Daily Nonsense

Castello di Las Plassas

Today, Brooke and I left Cagliari early and drove north towards the village of Barumini. The largest excavated Nuraghe is just outside of the village. On the way we passed two other interesting sights where we stopped to explore.

Church of Santa Maria Maddalena

The Castello di Las Plassas was built in the 12th century by local officials called Giudice. They ruled the island just prior to the formation of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1297. The castle is built on a conical hill that overlooks the village of Las Plassas and the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, which was built in the 600’s.

A Dumb Closed Sign, On Top of the MOUNTAIN.

After a VERY long walk up a VERY steep hill we discovered that the castle was closed for renovation. They might have been nice enough to put the sign at the bottom of the hill…….

But we did get some very nice pictures of the steep inclines and paths associated with climbing the steep ass mountain (without the benefit of any additional oxygen or Sherpas) and have posted this one.

It was actually a very pleasant walk and the views were nice. It was a little too hazy for the pictures to come out very well.

Once we climbed back down the hill we continued our journey to the Nuraghe. After a very short time we found the turn off and ended up in a parking lot with a couple of tour busses filled with French and German retirees. Thankfully they had their own tour guides and were not attached to our group. I say thankfully because it was kind of a long wait for these folk to climb the various stairs and ladders of the Nuraghe.

Nuraghe at Barumini

So, what is a Nuraghe? Somewhere between 1500 and 2000 years ago (B.C.) the insular local inhabitants formed communities that utilized the Nuraghe structure as a place of defense and refuge. This particular site was chosen due to its strategic location (on a hilltop) combined with the presence of water only 13 meters below ground.

The well inside the Nuraghe still has water today. In its earliest iteration, the Nuraghe consisted of just the central tower (believed to be built by the Phoenicians) which included the well; later additions (believed to be populated by Punics and Romans) included four towers oriented to North, South, East, West with two levels and holes for guards to defend using slingshots, arrows, and spears.

The Well In The Central Tower

This particular Nuraghe was re-discovered sometime in the 1950’s. Dirt and erosion had caused the majority of the structures to be covered. The excavations revealed the three distinct building styles and the things that were excavated allowed for approximate dating of the three groups to have inhabited this monolith.

There were believed to be about 150 inhabitants in this particular group of structures.

B&B in Narrow Nuraghe Passage

After taking the tour Brooke and I headed back towards Cagliari. We stopped for lunch and to take some pictures in the little villages we passed through. In Villamar, we took a left down a road so narrow we had to hold our hands out beside the side mirrors to make sure we could squeeze pass. The roads were cobblestone and we stopped to get some neat pictures of some doors, windows, and murals.

Aerial View of Su Nuraxi

Lunch was at La Ruota d’Oro (the Golden Wheel) and it was tasty: antipasto of crusty bread and crispy Sardinian bread, various salamis, prosciutto, and cheese, followed by penne with porcini (we both had this dish); then for Bob, a grilled horse steak (cavallo) and for Brooke, a grilled pork shoulder (braicola di miale), we both shared a plate of french fries. We also shared the requisite 66 ml bottle of Ichnusa. In all it was a very good day.

Kala ’e Moru Beach Shot

Day two of both school in the morning and a sweet ocean dip in the afternoon. We picked the nearby town of Villasimius as today’s destination, it’s south-east of Cagliari about 45 km on a winding coastal road. We had intended to stop at a store that Bob used to frequent that sold ’Vino Sfuso’ which translates literally to ’loose wine’. What that means is wine that is sold by the liter and pumped into your container. This is done by some of the local farmers here as a way to get around licensing constraints.

While we didn’t find the place Bob remembered, we did find a really nice beach filled with German tourists and beautiful, green-blue water with larger, more dramatic waves than we saw at Nora. There was no slow, easing into the water, we dove right in.

A Long-view Beach Shot

After getting pushed about by the waves for a while it was time to head up to the bar and get ourselves some gelato. [Sidebar: Some folks have been curious about just how many bars there are in Sardegna. Well, turns out there are more bars here than Starbucks in the U.S. This isn’t a scientific statement but let’s just say that every other block or so, especially in downtown Cagliari or along the beaches, you’ll find small huts or tiny shops with gelato, drinks, etc. We found a slick bar about 3 blocks from the apartment that is a combo coffee, wine, ice cream, tea house with a dj and outdoor patio. The decoration is hip, with red leather, sleek decor all around. We’ve been two days in a row for coffees and pasta dolce (pastries).]

