With The World At My Feet: ISOLA DI SPARGI/LA MADDALENA

Sunset over Porto Faro

So, time is flying by here in Palau, and I can't believe it's the start of a new week already! I had such a lovely afternoon off yesterday sunbathing on the beach at Port Faro and then listening to music as the sun went down :) It was still hot even at 8pm and the evening light was absolutely gorgeous. It was really relaxing, and I honestly don't think I had felt that happy in a long time! This is definitely the perfect place to spend the summer before moving to Bath in September for my Masters- it’s like a different world after being so stressed in Leicester for my final year at Uni. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m on a healthy detox here- I guess it is relaxing, I’m getting lots of sleep, the weather is hot and I'm getting a healthy natural tan, there is amazing healthy food, I’m drinking lots of water and doing lots of exercise- walking, swimming and playing with Camilla too of course! I love this stage of life as I’m in limbo again like last summer- It’s great when you have real life-changing plans in the near future, but not just yet, giving you time to just enjoy each day as it comes.

Panorama of the coastline of Spargi

Look on the hill- It is the bear at Capo d'Orso! you can really see its formation in this zoomed photo!

On Friday in the afternoon we went out again on Silvia and Francesco's friend's boat (Nanni is his name!) but this time also with Camilla's grandma. We spent the afternoon on the coastline of the Isola di Spargi- another of the beautiful islands which make up the archipelago of La Maddalena. I don't know if it is possible, but this spot was even more beautiful than the previous spot we went to by boat the other day. I've never seen water more crystal-clear and clean in my life- I love the above panorama of the coastline even though it really doesn't do the location justice. We once again spent the afternoon swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing- what a life these Italians lead! I know I'm going to miss this place a lot once September comes! On the way back Cami and I had a go at being captains of the boat and had a lot of fun steering- luckily Nanni was on hand for when we had to slow down and carefully go into the port of Palau!

Nanni snorkelling

Silvia chilling on the boat

Cami and me onboard

Me enjoying a spot of swimming

Me resting on a rock after a swim

Me, Cami and her grandma

The new captains of the boat

Good driving skills Cami!

A rock shaped like ITALIA- you see it right? It is definitely a boot!

Harbour of La Maddalena

On Saturday I spent the day wandering around the beautiful streets of the main town on the island of La Maddalena (the town goes by the same name) with my new Finnish friend Rose. We started talking on a Facebook group for au pairs working in Italy, and seeing as she is based in the north of Sardinia like me, we decided to meet up for the day to visit the town of La Maddalena. She's au pairing in a city called Sassari in the north-west near Alghero (around a 3hr journey by bus) and therefore the journey wasn't too far for her to come over to Palau for the day. Silvia got us some tickets for the ferry over to the Island as with a residents permit, a day return costs just €2 instead of €10- What a bargain! We arrived around 11.30 and I was so surprised how quick the journey was- within 15 minutes we were pulling into the port of La Maddalena. As the day started off, it was really humid and a little overcast but luckily the clouds disappeared and the sky was bright blue and it must have been at least 35 degrees (although it felt like 45 as there was no wind!). As soon as we arrived I could tell I was going to fall in love with the place- I just loved the long cobbled narrow streets, balconies overflowing with bright flowers, beautiful arched buildings and colour everywhere you looked. Rose and I headed straight for the little fishing harbour first, and it was then that I realised this girl loves photography just like me- she was snapping away and composing some gorgeous photos. I'm usually thought of as the photo crazy person, but now I have finally met my match!

Cloudy leaving Palau

Me on the top deck of the boat

The town from the sea

A beautiful piazza in the centre

The main street

We then went wandering around the town admiring pretty much every building and snapping away like tourists- now how could we not in a place as gorgeous as that! Before we left Palau in the morning, Silvia told us to keep a look out for a famous sweet shop called 'Le Caramelle dei Pirati' and before long we had found it and couldn't resist going inside. It really was probably the most amazing sweet shop I had ever been in! there were barrels of sweets of all different shapes, colours and sizes, and Rose and I couldn't wait to pop a few in a bag. Luckily we did only buy a few though as the bags came to nearly €5 each! It might have been the most amazing sweet shop ever, but it was also the most expensive! Still, I have to say it was worth it for a bit of childhood nostalgia. I particularly liked my snake, and Rose her crocodile! I think the last time I had a jelly snake was probably from the pick'n'mix at the cinema when I was 10!

The front of the shop

Barrels and barrels of sweets

A barrel of snakes

A barrel of giant strawberry marshmallows

Me with my snakey!

Here he is again :)

A barrel of crocodiles! - Rose's was cola flavoured- YUM

After the excitement of the sweet-shop, we were quite peckish so decided to stop in a cute little focaccia and pizza place in the Main Street. For just €1.50 each, we had a slice of focaccia! Mine was 'al pomodoro' (tomato) and Rose's 'alla cipolla' (onion). Even though we were pretty full up, we still had room afterwards for a frozen yoghurt dessert! I remember my friend Kat taking me for my first 'FroYo' when I visited her during her Erasmus period in Valencia last year, and it was so good that we kept going back time and time again! This one in La Maddalena was just as good- but perhaps even better as they were really generous with the toppings and sauces! In Valencia you were allowed one sauce and one topping, but yesterday Rose and I had three sauces and a topping! The guy serving them to us wasn't stingy in the slightest! After devouring our frozen yoghurts (in silence to appreciate them more- maybe even with our eyes closed too!) we wandered back through the town and started to climb the winding streets uphill with the intention of finding a beautiful panorama! Along the way I found my future house (joke).... But I really did fall in love with their balcony! (I really hope they weren't home whilst I was practically having a photo shoot on their property!).

Focaccia's for lunch

Followed by FroYo's

My future house with this balcony drenched in pink flowers

The view as we were climbing the hill just got better and better the higher we went, and we couldn't stop snapping our cameras! I think the view really was perfection- there were the hills, the sea, blue sky, and best of all- a beautiful Italian town spreading out in front of our eyes. The houses were all different pastel colours- yellows, oranges, whites and pinks with gorgeous terracotta roofs all surrounded by flowers of every colour, trees and cacti. I couldn't tear my eyes away- the people who live here with this view really are some of the luckiest people in the world.

Me climbing up the hill

The view over La Maddalena town

Yellow flowers

And orange ones

And beautiful red ones

Not forgetting sunflowers too

Rose and me at the top

Me indulging in a bit of modelling

When we finally were able to tear our eyes away from the view, it was around 4 and we walked back down to the town ready to get the boat back across to Palau. Rosie's coach back to Sassari left at 18.20, so I still had a while to show her around Palau, and Porto Faro too- one of my favourite places I have seen so far during my time here. We chilled out by the lighthouse eating our snake and crocodile sweeties, and then went to grab a bite to eat in a pizzeria before her coach left. We had such a perfect day, and I'm so glad she came to visit. I hope before I leave I'll be able to go over to see her in Sassari, and then of course I'll be looking at some flights to Helsinki in Finland for the autumn!

Ok well that’s all for this update, baci dalla Sardegna!