Our fourth stop in Sardinia brought us to Alghero in the northwest corner of the island. Over the last 12 days we’ve traveled the length of the west coast, and the scenery got more spectacular with each leg of the journey. Up here in the northwest lush green mountains cascade into a beautiful blue sea with lots of sandy beaches in between.
Alghero was another near perfect combination of things we love: a charming medieval city center, great food and wine, and beautiful beaches just a short bike ride away. We rented some really nice bikes here and spent one day exploring the coast (and beaches) to the north and another day exploring to the south.
Food is incredible here — many classics from the Italian table plus quite a few distinctive Sardinian dishes. When the Spanish controlled Sardinia lots of Catalans settled here in Alghero, earning it the nickname Barcelonetta, or Little Barcelona. There is still a big Catalan influence on the cuisine and culture.
I’ve certainly eaten more dogfish here than I recall ever having anywhere before (perhaps never?). My favorite Sardinian antipasto consists of dogfish, octopus, or some other fish served all’algherese — cut into chunks and smothered with a fantastic cold and tangy sauce made from sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil.
Tomorrow morning we take a brief respite from Sardinia to visit with our friend Dara in Rome. Then we’ll fly back to northeast Sardinia to continue our journey toward Corsica.