Day 18 Olbia, Sardinia

Oh Sardinia, our time together was too short.

At the 6:30 bell I got out of bed and started to get ready. We weren't docked in the port yet, but Sardinia was gliding by outside my balcony. I stepped out to take a peek. I'm already intrigued. Looked like it was going to be another awesome day as the sun was out, but it was going to be a hot one. I went back to start getting ready because even though I didn't sleep good last night, I was stoked about this island. Eating breakfast by 7:30 my guy didn't have tiny doughnuts on his platter...the good kind anyway, but I did find a lovely chocolate covered one (or two) and they were yummy. Guy stuck with his favorite, eggs benedict, and I had french toast. I didn't ask for bananas today, I couldn't take the rejection two times in a row. I ate as quickly and as I could and left Guy at the table as we were passing some cool stuff and the morning light was perfect. So I ran up for my camera and took a few snaps.

We opted not to visit the town of Olbia (the port town) and ventured by bus to the town of Porto Cervo. It was about a 25 minute ride and the scenery was lovely as we drove along up through some hills but still along the coast line. We made an unexpected stop as one of the passengers needed to get off for a minute. I don't think she was car sick, just afraid. She was crying a little and her son was patting her back. Then another friend went out to talk to her and then they were both crying and touching each other's faces. Someone got off the bus and offered her dramamine, but she said no in a way that made me think it wasn't motion sickness. The tour lady got off and offered to let her ride in the front, but she refused. Back on the bus we took off and she held onto her son with a death grip. I can understand the fear thing. She and I would be a trip together in an elevator. :) However, I'd like to find her and tell her not to take the bus to Amalfi tomorrow. If she thought today was scary...oh my lands. Scariest bus ride of my life was a few years ago from Sorrento to Positano (on the Amalfi Coast). We took the boat back to Sorrento that day. Wow... that was a bad one.

Arriving at the town of Porto Cervo we walked around and took in the sights. Definitely beautiful, but we weren't sure what to think. The reason I say that is because the town seemed fake. Fabricated. Like they were trying too hard to make a cool town. Like a Las Vegas recreation of an Italian village. The lady in the tobacco shop showed us a picture of the town in 1969 where only a few buildings existed. Now it is completely built up around its little marina - today lined with gigantic yachts. So the town isn't that old, but the buildings are all made to look old. But don't get me wrong, they were colorful and beautiful. I got a few post cards and stamps, so that was easy. Then we looked around the shops. Versace, Gucci, Prada, Rolls Royce, etc. All the big names were here. Most of the stores were not open as it was before 11am, but still...I'm not sure anyone from our boat is going to shop those shops. I certainly wasn't. The lady in the tobacco shop said the shops were stacked "like a cake" so we had many levels to explore. Still, the only thing we could afford were snacks. So I had a gelato and Guy had some Pringles and a Coke. As we sat in the shade and took it all in, there were a couple hundred people walking around, mostly from our ship. They were in T-shirts and sporting fanny packs. Not the crowd the shop owners were looking for I'd guess. So if this is the playground for the uber rich and famous, I wonder what they think of our group...the old guys taking their shirts off and walking around. Except for the snack bar owner, I'm not sure the town is too fond of those on the ship excursions. Ha Ha. However, the people working in the stores looked terribly lonely.

We were done walking the area before it was time to go back to the bus. So we contemplated taking a taxi across the way to the next town. However, they said it could take 10 minutes or 20, depending on traffic. If it was going to be 20 minutes each way, then it wasn't going to be worth it. We walked around a bit more and then headed for the bus. The sick/scared gal sat right next to Guy, I had a baby hanging over the back of my seat at the top of my head, there was a REALLY LOUD Italian lady talking on the phone right in front of us and everyone on the bus was a sweaty hot mess. That was the ride back. At the port we had to go through security in two places, which was fine, because the terminal had a gift shop and we picked up a few tea towels. That was our only purchase of the trip. Once again the ship had all the passengers on board and was heading out by 2pm. WAAAYYY too short of a stop. I'd like to have seen more of Sardinia with its rocky terrane and beautiful beaches. It's an hour and a half flight from Italy or a 10ish hour ferry ride. I wonder if we'll ever come back? TBD.

Back on the ship we popped in the restaurant for lunch. I had the same sandwich I had yesterday, with a side of fruit. Guy had spring rolls, sea bass with a loaded baked potato and ice cream. He said it was hands down the best fish he has had on the trip so far. It did look delicious. I had ordered a cappuccino, but took it togo as the boat was pulling out and I wanted to watch from outside. This was a really interesting port. There were buoys all over the place with small boats navigating them. I thought they must have been some kind of fish nets, but Guy thought more on the side of harvesting clams or something like that. On the way out I took some photos with my little camera and a few with my phone. One large mountain had a cloud hovering over it for the longest time. As we went by I could see the cloud was moving, but not really. Like it was coming up and over the mountain, but staying stationary. I know there is a meteorological explanation for it, so I tweeted it to Jim Cantore from the weather channel for an explanation. LOL. We'll see if he responds.

