​Ciao!!  We are a water family. When we lived in Pensacola, we could be found at the beach, boating, or in the pool about 3-4 days/ week during the warm weather months.  In Pensacola, those months lasted from March – October.  We also frequented the Caribbean islands on vacation to soak up even MORE sun!  After living in Naples, Italy for about two months, we started to get a bit stir crazy for the water. We had yet to actually go to any beaches in our local area, those we would discover later, but we wanted to travel somewhere with great beaches.
 
The way that we find cheap tickets is an actual process....we start with the website Skyscanner.  We plug in our departure location (usually Naples International) and for our destination, we put ‘everywhere,’ then we plug in the dates we want to go. This method provides a list of countries and destinations by price. In Europe, doing this can yield very inexpensive tickets. Sometimes, going to the actual airline website, for the cheapest fare found from Skyscanner, can yield a better price by shifting the date.  So, for example, let’s say the lowest fare is €50 per person, round trip on RyanAir. I’ll pop over to the RyanAir website and play around with the flight until I get it just the way I want it for the price I want it. 
 
***Insider tip:  Be flexible with leaving early or arriving late for the best price. It’s a vacation, so there will be time to nap. Our family has flown three different times around 6:00 am and arrived after 10:00 pm, even on a school night. However, it can save us around €100 per person (maybe more, maybe less), that’s €500 for our whole family!  That’s nearly $570.  Saving money for 5 people is a big deal when we want to travel as much as possible!

We found tickets to the island of Sardinia for €71 per person, round trip, that’s $81.42.  I started researching the island and got very excited about this trip!! Sardinia is about 130 miles (210 km) long and 68 miles (110 km) wide. All of the pictures I found showed clear, blue water, beaches, gorgeous mountains.  This is a rather large island and I was overwhelmed when deciding where in the coast
line we should stay, so I received a recommendation by a fellow military spouse to stay at a town called San Teodoro (Saint Theodore). Milspouses are a font of information, especially spouses living in Europe.  One of the spouses in nearly every crowd will have already traveled to your future destination.....we constantly pump each other for travel info!
 
We flew into the northern portion of the island into Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport with only backpacks full of our weekend clothes.  The bus stop to get to San Teodoro was right outside of the airport. We decided not to rent a car because we wanted to relax in San Teodoro and unwind rather than try to tackle the entire island.  It took about an hour and a half for the bus to arrive. During this time, we stocked up on water and snacks and filled up our backpack cooler.  The bus ride took about 40 minutes and costs our family of 5 less than €15 because our youngest son was free.  Once we arrived, we had about a 20 minute walk to our reserved hotel room at Hotel La Rose.....having backpacks for this type of travel is ideal. It’s difficult to tote around a rolling luggage when crossing streets and walking along sidewalks.
 

​As a side plug for Hotel La Rose ....the location is PRIME.  We were within walking distance to the whole of San Teodoro’s shopping, restaurants, and a 10 minute walk from the beach. However, the hotel does not have the best reviews and we read them intently. We had already decided not to rent a car, so we kept that in mind when commencing the hotel search. The hotels with better reviews that we could find within our budget were not in close proximity to public transportation and once we discovered that we wanted to stay in San Teodoro, our options were limited even further.  We really did not want to stay at an Airbnb....we wanted the kids to be able to enjoy the pool and possibly make some friends. So, we knew going in that the lodging wasn’t going to be perfect, but we’re not hard to please. The air conditioning was cool, but not cold.  The refrigerator barely kept our food cold and the beds were uncomfortable. However, in all honesty, the hotel made up for this in atmosphere. There was a stage in front of the pool area and during the day, they had an entertainment show for kids, and every night they had a comedy show for adults.  These types of shows are translated to ‘Animation’ from Italian to English...I say this because if you ever travel to Italy and see that there is ‘animation,’ you will know that it’s some sort of entertainment show. There was a kids club during the day, the breakfast buffet was perfect, the hotel pool was the perfect temperature, and there were little playgrounds throughout the resort for the kids to play.  To top it all off, we had our own outdoor table, chairs, and stand for hanging our beach clothes and towels after the beach. Our teenager, Julian, even joined a group of teens and accompanied them to the beach. Julian had the time of his life, as did we all, but this has been his favorite location to date. He hung out at the resort or the beach with those teens for most of the weekend!!  