Scenic Coastal View

Bob had another Algida Magnifico because the coffee flavor was so delicious–he’s addicted. Brooke had a Choco-disc cone with caramel center and a mini dagger of chocolate right down the center, and Ricky had a Magnum Double Caramel on a stick. After drying a little bit, we loaded up in the car and started driving back to Cagliari.

The Cactus Fence is Taller than Bob

Along the way we stopped on the winding twisty road to get some coastal view shots, being careful to avoid the crazy-fast Sardo drivers. After making our way down the hillside, we wanted to find a place to pull over and get some shots of the cactus fences and if possible, pluck some Fiche d’India, (translates to Indian Figs), or prickly pear; you can buy this fruit in the grocery stores but we wanted to get it fresh off the fence. Bob wrapped his hand in a plastic bag and picked some of the fruit, which we tried after dinner [Sidenote for the foodies: grilled panino with fresh-baked Sardo bread, turkey cutlet, asiago or swiss cheese, pesto; side salad with mixed greens, fresh mozzarella, green tomato, apple, salt and olive oil]. We weren’t successful finding the wine guy open, some places close up shop at odd hours–we’ll try again later this week.

After a spate of personal and professional abandonment’s by key White House figures GW Bush is seeking to fill the very small shoes of Alberto Gonzales with the conservative feet of retired federal judge Michael Mukasey.

As you might recall we have recently seen a long list of departures from the Bush camp:

• Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorney General, quit as of 17 September 2007
• Karl Rove, chief political strategist, leaves 31 Aug
• Donald Rumsfeld, defense secretary, quit after 2006 mid-term elections
• Andrew Card, chief of staff, quit March 2006
• Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary, quit March 2005
• Colin Powell, secretary of state, resigned after President Bush’s first term, Nov 2004

Some articles:

1. Bush names new attorney general @ BBC News
2. Questions for Mukasey @ LATimes
3. He looks promising, but… @ The Boston Globe
4. Bush ducks fight over attorney general @ The Telegraph

My son Riccardo had his first day of school today. I walked him to school, not because he needs someone to do that, but because that is the ’thing’ that parents do here. This is more about a meet and greet with the teachers and other parents. I hung out for a few minutes and then Brooke, Gus and I headed home.

Once we got Gus home I decided that I wanted a nice bar-made cappuccino. Brooke and I headed out again and after a short search we found a really nice bar in the theater on Via della Pineta. We ordered two pastries and Brooke had a latte and I had a nice, happy cappuccino.

Brooke decided on an apple strudel and I had a cream filled doughnut. Boy, were they good!

Brooke and I walked back to the school at 12:30 to pick up Ricky and to give Gus another walk. We got home, made lunch and then took our first little trip. We headed out to Pula and the archeological dig at Nora.

Nora is a city that was one of the first trade cities on the island. The city was founded by Phoenician seafarers around IX-VIII century B.C. The ruins are Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman. Each group building on the ruins of the conquered city. The oldest ruins are the Phoenician ones and then come the Carthaginian, and finally the Roman ruins. There are some very cool mosaics there. Here is a picture of one. This is actually thousands of years old.

These are four freestanding columns at Nora. Behind us on a small hill overlooking the sea is a Spanish tower built sometime in the 11th century.

After an archeological experience that couldn’t be beat we headed to the beach for a dip. That was closely followed by an Algida moment that kicked the poot out of looking at some old rocks. We all enjoyed a Magnifico, a really wonderful ice cream cone with vanilla, chocolate and coffee flavors topped with a chocolate covered hazelnut. Decadent Decedent is the only real word for it. (Thanks for the correction Vale)

Wednesday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. In an effort to get everyone up to speed I’ve listed some important resources below. These sites should allow you to be prepared for any eventuality. If you are pressed for time in your research activities you can limit yourself to the first three sites.

Arr, me hearty

• talk like a pirate day
• british hq
• how to talk like a pirate
• jobby roger
• toast
• socks
• undercover pirate
• hide the rum
• rum reviews
• pirate pots
• bubblebeard

I know, I’ve been very poor about posting over this past weekend. There has just been so much going on!

