Day 9 – Cagliari, Sardinia

Saturday, October 20th, 2012

Originally, the cruise itinerary included a day in Tunisia. We were supposed to set foot on the continent of Africa for the first time together, and we were supposed to explore gorgeous seaside towns and the ancient ruins at Carthage. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a misunderstanding between a few major world religions, and things in Tunisia have been a tad violent recently, so our cruise went to Sardinia instead.

Cagliari Cathedral

Cagliari Cathedral

What we knew about Sardinia, we had learned the night before. It’s a part of Italy, sort of. After visiting Italy’s two big islands, Sardinia and Sicily, it seems to me that centuries of invaders routinely skipped over Sardinia and conquered Sicily. The town of Cagliari was old, quiet and beautiful. Built into a hillside, Cagliari is a maze of hills and stairs, with incredible views to reward you for the climb.

We started out morning just wandering through the Marina district, and predictably, we soon found ourselves visiting a quiet little church — Sant’Eulalia, which had a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Then, more stairs, and we found ourselves at Bastion di St. Remy, which we were probably supposed to know something about. It was a wide open piazza, and an incredible spot to take in the beautiful roofscape of Cagliari.

Further up the hill towards, yes of course, the cathedral. I can understand why Florence’s cathedral is covered in gorgeous white, green and pink marble: it’s right near the quarries in Carrara. But how do you manage to get that much gorgeous marble up to the top of the tallest hill on island? And why?

More wandering, then eventually made our way back down the hill through narrow streets for a late lunch, then back on the ship to enjoy the view as we pulled away from Sardinia.

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Comment for “Day 9 – Cagliari, Sardinia”

  1. Comment from: Ma
    on October 25th, 2012

    Just added another city to my gotta see places!

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