We chose Sardinia because we wanted somewhere beach-y and relaxing, but mainly because I got a crazy good price for airfare. We both flew there for under $200! We stayed in the Southern part of the island (which is in the Mediterrean Sea, just west of Italy) which is actually part of Italy. Where we stayed in Villasimius, we were closer to Africa than Italy, though! The southern part of Sardinia is said to be "unspoiled" by tourists and basically unknown on tourist radar. The northern coast is a playground for the jet set of Europe, but not many people go to the south, and therefore, hotels are much cheaper (but not cheap) there! In fact, one book we read said that Americans rarely go there because it's so hard to get there from America. Let me tell you, Americans are missing out!
The area we were in was amazing (as you can see from pics below). Blues like I have never seen before. Rocky mountains just hanging over the most amazing sea. Rocks in the water that look like stage props. Best of all, since southern Sardinia isn't a tourist hot-spot, especially so early in the season, we practically had our hotel to ourselves! We stayed at Hotel Stella Maris which is a boutique hotel, only 40 rooms in all. I think that only about 10 rooms were actually occupied until our last night when a wedding came in. It was perfect. It was like having our own AMAZING beach house with staff.
After the first day, the staff knew our names, our room number and what we'd order for breakfast or at the bar! We went half-board so dinner was included each night-and each night was a four-course meal! I think I gained 10lbs in tiramisu alone! But, if I did, it was worth every calorie. I LOVE tiramisu. I could write a whole blog entry on the tiramisu. Seriously. It was that good. Especially the last night when I brought a bowl of it up to the room and ate it in bed while watching Leno. Decadence. Even if the weather had been bad or the hotel wasn't great-it wouldn't have mattered to me. The tiramisu was that good.
Besides gorging on tiramisu, we also ate lots of yummy seafood and pasta. Luckily for our waistlines, we also played a mad match of tennis and took lots of walks on the many miles of beaches. I read 3 (!) books in four days, lazed in my beach chair, souvenir shopped, slept in...that's what I call a vacation! Apparently, Sardinia is good for your health too (tiramisu not included). It's considered one of only 5 "Blue Zones" where life expectancy is exceptionally high and happy. I definitely returned feeling like a million bucks!
Dinner at our hotel-yes, that is tiramisu on my plate!
Jason standing on the edge of paradise
Ah...white sand, blue water...
View from my beach chair (from the hotel garden area)
View from our bedroom balcony!!!
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