Alas! In the tobacco shop in Porto Cervo I was able to re-load my Vodafone sim card. We're back, baby! In touch with the 3G real world. It was a nice feeling. We checked our mail and surfed a bit. Now that the boat is pretty far away from land, we've lost the tower signal, but I'll have it back first thing in the morning when we arrive in Salerno. They don't tell you how much you are getting for your 20 euros. I think because it depends on what you are using it for. But the lady did tell me that calls outside Europe were very expensive. So I'm assuming the call to my mom one day wiped me out before and if I had not done that, I'm wondering how much data I would still have. Interesting. The sim card is a pretty nice deal tho. Having data saved us with the GPS in the car. I'll just know to call with Viber using the  data that way instead of making a straight up call. All a good learning experience!! Speaking of wifi and 3G, things are a bit too slow on the ship today for uploading pics. Will try to find a cafe tomorrow and upload all at once.

While I'm blogging, Guy is up top catching some sun. I'm on our balcony with my feet up and the breeze isn't too overwhelming. I hear music and games going on. I'm sure it is really crowded up there. As I type this he just came back down bringing me a Pepsi Zero and said they were playing bingo. He said whey they were calling the numbers they were saying "N as in NUTELLA". Ha ha. We are struggling with what to do tomorrow but I think we have it figured out. Our stop in Salerno is short. I thought we were going to take the boat ride up to the town of Amalfi, but when Guy told me it was a bus ride back, this sister said no way. Remember earlier in the blog I mentioned the most terrifying bus ride of my life? Well that bus was speeding along the Amalfi Coast. Been there, done that, no way. So the other option was a short bus ride to the next town of Vietri. I figured I could handle that. So we went to the excursion desk and talked with the gal about our dilemma. When we told her we've already been to Positano and Sorrento, she told us those were actually better towns than our options for tomorrow...and the town of Vietri was even smaller than Positano, which isn't big. So with that said...we decided not to book anything and just go into Salerno and look around, then if time, take a quick boat ride up to Vietri. The excursion gal said the info center in the port tomorrow was really good and she agreed we'd be better off making our own plans. We can get off the boat around 7:15am, but have to be back on by Noon. Sheesh...again not nearly enough time to enjoy the spectacular offerings of the Amalfi Coast. Especially for those who haven't been there before and this being their only chance. Bummer.

Tonight's dinner was the "Gala". So we spiffed up just a bit more than usual and headed down for dinner before 8pm. You didn't pick what you wanted tonight, they just brought out EVERYTHING! However, I did see coming in that several people had King Prawns (heads attached). That doesn't gross me out, but the smell does. I like shrimp, but not al-natural. So I told our server he could skip me on that one, which he did. Guy tried them but they were strong. So our starter was a fried quail egg. (That's a first). Then scallops that were individually baked in the escargot dishes. Then we had asparagus soup, a cheese ravioli with some kind of seafood sauce on it, Guy had the shrimp, we cleansed our palates with lime sorbet (drank it again) then our filet with mashed potatoes. Our dessert was your choice of baked Alaska or a creme with caramel and toffee pieces. We went for the creme. It was a bit bland so we took a few bites and bolted because our 9:45 show was starting. Side note about the baked Alaska. For all you cruisers out there, you know the drill. The wait staff all come out carrying baked Alaska cakes with sparklers on them to loud music and everyone is clapping. Same drill here with only one exception. The sparklers were just fake flames that were tiny. It kinda lost its zip if you know what I mean. We laughed and had a good time with it, tho.

We did find seats in the theater just before they turned the lights down. Tonight's show was called 'Natural'. Again tonight the show lasted about 35 minutes. The dancers are so bad - total train wreck. But the singers are good and the acrobats are good. Basically it is the same show every night, just different music and outfits. The tricks are the same. Overall...the theater gets a C, but hey, we don't have anything to do anyway. :)

Ok...time for bed and as I finish my blog I whip on the boat's internet again real quick to check my Twitter and guess what dear blog followers?!? Yes, Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel replied to my tweet! I feel kinda famous today! Amanda Hickman...I know your British author favoriting your Tweet was a big deal...but hey...this is JIM CANTORE we are talking about!  Woot Woot!!

So good night from the middle of the Mediterranean between Sardinia and Italy. Tomorrow, the amazing Amalfi Coast! Did I mention Jim Cantore replied to my Tweet? Oh, yeah. I did. Ok then. Good night. I don't think I can sleep now.