliari, it's a fantastic place. There's the modern city with tree-lined promenades, plazas, delightful shops, open air cafes, trendy restaurants, traditional trattorias, weekly markets and of course the many ice-cream parlours. A short walk uphill and there's the 'centro storico' with narrow cobbled streets and buildings with flaky paint in need of some TLC. Then there are museums, ancient burial sites, national parks and beaches to be explored locally.



We concluded that the bus was the easiest and cheapest way to move around. It's efficient, prompt and good value for money...until we got fined for not stamping our bus ticket!

We soon learnt that you take your life into your own hands at pedestrian crossings. If you're lucky the occasional vehicle would actually stop but the norm was to swerve behind/infront of you. Then there's the car horn... they love using the horn, random honks through to 'just press and hold', we don't fully understand the reason behind this frequent misuse but it's entertaining all the same. As for taxis, we dismissed this as a method of travel following the fastest (and scariest) taxi journey yet... our finger prints no doubt are still embedded on the taxi door handle.

We couldn't have chosen a better place to spend our first winter in the Med and will leave with some fond memories.


Molentargius Regional Park , the home to many pink flamingos, ducks, heron, egrets, cormorants, terns and old salt-making buildings, machinery, pans and canals.


roman amphitheatre in need of some TLC


The National Archaeological museum, a unique collection of finding from the Nuraghic civilisation the Carthaginian and Roman periods. Artefacts' include Neolithic stone statuettes, warriors, wrestlers, necklaces, and weapons - an impressive collection from around the island.


Tuvixeddu Necropolis, 1000's of ancient tombs dug into a hill


San Benedetto food market, the city's main food market, occupying two floors and bursting with fish, fresh and cured meats, cheeses, local bread, pastries and fresh fruit and veg