24 hours in Sardinia

5 euro airplane tickets to anywhere are hard to pass up!

So when we stumbled on the cheap flight to Italy's island of Sardinia right before Christmas we couldn't say no.

Sardinia had been on my travel wish list. Not because I knew much about the place, but because it seemed like an exotic destination to see and check out. The only fact I had about Sardinia before going is that it is one of five identified "Blue Zones" in the world. A blue zone is a place where residents commonly live active lives past their 100th birthday. A 'longevity hot spot' of sorts!

Here are maps of our destination for reference...

Our Ryan Air flights had us landing in the southern tip of Sardinia on Saturday afternoon and then leaving from the northern end on Sunday evening. It was a 24 hour road trip to see all we could. Yes, we know we have the travel crazies! These are the internet images I had in mind of Sardinia...

I realized it was December so we didn't even pack our bathing suits, but I still had high hopes for those gorgeous beaches. Unfortunately for our 24 hours it rained and was cloudy. Bummer. Sardinia was still an intriguing place. I would recommend it in the summer months. It was pretty much a ghost town during this time of year! Guess that is why everything was so cheap.

Our first stop was at Su Nuraxi, a prehistoric defensive structure from the 2nd millennium B.C.

It is hard for me to really fathom how old this place is. OLD!

Connor had fun running around and looking cute at Su Nuraxi!

We spent our single night in the port city of Cagliari. We hiked to the "upper" town for dinner. Everyone was out and about shopping on the streets.

The next morning we were out before dawn. Lots of ground to cover in a very short time!

We traversed the island south to north to the Emerald Coast, "Costa Smeralda"

We were a bit disappointed. There was not a single solitary soul there. Definitely beautiful and I could tell how enchanting the beaches were during the season. But not so much in December. Oh well.

We headed for Alghero, our final port city. I was shocked at how much parts of Sardinia look like Ireland - very green, lush and covered with sheep!

The Romanesque church of Saccargia (finished in 1116) made a fantastic pit stop as the rain stopped and the clouds parted. This gem was right on the side of the highway.

Connor thought the cows on the facade were especially fabulous!

Something at this church made Connor laugh until she cried!

Who knows what, but it made us laugh too!

Even in the clouds Sardinia was gorgeous.

The Sardinian cities were another world.

Dorothy, we aren't in Kansas anymore!

I wanted to stop and see if these two walking in the middle of the street were the "Blue Zone 100+ Year Olds"....

We found one of the elusive white sand beaches near Alghero. Connor ran all over and insisted on touching the ocean.

We spied Capo Caccia. Stunning!

Best of all we had fun. Just the three of us. While Sardinia may have been a bit too cold and deserted, our little family trio loved the exercise of traveling together. I think we could enjoy just about anywhere laughing, joking and exploring with each other.

Click here for full album images of Sardinia

2010

It is 2010. The start of a new decade. (Well the decade doesn't start til next year, technically, but whatever). And the start of our 4 month countdown til we come home and move away from Europe. We have done so much thus far and there are just a few more places we hope to squeeze in before the clock strikes twelve and everything is as it was before.I am too cheap to buy another wall calendar so I made my own. And the pink stickies help with figuring out the number of weekends left as compared to the number of places we still hope to see. For now the ratio is pretty balanced - places left to go : weekends available.
And nothing is in stone. Kirk's busy season has officially started so most of this will have to be more fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants travel than carefully orchestrated.
We know we are strange with our hard core travel. After our 1300 mile road trip last week I am even more convinced there is a true travel addiction in both of us.
But if we visualize what we hope to accomplish, then we are two steps closer to making it reality. Here's to 2010 and the new adventures and destinations it will most surely bring!

Gingerbread Houses and Me.

Last Christmas we were brand new to Brussels. We attempted our first gingerbread house. I was ambitious as a brand new stay-at-home mom to be all Martha Stewart-y. Um, it was not a pretty picture. I tried to make my own gingerbread in our tiny Belgian oven which was a recipe for disaster.The "building" of the house was an even bigger failure than the cakelike bread. Connor wasn't exactly sure what was happening.
This is as far as we got....I know, pretty pathetic!

Fast forward a year -

We were very fortunate to book a trip home to North Carolina for Christmas 2009. There is much to tell from our Noel adventure.

