A stint in...

Stintino. Wanted to share my photos from my stay in Stintino, a fairly remote fishing village in the northwest part of Sardinia, near the famed beach La Pelosa (which is very small, so don't go there during high season. This was the most solitary part of my trip--I stayed in a wonderful family run hotel for 60 euros a night (you can see the photo above), and mornings, walked to the beach, which was about 3 kilometers away. Along the way, I passed other small beaches, fields of wild flowers, and was able to feast my eyes on views that got better and better (and water that got bluer and bluer) the closer I got to La Pelosa. I ate in the hotel restaurant, Il Silvestrino, every night. It was the best place in town and the food was outrageously good, from the flat bread drizzled with olive oil that began each meal to lobster marinated in spices, lime, lemon with a kick to it--but the sweetest lobster I've tasted. And of course, really nice wine: A sweet dessert or apertivo wine called Malavasia that I really loved, a port like red dessert wine the name of which I can't remember, and the reds, most commonly Cannanau. It's a good, solid red, but I like the Primitivos and Salice Salentino's of Puglia better.

Anyway, feast your eyes on the sensual snaps above.
Ciao--
Paola

P.S. Turned in "flap copy" for the book yesterday. Scary--it's the text that is going to help someone decide to either pick it up and buy it or pass on by. Waiting to hear what my editor thinks since I totally rewrote it, control freak (and professional editor) that I am.

Friends, Romans and countrymen...

...lend me your ears. Or, at least, your eyes. Wanted to share my snaps in bits and chunks (otherwise, it's overwhelming). First, the reentry into Rome, which was painless, thanks to my lovely friends Gianni and Federica, who not only hosted me at the beginning, but made my bed every night and drove me around Rome on a motorbike, which was scary at first, then heaven. It felt amazing to explore old streets, favorite sites but mostly just to be back again and say hi to the local shopkeepers, cafe servers and the like. (Who remembered me! I wasn't just the invisible American tourist.) (My friend Sarah did the same at the end--it was so nice to feel as if there are people who care about me (and who I care about) in Rome.

A few thoughts on Romans:
1) When it comes to cappuccino making, they are efficiency experts. Even after all this time, I marvel each time I have a morning cappuccino and cornetto con marmalatta at the speed and grace skill of the people behind the counter. They whip up cappuccino instantly (no funny names for the coffee or inflated prices), slide freshly baked, heavenly pastries on to trays, and whisk it all away when you're finished eating (standing at the counter, the way Italians do). The perfect commuter breakfast. I guess it's not healthy, but it feels so...Italian. I haven't figured out why they're so good at the morning rush hour, so efficient, yet when it comes to doing things like mailing a letter or making a bank transaction, there seem to be a scary number of unnecessary bureaucratic and time wasting and Kafka-esque factors at play that make the experience anything but efficient. And in America, it's the opposite: Going to Starbucks is a Kafkaesque experience: Paying tons of money for bad coffee with funny names, served by people who usually don't quite know what they're doing, yet everything else is super efficient (compared to Italy). Why can't we have the same kind of primo cappuccino making here? Why does it taste so much better there? Thoughts?
Ciao--
Paola

The perfect mix...

...of solitude and company, beach and city, culture and lounging, and of course, reading, reading, reading. That describes my two week stay in Rome and Sardinia in spring time, the perfect season to be in Italy. Things hit a bump early on when my traveling companion, whose place I was supposed to be staying in for much of the trip, had to leave suddenly because of a death in the family. I was leaving for Sardinia in the morning, and had to reinvent my plans. I took the unadventurous route, and extended my stays at a rather remote fishing village on the northwest tip of Sardinia near a beautiful, beautiful beach (La Pelosa is the name), as well as at a resorty place with a nice infinity pool and a snobby staff (Punta Negra) in Fertilia, a small town created by Mussilini, which was kind of creepy. I spent a few days in Rome with friends, then really slowed down the pace and took long walks to the beach once I was in Sardinia, feasting every night on local seafood, reading novels voraciously (thanks for the lending, Nancy!), and sailing with a bunch of Sardinians on a catamaran one day, enjoying trying to communicate. After the first Sardinian phase, it was on to Fertilia/Alghero, where I saw my first stalagtites/mites, wandered around a white, Spanish-flavored town with windy streets and semi-posh jewelry stores. Then met up with my friend for two days, who came back and was rearing to go, driving us all over the country, including spectacular winding roads atop cliffs with azure sea beneath. Also took a train to a saint festival in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, and way underrated, as far as I'm concerned. There were processions of people in traditional costume, men on horses, rose petals covering the streets. I expected raucous but got solemn--it celebrates St. Efesius saving the city from the Plague. Then, finally, a morning and night in the small village of Cuglieri, also underrated (it had a great little bar/coffee place open to the air and a terrific local restaurant that just kept bringing out plates and plates of food, from fava beans marinated with celery and onions and garlic to pheasant! And, at last, Rome for two more days, in Trastevere, which was in all its luminous glory, especially toward the end of the very long spring days. I took many, many snaps of the nabe and the unbelievably rich, lucid light.

