Sardinia my love

flickr * kohelian *

This will be my ode to the island my mother is from. So partially I’m from there, too :-). Just today we booked our summer trip to Sardinia that is too beautiful to describe. But I’ll do my best.

The picture you see above was not taken on some caribbean island or somewhere in the south seas. This was one of the first beaches I’ve ever seen in my life and I stood there, my jaw dropped and I couldn’t believe that this was just 24 (driving) hours away from Frankfurt. This small place (though it’s the biggest island in the mediterranean sea) has the most beautiful beaches in Europe. After being to the caribbeans as well I can promise you the only thing that’s different is that you will rarely find palms by the beach but pine trees. The water is crystal clear and the beaches are so white you need sunglasses. That’s why the northern coast is called “Costa Smeralda” – the Emerald Coast. That’s the place where hollywood celebrities have their huge luxury homes.

flickr * albertobizzini

I don’t want to write about things that you can read over at Wikipedia as well. Since I’ve been there so often I’d rather tell you about the things that you will not read anywhere.

Should you decide to travel to Sardinia be prepared that this island has more sheeps than people and you will meet them everywhere you go. When you rent a car and you’re on a curvy street – which will happen very often – be careful, a herd can be just around the corner. I cannot count how often that happened to us and how shocked I was everytime that happened. And how annoyed I was because it can take quite a while to get out of the middle of a sheep herd. Because of all these animals you’ll find the BEST CHEESE ever. Sardinian Pecorino is terrific and tastes so good. And together with the traditional bread (you can compare that with a very flat pita) and a glass of wine… aaahhhhh. Delicious.

The little village where my mom comes from – Benetutti – is literally in the middle of nowhere. 1000 inhabitants and everyone knows the other. We’ve been there a lot when I was a kid and STILL I don’t understand a word in that language (except of casu = cheese). Though it’s a part of Italy (don’t say that to a sardinian!! they’ll be highly offended.) they have their own language which is a mixture of spanish, french, arabic, latin and a bit of italian. Since my dad is from the south of Italy my parents spoke common italian to us kids and with each other so we didn’t learn it. It sounds so weird and funny and even if you’re fluent in italian you’re LOST.

Benetutti, Sardinia

One thing that made me go nuts as a kid was sardinian pastoral songs. Holy Sheep! My granddad was a huge fan of this. Listen here… you’ll get it. My thought was “they must be hurt…!” (ah… and that is their language)

But on the other hand what I always liked and still think is fabulous is the sardinian folk dance. EVERYONE knows it, everybody dances it and even I can do some moves. Or better… everytime we’re on a family wedding or some kind of other party my mom and her 4 sisters insist on a “Ballo Sardo”. It’s looks a bit like feet of flames just not that quick. And as a kid you can’t just stand around and watch. You have to join in. And since you’re in line anyway you just move. The motto is MOVE YOUR FEET (“and shut up! there is nothing to be afraid of!” <- that said my mom). I’m just so glad they didn’t put me in such a costume yet. I remember my mom always saying it’s one of her biggest wishes to see me once in the traditional costume. *sigh* Yes.. maybe one day I’ll do it. But NO pictures!!

Yes Sardinia is such a special place for me. I LOVE the beaches, the food, the oddities. When you’ve been to Italy you think you know what to expect. And none of that happens. It’s hard to describe. Life is slower and more cheerful. There is one Wikipedia fact that I’d like to share to make that clear: “Sardinia shares with the Japanese island of Okinawa the highest rate of centenarians in the world (22 centenarians/100,000 inhabitants).” I believe you don’t become that old in a world that is hectic and chaotic, where the food is bad and the weather sucks (they have 300 sunny days per year!!)

If you’re in Europe and don’t want to travel far to visit one stunning country I can highly recommend this place. You would not regret. I hope I could give you a small impression of my culture and leave you with some eye candy of the country. Enjoy!