When we arrived home we had a package waiting for us from my aunt, Ruffin. We opened this up...
...Ruffin was worried it might be a foolish gift. But Connor started shivering - literally - with excitement to make the gingerbread house. She was fixated on it. So we made the house. I tried to start off optimistic - and to block out memories of Ghosts of Gingerbread Houses Past.
Of course Connor skipped across the kitchen dancing and singing while Mom and I did the hard work. Go REDHEAD Team!
It was messy. I couldn't believe my mom actually let me make such a big mess.
Yep, we look pretty ragged. No time for make-up with a Gingerbread House in the plans.
Connor would pop up every now and then to supervise our work. She would beg to eat a few candies and then twirl back into her musical world.
Let's just say it was not pretty. We had several demolitions and remodels on our house before we got it together.

We stepped away for just a split second and came back to this. Phooey! Good thing I am not a contractor.

The funny part is this wasn't even our first gingerbread house attempt this Christmas. In Brussels we tried one out.

This one never made it off the ground. And certainly never to the candy design.

I don't know what my problem is with gingerbread houses?!?! The concept is simple enough...smash pieces together with icing glue. I mean it is not rocket science. For this year's Brussels gingerbread disaster I cried "Mercy!" and let Connor eat the walls.

It has always bothered me to work so hard and then not to eventually eat candy houses. So we bent the rules and indulged. Given our toppled construction and all.

I give up. Think from now on I will stick with the gingerbread men. The three houses this year and last weren't my most shining moments of craftiness. But they did succeed in providing a lot of laughter.

My failures make me ogle that much more over this year's White House Gingerbread House. Maybe I should go take some lessons from these guys....

Kirk's Christmas Present to Me

It is one of the sad parts of marriage - presents to each other lose a little mystery once they are funded from the same bank account as the mortgage and the groceries. I know, that sounds pretty unromantic. But we have been so immensely blessed - especially these past few years - that we rarely buy holiday gifts for each other. Trips, traditons and memorable experiences together are our true presents and delights. But this year Kirk surprised me with a gift of my own...At the many Christmas markets I had been on the hunt for one of these wooden windmill candle thingies. They scream European Christmas and would no doubt be a keepsake to remember our time here for years to come. We were focused and ready to buy one in Koln, Germany and I was crushed when we found them and their pricetag was at least 100 euros. No way.

But one night Kirk came home from work with a big bag in hand. With this inside!
Wouldn't you know the Brussels market right underneath our apartment had them at a fraction of the price? I was allowed to open and enjoy the gift right away. Connor thought the way the windmill spun with the candles lit was divine. And each layer "told" the story of Jesus' birth. It was a perfect gift.
The next day I found the market stall that sold Kirk the wooden windmill to buy more candles. We used up the first batch on the first night. It is a well-loved gift. They also had these smaller versions that were charming.

I used the opportunity out and about with my camera to snap a few shots of the neighborhood toy store we walk past nearly everyday gussied up in holiday greenery. I also covet this nativity scene, but it too was 100 euros. Whoa. But so, so cute.This toy store called The Grasshopper always has captivating window displays with jaw-dropping prices. We stop and linger while Connor calls out the toy names with glee.
Maybe it is all these adorable window displays that drive up the costs of the toys??!!
Thank you, Kirk, for my Christmas windmill. I love it. And I love you.

Am I Lovin It? European McDonalds

Pretty ironic - isn't it - that on Day One of New Year's Resolutions I am writing about McDonalds!!! But honestly it is one of the biggest love-hate relationships I have developed while living in Europe.
We have eaten at "Old McDonalds" (as Connor calls them) all over Europe. I have an entire drawer full of Happy Meal toys to attest to it. It sort of makes me groan every time we realize we will be visiting Ronald's house yet again. We are NOT McDonald's people. I cannot remember the last time I went to one in the USA. But really, it is a necessary staple in Europe. Nowhere else can you eat within an hour and be assured consistent food for the two year old picky eater with food allergies. Plus in Spain and France it is the only place that serves dinner before 8 PM. Those late meals don't jive well with a 7 PM bedtime! And as an added bonus when on the road...every McD's in Europe has free Wifi. The problem is that "fast" food just does not exist. We have waited 20 minutes for our food at the counter before - after we place our order. And the lines crawl at a snail's pace. Today - New Years Day- we are in France and absolutely everything is closed. Every tourist site, grocery store, every convenience shop, every tabac. So we had lunch at McDonald's and then shamefully we returned to the drivethru for dinner. And wouldn't you know we returned to our hotel to find that half of our order was missing?!?

All I can say is it is a good thing McDonald's has added healthy items to their menu and that Connor doesn't really care about eating the french fries. She gets a kick out of the toys and free balloons and the bathrooms are always clean. Plus it is cute to see her make McD's friends with all the little international children. McDonald's truly speaks to children of every nationality.

And thus, my love-hate relationship with European McDonalds...