More to come, including photos....plus descriptions of the wonderful friends I got to reconnect with. They took such good care of me and went out of their way to see me and that made me feel so good.

Ciao,
Paola

I made it home...

...my bag, unfortunately, did not. But it's due to arrive tomorrow or the next day, and with it, the little thingamajig that allows you to download photos on to the computer. So many luscious trip details TK, as we editors say.

Sleepy and trying to get organized for the week ahead. A little stressed!!!! But the trip ended up being amazing, as always, and Rome is truly starting to feel like, well, home. It's so nice to go there and meet with friends and wave to people in the neighborhood and be embraced and greeted by shop owners and cafe servers...can you imagine that happening in NYC? Rome is like a small town, in many ways.

Buona notte!
Paola

A sunny afternoon in Stintino

As often happens in Italy, things get a bit dicey on Sundays, and the bus I thought I was going to take this morning to Sassari en route to Alghero doesn't actually leave til 3:30. So the lovely Rita at Il Silvestrino said I could stay in my room all day (would NEVER happen in the states), so I'm enjoying a final leisurely few hours. Bought some provisions for a little picnic including fresh strawberries that look absolutely amazing, and will have lunch on my terrace, then maybe take a final walk to the beach before I head out.

Things are really waking up around here today. It's a national holiday on Monday so the Italians have descended and stores are opening up. Fortunately for my wallet, there isn't much to buy, though the gold and coral jewelry this island specializes in is beautiful. But I'm going to wait til I get to Alghero where there is more choice.

Okay, time to get away from the computer and enjoy the afternoon.
Ciao, ciao!
Paola

sailing away in sardegna

Ciao, amici--
I'm ending my first week in Italia and have dutifully been recording experiences in an actual paper diary, so will post along with photos when I return. In case all of you were worried, my trip is turning out well despite my change in plans. I've been in the small village of Stintino for the past four days, hiking around and mostly spending time at an incredibly beautiful beach and having some of the best meals I've had in Italy--local lobster, which was sweet and wonderful, spaghetti with bottarga, which is tuna or mullet roe (like caviar) and may not sound appetizing, but was incredible, unbelievable desserts, most filled with ricotta cheese and topped with local honey and of course lots of the local red and white wines. I'm staying at a fantastic family run hotel, il Silvestrino, where they are treating me wonderfully and where I have a terrace that is much, much larger than my entire place in New York City. Yesterday, spent an amazing day at the beach and even got to go in the water, which is this amazingly clear, azure color that I have never seen anywhere else. Today, spent the day on a catamaran on a day trip to Assinara, a national park on an island that used to be the site of a maximum security prison. Now, the only things there are turtles, white burros, wild pigs and birds. I was the only english speaker on the boat; everyone else was sardinian and after they literally asked me about 20 times if I was alone, and why was I traveling alone (they repeated in shocked voices, sola?! sola?! in Italy, the women don't seem to travel or do much on their own, especially 44 year old women. But after they got over their shock, they adopted me and we had a great pasta lunch on the boat, went on a hike, and generally had a great time. Tomorrow, I'm off to the Catalan-influenced city of Alghero via Sassari, where I'll look around a bit before changing busses. Will troll around there for a while and take a day trip or two, then my friend Wes will come meet me and we will go to Cagliari for a festival where the locals dress in traditional costumes and parade in the streets. Then, one night in the small village of Cuglieri where my friend Wes has gotten a place, then back to Rome for two final days.

So far, so good. Lots of solitude, but broken up nicely with company. And I'm tearing through all my novels! And studying Italian.

Ciao belli!
Paola
Stay tuned for photos when I return!

A slight change in plans...

Well, life works in unpredictable ways, I guess. Sadly, the friend I was meeting up with in Sardinia (and staying in a house in a little village with) has to return to the states suddenly because his step mother died. Sad for him, for his family, and a bummer for me, expenses wise and mostly, companionship wise. I wasn't counting on this much time at the beach in Sardinia alone, sans transportation. So I extended my hotel stays (luckily, both were fairly inexpensive) and am planning to do a lot of reading. I'm bummed, but will make the best of it. How bad can a 10 day stay at two hotels on the beach in Sardinia be? So, this afternoon was a bit difficult, learning the news, trying to make some new plans. My friends have been a huge help to me, making reservations and being incredibly sweet.

Had dinner in Testaccio tonight at an old-fashioned Roman trattoria with good food and a very grumpy waitress. Saw old friends--I wish we'd had a bit more time together to get to know one another again, but it felt very nice seeing everyone. And I've been loving zipping all over Rome on the back of Federica's motorbike. What a way to see Rome! They took me by Renzo Piano's new performance center, which was interesting looking--not a particularly dignified or graceful looking building, but interesting to see.

Okay amici--not sure when I'll have easy access to a computer again...wish me luck in Sardinia.
Ciao!
Paola