Travels with Gail and Rob: Three for the Price of One

We headed off to Tharros, a Roman town built on top of a Phoenician town which in turn had been built on the site of an earlier Nuragic village from the Bronze Age – 15th century BC. The Phoenicians came in the 8th century BC.

In places the Roman settlement had been removed to display the earlier Phoenician site. It is only quite recently that the stone houses from the earliest period have been discovered. Quite a fascinating look at history and once again in a spectacular coastal setting.

We followed our exploration with visits to two museums to see the actual artefacts from the archaeological site.

Tharros had been the major town in this area but once Orestano - now the province’s capital – was developed, it lost its significance and was eventually abandoned.

We managed to negotiate the complex maze of narrow streets to reach the old part of Orestano – Centro Storico – and visited the Duomo with its beautiful onion domed bell tower, the main square with Queen Eleanor’s statue – obviously before she died of the plague - and the incredible old defence tower sitting in the middle of a square.

Leaving the highways behind us, we followed the minor coastal road north, stopping for lunch at a beachside restaurant at Torre Su Putu and visited a fabulous growers’ market – where we sampled some very nice local cheese and nougat.

Continued along the winding, narrow road, through quiet villages and eventually reached Bosa, known for its colourful buildings where we visited the marina and the beach. We decided to fit in one more leg so drove northwards.

The road between Bosa and Alghero is considered to be the best coastal drive in Sardinia. It was truly spectacular with stunning views – it was also one of the windiest roads we have ever been on! Again we negotiated the maze of streets and found a car park just outside Centro Storico. We found a B & B in the old town, run by a very pleasant family.

Dinner was in a fabulous restaurant where we sampled traditional Sardinian food. Football fever has hit town as Italy played Germany in the semi final of the European Cup. When Italy won, the entire town erupted and the festivities continued well into the early morning. The final is on Sunday night between Spain and Italy.