Yesterday my daughter Michela left on the ferry for the mainland. She was traveling with her mother, her car and what seemed to be about 8 suitcases! For those of you who might not know, Michela was one of 75 students accepted this year at the Universita’ Campus Bio-Medico di Roma. It has been a rather rough couple of days knowing that Michela was going to be leaving after only a couple of days.

Gus-Gus and his squeaky pig

So, the result is that there are 4 people and one dog here in the house that miss Michela. The dog of which I speak is Gus-Gus, named after one of the mice in the the Disney movie Cinderella. Here is a picture of him with his little piggy. He only weighs about 25 pounds. But he’s a feisty little fella.

I apologize for the photo of Gus, but he is so black I would need studio lighting to get a better shot of him.

The night before she left we all went out to dinner at Carne Val. It is kind of a southern Mediterranean place and a cute play on words for the Italians. Carne is the word for meat, although

Carne Val Menu

Val doesn’t mean anything. It was an interesting place. It has 5 tables and the menu only has about 12 things on it. The top part of the menu is a la carte, mostly sandwiches and other fast food type offerings.

But the real joy are the offerings in the second part of the menu. There are four combination plates listed,but with the choice of Fries or Couscous that become eight dinners. I’m sorry to say that we will not be able to try all eight.

We did partake of two of the plate combos and were quite impressed! Michela, Valentina and I had the Shawarma plate with couscous. The Shawarma plate consists of a spitted meat combination of lamb and turkey. This is surrounded by the couscous, raw onion, green olives, sauerkraut, tomatoes, a ’sort of’ coleslaw and three falafels. Brooke, on the other hand, decided to try the schnitzel plate. Her plate came with a very tasty schnitzel, fries and all of the veggies noted above except for the couscous. Ricky was the odd duck in that he decided to have the Panino Shawarma. That was a simple combination of the lamb-turkey mixture, tomatoes and ketchup.

Ricky, Bob, Valentina, and Michela

Here is a quick picture taken as the cooks were passing us our food. Michela is already digging in and the rest of us are looking on longingly.

We didn’t get a good picture of the spit that is used to cook the lamb and turkey meat mixture, but since we want to go back anyway I figure we’ll just post that picture then.

As a side note, lets talk beer. I mentioned earlier that we have enjoyed the Nastro Azzurro and the Moretti beers. Along with the Shawarma and Schnitzel plates we enjoyed two other beers. Brooke and I shared a Poretti which was pretty good all things considered and Valentina and Michela shared a Carlsberg. That is a Danish beer by the same company that makes Tuborg. All in all it was a great dinner, fine company and good beer. What more can anyone ask for.

I’ve been asked to post regularly, and since i’m usually not one to disappoint, especially when people ask as nicely as papi did, here i am, again. A couple of days ago i found a nice tutorial on internet, that explained how to make a notebook from scratch, only using common things, like white vinylic glue to hold the sheets together, and photo or postcards to make nice-looking covers.

Now, i used to know a much more complex method of making books: i had a manual that explained how to make a proper binding with thread, and all that. However, this method is waaaaay faster. So far, i only made two — the first one was a try, but when my mom saw it she decided she had to have it, so i gladly gave it to her. Then Michi saw it, and she implored me to make one for her. I didn’t have much time, but as i said, it can be done pretty quickly, and this is the result.

(I beg forgiveness for the poor quality of the pictures — i took them with my phone)

Front:

Close-up of the front:

Back (it’s a bit blurred, i know):

Inside:

I used two postcards of a Sardinian beer, the Ichnusa, for the cover. The pages inside are all different, there’s a couple plain white, there’s lined sheets, there’s some with holes like the pink one you see in the picture and yes….there’s different colors. The spine and the corners are pieces from a green paper bag — the color isn’t very visible, but it’s a pretty green.

Richi and Nonna (grandma) have asked me to make one for them too — i’m happy cause i love doing this kind of things, and i’m even happier when other peeps like the results.

I’ll be gracing y’all with more pics of my creations — but i think i can manage to find a camera next time…..

ETA: if anyone’s interested, you can find the tutorial here.