Hi - I'm new to this!

Thank you for your welcome sempre italia.

Hi Gala Placidia, Thank you for your welcome.  Yep, we still have Knight in Gale and yes, we still sail (weather permitting).  We were out sailing last Wednesday for the first time this year and it was fantastic.  Reasonably calm seas (I dont do rough ones) and lots of wind.  Our dog, Molly who we found abandoned on one of the beaches here 4 years ago, loves it too.

Ciao Cinghiale,  Yep, it was a wonderful trip if a bit scary at times, but well worth it.  Our boat was already called Knight in Gale when we bought her and we liked it so much, decided to keep it.  And no, I'm not a nurse - not very good with blood and broken bones etc! Thanks for the welcome.

Hi Francesca,  Thanks for the welcome.  We live in the south of the island a little place called Perd'e Sali,quite near Pula (most people know Pula and not Perd'e Sali)  When we first arrived in Sardinia, it was to Alghero.  You will just love it Francesca!  It's so quaint (a bit like an Italian York) with cobbled streets, and lovely quaint shops and it has a Spanish influence too.  Unfortunately we only stayed there for 3 nights and so I can't recommend anywhere to you (unless you're mooring a boat!)  One thing I remember (I'll never forget it) was that we (four of us) decided to eat out and we got so fed up of trying to decide which restaurant to choose, that our friend, Phil, decided for us and led us into this very POSH restaurant.  It was a bit intimidating as we were all in our scruffy boat gear, you know, shorts, t shirts, flip flops and baseball caps (the guys that is).  Anyway.......................as soon as they brought us the menus we knew we'd made a mistake...............the prices were just crazy!  So.............what did we do, we ordered a starter each and that was it!  Except that Phil (not to be outdone) ordered a bottle of wine - A 45 euro bottle of wine!!!!  When we finally emerged from the restaurant, just around the corner was a burger bar, which would have been much more apropriate for us poor yachties!   Ah well, happy memories!  Have a wonderful holiday Francesca.

Ciao Valentina,So sorry to have taken so long to get back to you.  We had two Canadian girls stay with us for 4 days.  One of them is the Nannie of my daughter in the Uk and the other, her friend.  They had  a ball whilst here but both my husband and I are absolutely exhausted.  Nineteen year old girls need a lot of entertaining.  However, they have gone back to the UK with a wonderful impression of Sardinia.  They even stated that they were going to loose their passports so that they could stay here!  Ha ha - not on your life ladies!  Four days was just enough thank you very much.OK........you wanted to know something of our adventures.  Well, we set sail in April 2003 from the North of England (well, Wales actually, a place Conwy on the North Wales coast).  From there we sailed to Southern Ireland which was wonderful, the people are just so welcoming and the food delicious.  I was actually taken ill whilst there (nothing seriously), but the harbour master took me to the Drs. surgery which was closed for lunch(!) and so took me to his daughters who was the receptionist and we got to see the Dr.  He prescribed some antibiotics and I was then taken to the chemist, which was also shut (it was lunchtime) but they opened the door for us.  Wonderful hospitality!We then sailed to southern England and from there we crossed the English channel to L'Aberach (northern France).  We had the scariest sea crossing I've ever encountered and I thought we were going to die, I really die.  But our sturdy little boat kept us going and brought us safely into the harbour there. We then sailed down the coast of France, stopping in at various places along the way to buy groceries etc.  We reached  Portugal in September 2003 and wintered there in a lovely ltitle  place called Portimao.  There were lots of other "yachties" staying for the winter and so we had a fantastic time.  We then left Portugal in April 2004 - again calling in at lots of interesting places and meeting lots of interesting folk.  We then arrived in Sardinia in September 2004 and spent our next winter here again with lots of other yachties.  We had an absolute ball, lots of partying etc. We found the Sarde folk to be very genuine and caring and made many friends in the community.  We then started looking for a house in the January of 2005 but could not find anything we liked (or within our price range) and so explored this wonderful island by boat.  We came back to the same marina in Cagliari for the winter of 2005 and it was a horror.  Rain, winds, rough seas - you name it, we had it that winter.  However, in February 2006 we found our house here in Perd'e Sali and moved in in April 2006.  We had quite a bit of work to do on it and we're still at it today!We just love the pace of life here.  It's just so much more tranquil than in the Uk and this is proved by our visitors who are always saying how relaxed, tranquil and peaceful  they feel here.  I'm afraid that the Sardinian food leaves a lot to be desired though!  I'm now used to it but my husband, Tony, is not too keen.  He says it's always cold (which it usually is) and with not much variety.  We much prefer Italian food to Sardinian.  The culture here in Sardinia is very simple (in my humble opinion) but very genuine.  Here in the south, there are museums and art galleries but nothing to rival the Italian ones!  There is a wonderful Opera House which stages ballets, operas, concerts and of course there's the usual pop concerts (for the young ones).  We do have the most wonderful Archeological site here 5 minutes away in Nora.  I'll try and post some photo's (try, being the operative word!) You asked about the differences between the people we have met throughout our journey.............well of course, we didn't get to know the French, Spanish or Portuguese as well as we know the Sardes because of our length of stay.  But I would say that the Sarde are quite simple folk without any airs and graces and they just L O V E  the English!  They are not sophisticated and "Call a Spade a Spade!" Do you know this expression? But I expect we are lucky, as we live in a rural community and have made many friends.  We now have a dog and cat (which we found abandonded) here in Sardinia.  Now..............there's a major problem.  The differences between the Sarde and English mentality towards their dogs (particularly.)  The older generation have been used to working dogs who slept outside and were never allowed to enter the house.  Some are treated very badly by their owners and a lot of animals are abandonded to fend for themselves.  Consequently there is a problem with pregnant bitches here and of course the Italian mentality is not to castrate the males, and so the problem is ongoing!  But I believe it's the same in Greece.  Perhaps it's just us English who look at things differently?OK Valentina, thats about it from me.  Hope I've not rambled on too much.

Hi There, How long have you lived in Sardinia?  Do you like it?  Tell me all about you please. Lynda