Aperitivo:
Now, before I go further.....I must tell you, one of my most FAVORITE things about Italy is the concept of Aperitivo.  Spain has their own version of this, as well, but the concept of aperitivo is genius!  So, before dinner, roughly between 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, is aperitivo time in Italy. Restaurants serve pre-dinner drinks to open your palate and give you a chance to socialize and relax. Having aperitivos in Italy is a wonderful cultural experience where you order a cocktail, a spritz, a glass of prosecco, beer or wine and it comes with little appetizers for free.  You heard that right....the snacks come with the drinks at no extra cost!!  The snacks can comprise of bruschetta, peanuts, chips, fried bread, and even more elaborate depending on the restaurant or bar.  Each restaurant varies.

​***The Aperitivo game in Sardinia is strong, my friends!!  We received marketing materials inviting us to aperitivo, dinner, and events at a place called Bal Harbour, among other places.  On our second day, we headed over around 6:00 pm, which is a bit early for Italy.  However, we all got dressed up and went with the kids, the time was ideal for us.
 
Bal Harbour is an excellent establishment. They played low, classy techno.  The bartender took his time with each drink and made them with love.....he even put a straw in and tested each drink to ensure it was perfecto.  My mojito was absolutely perfect. There is a large pool, tables, and plush couches for sitting.  The whole vibe of the place made us feel super fancy, so we took a bunch of pictures and it put us in a very relaxing mood to kick off the evening. It was expensive, but worth it, truly.  We did not eat dinner there, but I would recommend others to do so.  They make a Brazilian steak that comes on kabob sticks, wrapped in bacon, and they take a torch to the bacon on the outside of the steak to make it crispy.  It looked divine, but we already had reservations elsewhere!  

​Ambra Day is also an excellent place for aperitivos. Let me set the scenery for you.....quiet techno music, delicious cocktails with a plate of free appetizers, AND an entire section of the outdoor restaurant dedicated to kids with bounce houses, child caretakers, and tons of fun! Haha  It was €8 for a half hour for each of our kids, but they had an absolute blast and we got the chance to relax, kid free!!

​Pana Carasau
**Restaurants on the island of Sardinia serve a local specialty with lunch and dinner. It’s a type of bread called Pane Carasau.  This bread looks like a piece of paper and typically comes in a basket. It was different than typical Italian bread served at the dinner table and we enjoyed it! 
 
San Teodoro
**San Teodoro is classy. The crowd of people, the restaurants, the nighttime open market, and the shops are all very clean and beautiful. The town is small and very safe and is ideal for a relaxing family vacation. We discovered a restaurant called Sherdan Street Food, one night. The food was delish, prices were reasonable, and there was a gentlemen playing a Cuban bongo drum and singing in Spanish.  His singing wasn’t perfect, but we enjoyed the food and the show.  My mojito was 'okay.'  The service was excellent.  I recommend this restaurant for having something other than Italian food in San Teodoro.

Ferry to Tavolara Island
The ferry system in Porto San Paolo is inexpensive and the perfect way to tour Tavolara island. On our last day, our flight was not until evening, so we decided to take the public bus to Porto San Paolo and take a ferry across to tour the island of Tavolara. Porto San Paolo was on the way to the airport, so this worked out perfectly for us. After looking over all of the tours offered online and by our resort, we experienced some serious sticker shock.  Just to take a scheduled boat tour over to the island was €26 per person and didn’t include lunch, so we looked up the local ferry schedule and paid €16 per adult and €8 per child, round trip.  It was a comfortable and smooth 20 minute ride, each way.

Once we got off the bus and headed to the port, we got to see the town of Porto San Paolo, which is larger than San Teodoro. We thought it was a nice town and wouldn’t mind staying there on another trip, but San Teodoro really captured our hearts.

There are beautiful mountains and trails on the island. I highly recommend hiking around and relaxing at the beach. If I had it to do over again, I would have brought a cooler with lunch and drinks.  The prices at the two restaurants on the island are astronomical. They even charged me €4 for a small can of soda....robbery, I tell you!  
We also rented chairs and an umbrella for the day, since we didn’t have our hotel towels.  I don’t recall the price, but in Italy it’s typically €8 per chair and €8 per umbrella.  
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Final Thoughts
**Insider tip:  Try to do what you can to avoid visiting this location in August. August is Ferragosto for Italians, essentially it’s a month where all Italians go on vacation to the beach or the mountains.  August 15 is the actual Ferragosto holiday, but the entire month is a holiday for locals. The crowds will be insane if you travel here in August. June or July would be perfecto.
 
We finished out the trip with dark tans and were blissfully spent. Sardinia is a must see if you ever venture to Italy in the summer.  We would also stay at Hotel Le Rose again for entertainment, location, and ease.  It is our hope that they make some small changes or renovations to make the hotel a perfect stay before we return. We shall see! The memories of this place keep me warm as I write this post in November. We are so very blessed in this life......to be able to experience these things and see these places.  It is my honor to share it with you!  Until next time..

