Barcelona to Cagliari

May 15, 2019

I surprised myself by sleeping right through the night. David didn’t fare quite as well, but had a reasonable sleep. All that beer...maybe it’s not the best jetlag cure. The hotel shuttle arrived at 8:15 and we were all boarded, except...hold the bus! A Vueling pilot was running late so of course we gladly waited for him. We arrived at T1 and made oir way to the bowels of the airport to retrieve our suitcases containing our Bike Fridays.

Vueling is a popular option for travellers here. After our experience with them, I can see why. The check-in went quickly even though they had a big crowd to process, including those with carry-on only (they do not offer any self-check kiosks). Impressive, Vueling. From that queue we entered the security check which was dedicated to Vueling. Zoom! We were through.

We had plenty of time to sit down for a breakfast after clearing security. We enjoyed a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice from the juicing machine (it’s a Spanish staple), delicious coffee, yogurt and a cranberry muffin. Along the way to our boarding gate, there were plenty of shops to spend your hard earned cash. And if ham is on your list, well you’d be in luck.

We had glorious views over Barcelona and the Costa Brava from our Row 5 seats on the half full, brand new Airbus A321. Soon, we were above the clouds. The flight was scheduled to be 1 1/2 hours but it turned out to be just an hour after takeoff that we were landing in Cagliari.

Leaving Barcelona for Cagliari on a beautiful sunny day.

We live on Vancouver Island and so I couldn’t resist getting a picture of this poster in the Cagliari airport. We have bumper stickers making fun of our slower pace on the island (Slow down — this isn’t the Mainland). Here, it seems Iglesias feels a bit like the poor cousin of the big city, Barcelona, even though Barcelona is in Spain! I wonder if that comparison isn’t just be a little over the top. It got my attention anyway.

Calling all tourists: come to our island....please.

Train ride to the city centre took only about 6 minutes.

We were to call our B&B host to arrange a pick-up from the train station. We had his number in Skype but had to sign in to the free wifi in order to place the call. As we were bumbling around trying to sign in on the ipad Ignazio approached us and asked if my name was Anne Mathers. Say, what? Yes! What a nice surprise. He had anticipated our arrival and came to meet us. We loaded our bikes and carry-on bags into his little car and we were off to his B&B.

After settling in, Ignazio gave us a tourist map and we were off to explore Cagliari on foot.

Narrow one way streets thread their way throughout the old city.

The Bastione di Saint Remy faces the Piazza Constituzione. Above it is a large plaza, from which the views are magnificent.

We spotted the Elephant Tower from our lunch spot, so set out to find it after eating our panini’s.

Elephant tower above. Many buildings are colourfully painted.

The elephant tower was built as a defensive tower in 1306 at the same time the Pisans were building a great wall around the hilltop city. The elephant references the symbol of the Pisans. The tower in no way resembles a elephant, but there is one rather smallish elephant on it which we happened to spot.

There are many vantage points from the hilltop, with views in every direction. Today, we watched the clouds dumping their loads on the nearby mountains, but we stayed dry in Cagliari.

We poked around the old town which is situated atop a high hill. Wandering through the gate below, we came upon one of Cagliari’s gems, the National Archaeological Museum. We don’t often include museums in our tours, simply because we are in the countryside and in small towns most of the time.

As it tuns out, the museum has a world class exhibition, called Civilizations and the Mediterranean. There were 550 artefacts from the Neolithic period to late Antiquity all laid out in chronological order, beginning with prehistoric Sardinian archaeology. Some of the artefacts are on loan from the most important collections in the world. It really blew my mind.

The Giants, dating between 2000-3000 years ago.

National Archaeological Museum has a stunning pottery collection.

Best collection of artefacts of its kind in the world.

We spent about two hours in the museum then headed back downhill to our B&B. We had chosen a restaurant for dinner based on Ignazio’s recommendation. It was a typical Sardinian family restaurant and it did not disappoint. I had a ricotta ravioli and David had spaghetti with clams. We shared a plate of calimari to go with our salads. The service was fantastic and by the time we left, every server in the restaurant gave us a genuine ‘arrivederci’.

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Suzanne GibsonWhat an excellent beginning for your tour of Sardinia! No lost bags, no jet lag (almost), nothing. I'm looking forward to reading about your days on your bikes! Happy travels, Suzanne
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