Spring Break Part One (Or, Why the Off-Season is Called the Off-Season)

Well, I did it. I saw the sites, ate the food, spoke the language, braved the public transportation, and did the whole thing with only the plans made by myself and my travel buddy/boyfriend.

Even though I went on this trip to have a good time and see some cool things, this spring break was one of the most challenging things I have done. The last time I was in Italy I was on a cruise with my family where every sightseeing trip, meal, and activity was planned for us and we just had to follow along. This time, Ian and I had to figure everything out ourselves from how to order food to how to get to Pompeii. The end result was a fantastic (for the most part) trip that I feel has made me not only a more confident traveler, but more fully appreciate what I have in Dublin.

So here is Part One of the tale: Alghero.

 We arrived in Alghero, a town in Sardinia, late on Friday night. All of our flights were booked through RyanAir, an inexpensive airline that flies to semi-obscure places around Europe. we had chosen Alghero because it was very cheap and would be a relaxing start to out trip. Our hotel room was nice, breakfast was included, and we even got a complimentary bottle of champagne.   

Complete with bidet.

But the next day, we started to see why everything was so inexpensive.

When we woke up the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm. We walked around  for a bit just to enjoy the weather and see what there was to do around town. It wasn't too early--about 9:30--but we felt like the only ones around. It was like the town hadn't woken up yet.

Our plan for the day was to visit Neptune's Grotto, a natural cave with really cool stalactite formations that you can only reach by boat. We bought our boat tickets and climbed aboard the uncovered front of the boat, ready for a leisurely, pleasant ride.

But as soon as we got past the wave breaker, the sky turned an ominous swirling gray and the waves started rocking the boat. At first it was almost enjoyable--like a roller coaster. There were two little girls who looked like they were having the time of their lives and everyone enjoyed watching them. But the closer we got to the Grotto, the worse the rocking got, until the waves were crashing over the side of the boat where we were sitting. Ian got soaked, and I almost got flung overboard. Everyone who was sitting outside had to go to the covered part as we held on to anything we could to stay in our seats.

The area we were supposed to dock at was this little niche on the side of a cliff, but the boat was in danger of crashing into the rocks. As we were tossed side to side, the crew still, for reasons I will never understand, attempted to land the gangplank on the shore.

Then it plunged into the sea.

So we turned around and went back. No grotto for us.

By this time everyone was feeling pretty seasick, and people were yelling at the crew in Italian. We had to be on the boat for another hour, cold and wet with churned stomachs. When we finally got back to shore, everyone stumbled off the boat and headed right over to the ticket window to get our money back. The owners silently handed it over to everyone one by one, and we wandered off to find lunch.

We came upon a little pizzeria and sat down at the outside tables (because, oh yeah, it was sunny on land, just not at sea). Here, during out first meal in Italy, we learned the art of pointing. We encountered very few waitstaff, especially in Alghero, who spoke English, so ordering food was a stressful and nerve-wracking process.

I ate a lot of pizza in Italy. A lot. But this was the best one I had.

Paying was also stressful in Italy. There was no consistency in how to pay: sometimes they brought the bill to the table and you paid there, sometimes they brought it to the table and you paid at the counter, and sometimes you had to ask for it at the counter. And we never knew which one it was because we couldn't ask in Italian. But we always figured it out somehow.  We also had our first of many gelatos--lemon for me, hazelnut for Ian.

During lunch we had kept seeing people walk by in costumes, and they all seemed to be heading in the same direction, so we followed where they were going and saw that everyone was getting ready for some kind of Disney-themed parade. We couldn't ask what was going on, and it was really bizarre to see.

I don't know if it was something I ate, or leftover seasickness, but I spent a lot of that night awake with a stomachache until it culminated in the bathroom. It was a signal for how the rest of that next day would go.

We wanted to rent bikes and explore the area, but it was raining. Down-pouring and windy. We went out to walk around, but it was pretty miserable.

There was nothing to do. It was raining, and it was Sunday. Everything was closed, even the tourist office. Our many pamphlets were mocking us with outdoor activities, and we couldn't even find the aquarium that Alghero was supposed to have. There was nothing for us to do but sit in our hotel room and watch BBC World News report on the Japanese earthquake over and over again. We left for dinner--creamy seafood pasta--but the restaurant was awkward because there was only one other family in there and they seemed to know the waiter, so we were ignored while they jabbered away in Italian.

We couldn't wait to leave the next day. We had planned on taking a cab to the airport, but the hotel gave us free bus tickets. We were nervous about not knowing what to do, but we figured it out and eventually made it to the airport. Of course the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky while we waited in the terminal.

Kind of a negative start to the trip. We hoped things would improve from here as we headed to Rome for one night to catch a train to Naples. Alghero just wasn't for us, and it was clear why the plane tickets and hotel were so cheap. But we had high hopes for he next part of our trip--coming soon!