Next Blog Post:  Our Life in Italia....Beach, Boating, Downtown, Cooking, and More!
 

 

Oh Venezia!
What an island!  We walked the entire island over that three day weekend....that really was our only plan. The architecture, cleanliness, and charm of Venice cannot be denied. Nearly the whole of the island is cobblestone with little bridges linking you to different parts of the island. Venice is as picturesque as it gets, which you can see on my photos.  We went to the Piazza San Marco, St. Mark's Basilica, walked along the Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs, and took pictures every chance we had. We decided against a gondola ride. It was €80 for 40 minutes during the day and €100 for 40 minutes past 7:00pm.  I believe that this price was for up to 6 people on the gondola, so regardless if you have a party of 1 or 6, it's the same price. If we wanted the gondolier to sing to us, it was an extra charge. It was hotter than Hades out in June and we didn't want to ride during the day with the sun beating down on us, we also didn't want to spend the extra money for a night time ride. We decided against a ride and we don't regret it! I did, however, take incredible pictures of them and sigh at their beauty. 

***Insider Tip:  This city would not be very easy to navigate with a stroller, since it's cobblestone, and there are a lot of arched bridges.  I would recommend some sort of kid carrier or have your kids walk with you.  Our kids are old enough to walk.
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Venice is home to Carnivale (Mardi Gras), which is basically a festival full of balls and celebrations that end right before lent.  The Carnivale masks on display are very elaborate, and are all throughout the city. I've been to New Orleans and Venice's masks and representation of Carnivale are different. Both have their own beauty. I was entranced by the class and elaborate style of the Venetian masks. Our kids were, too. Right away, our little ones let us know that they wanted one of the robotic looking masks as their souvenir for the trip.  We made it a mission to check out every mask in Venice in order to find the right one for them. 
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The Island of Murano~Known Worldwide for Glass Blowing
On our second day, we decided to venture outside of Venice proper to see the island of Murano. We took the water taxi to the island, walked along the shops, purchased some souvenirs, and watched glass blowers in action. It was an incredible experience!  I had no idea how much detail and work went into blowing glass. The artwork created by these artists was astounding.  For souvenirs, there are items as small and inexpensive as cross necklaces for less than €10 and as grand as human sized statues and everywhere in between.  We went to Murano on a weekend, but we were told by locals that the best time to go to see the artists is during the week. So, keep this in mind. For a weekend, a few hours was plenty of time to see everything we wished to see without our kids knocking down any glass sculptures (Thank God!). There was also a small 'to-go' sandwich place along the main walkway with decently priced sandwiches that made an excellent lunch. 

Many tourists also venture to another island called Burano.  Burano is known for lace-making.  They make clothes and linens, among other things. However, my boys had zero interest in seeing this island, to include the lace. 

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​The World Cup
Experiencing the world cup in Europe is something that I did not realize I would love as much as I did. There were large TVs inside and outside of cafes all throughout the city. It was so much fun to sit there, surrounded by Europeans, and watch the games. We watched two in a row that weekend!  I've never gotten so into a professional sport in my life. I was hooked!  The spirit of Futbol in this part of the world is definitely something I'm grateful to have experienced.  Having three boys and a husband who have all played soccer, and my life as a soccer mom, made the experience even better because we were all into it.  In the states, not all of the games could be seen on our network and there just wasn't a big buzz about it. Having so many people, all over Venice, watching the games added to the atmosphere.

​Pictures just don’t do the beauty of this city justice. I highly recommend visiting Venice for a few days. I don’t believe the area needs much more than that to see just about everything. The city is quiet and clean, safe. My husband and I enjoyed a few glasses of wine sitting on a bridge, watching the city at night. Watching some tourists looking for their rooms in the dark, another group of tipsy tourists laughing and talking with Italian passion, and boats bringing goods for all of the restaurants, bars, and other venders for the next day’s business.  Looking at each other, we were so grateful to get to experience the moment.
 
The next afternoon, we jetted back to Napoli....hit full force with the smell of a city full of vehicles, crazy driving, horns honking, and we sighed. Venice was a lovely break, but we’ve learned to love the chaos that is Napoli. It’s already become a part of us.  Home Sweet Home.

#porratatribetravels #labellaitalia #venezia #venice #family #cheapeats #traveltips #watertaxi #pastatogo #murano #muranoglass #worldcup #europe

Next Post:  Sardegna (Sardinia), An Island to Rival the Caribbean Islands