Birthday bliss in Sardinia

Having booked this trip for MC's birthday FIVE months ago, it was a long time coming and we were both really looking forward to some sun, sand and sea in Sardinia. Originally we were booked on an afternoon flight but the ever-reliable RyanAir cancelled it so we had to make do with a 6am flight out of Stansted which is the furtherest away airport from our place. We also had to be there 2 hours before as RyanAir won't let non-EU passport holders check-in online like the other airlines do. So weighing up the pros and cons we decided to head to the airport the night before instead of getting up around 2am! We did actually manage to get a bit of sleep too, wrapped up on the airport floor (you must have to get there pretty early to nab some seats with no annoying arm-rests!) in our sleeping bag with dozens of others doing the same thing. We didn't need to bother setting the alarm clock either as the staff give everyone a 'friendly' wakeup call at 4am. So although feeling a bit groggy we left a sodden London for the Sardinian sunshine.

Pia Maria beach, Alghero.

Pia Maria beach, Alghero.

The promenade in Alghero.

Sardinia in sepia! Alghero has a pretty, walled medieval town surrounded by the Mediterranean sea.

Unfortunately the best weather we had was the day we arrived and the day we left. The weather was (apparently) uncharacteristically cool and the seas were rough. This meant the main tourist attraction in Alghero (apart from relaxing on the beach and strolling through the Old Town), Neptune's Grotto, was closed every day we were there! We were keen to see it as the pictures of huge stalactites and stalagmites in the caves set into a sheer cliff looked pretty amazing so that was a bit of a disappointment. We went out to the entrance though, and the above photo is of the '654-step Goat's stairway' leading down the cliff into the caves.

The dramatic cliffs surrounding the caves.

There weren't too many tourists around at this time of the year so we found lots of quiet bays and beaches to relax on.

Old Town by night.

The medieval walls and apricot-coloured houses in Alghero.

MC in a typical Alghero street.

More of the beach.

Baywatch pose.

MC's 27th birthday dinner. The peachy-coloured buildings look really pretty at sunset.

Earlier the same evening. We had to have the birthday dinner the day after the birthday as unfortunately MC slept through the actual birthday after the sleep-deprived night at the airport. Luckily John was on hand to make an emergency dash for pizza when she woke up after the slightly longer than planned siesta!

Yummy pizza on the wharf.

The port and town in the background.

Pretty beaches.

Gate in the Old Town wall.

Another typical street scene.

So although the weather wasn't quite as warm as planned (we even had a day of torrential rain but luckily had a nice hotel to chill out in) we had a great and very relaxing time in Sardinia. Our next planned trip is to Croatia in July, however having been away for the last 7 or 8 weekends in a row, we are looking forward to spending a bit more time in London and catching up with friends!

Brighton

To get out of London for a quiet weekend we headed out to Brighton. Although the beach is pretty average and the pier is the epitome of the British seaside (ie tacky!) there are some nice restaurants and cool bars and lots of wee vintage/designer clothes shops.

The Brighton Pavilion, built in the early 1800s by Prince Regent (George IV). "A fantasy of Asian exoticism mixed with English eccentricity" as the trusty Lonely Planet says. The interior is pretty amazing too.

Entrance to the Pavilion.

The oh-so-tacky Pier. Fast food, amusement arcades, rides and pokies. And chavs.

The pebbly beach.

Carousel on the Pier.

John skimming stones on the beach.