Back in Sardinia after an adventurous journey, arriving on Monday 18th September. This time we decided to take the train from Edinburgh to Portsmouth and then the boat to Saint Malo with Brittany Ferries. First time with them. It was a good trip. we spent the morning in Saint Malo which was again new to us and worth exploring if we had more time there. It reminded us of Nairn...or at least the beaches did.
Saint Malo beach and visitors...in the distance the national Fort
Later the same day we took the train to Rennes where we stayed for two nights. Nice town with a mixture of interesting architecture especially near the station. The modern buildings there were all different. in contrast to the old part of the town which had wooden framed building, quirky and attractive at the same time. Interesting pubs there to be revisited.
Old and new buildings in Rennes
Street artists at work in Rennes and ...we just missed the food market
The Vilaine river in Rennes and the modern futuristic train station
We then proceeded to Toulon via Marseille where our Sardinia Corsica ferry was delayed for 7 hours It was a long - and hot - wait but in the end we discovered a bar offering good beers. We never saw this pub before even though we have now been to Toulon several times. So next time we have time to kill in Toulon we can try not only discovering another of its many fountains, but also locating new craft beer pubs!
On the ferry we discovered that our 'deluxe' cabin was actually a very mediocre one and even the bed was not made as sheets and pillow cases had not been provided. A steward was called upon who reluctantly provided a sheet, but we were disappointed to the point of writing an official complaint to the company, which was quick to respond and has since refunded us half of the fare.
Arriving later than planned, my brother Graziano came to pick us up at the port and then we proceeded to our seaside house in the north east. Graziano left on Thursday and myself on Saturday leaving Lesley at the house for a bit longer. (With temperatures still reaching 30 degrees, why miss out on the seaside? L.)
Harvest of grapes was already done as this year extreme prolonged heat and the downy mildew has damaged many vineyards in the area. The result is that we are probably going to produce only 60 litres of wine instead of 800 to 1000 this year. This is not under our control so we need to forget and look forward for next year.
On the other hand this year seems to be, so far, a fantastic year for olives. I have already inspected the trees here in Locoe and I have never seen so many olives....and basically every single tree has produced an abundance of them. Fingers crossed on this one. We will keep an update on this .
Our olive trees with an abundance of fruit
Sunday 24th we were invited by my cousin Pietro to his land near Oniferi for a get-together. Oniferi is a small village about 40 minutes by car from where my brothers live in Oliena. The land was bought a few years back so his sons could cultivate it. They have chickens, ducks, two donkeys a horse, several pigs, fruit tress, olive trees, almond trees and a patch for vegetables. Cristian also makes cheeses and they are learning how to make hams, sausages and so on.
We had a good day there and what we ate was all produced by them except for the water melon and the coffee. There were 35 of us, all related one way or another.
