Alghero, Sardinia - with photos

I spent much of the second Saturday of our voyage, ashore in Northern Sardinia, exploring the picturesque, narrow streets of Alghero. With a population of just over 40,000 inhabitants, the town is the second largest settlement on the island, and overlooks a large and attractive bay, framed by a range of rocky hills. A transfer by tender, basically one of the ship's lifeboats, was necessary to reach dry land, as there are no berthing facilities in Alghero, for large vessels, such as the Queen Anne. Mrs PBT's didn't fancy stepping off the ship and then into a tender, that was gently bobbing about, so I left her on the ship and experienced 

The holiday I took in the Maldives, 21 years ago, stood me in good stead for this exercise, and with members of the ship's company to assist, the process was relatively straightforward. Each lifeboat can accommodate 150 passengers, although the tenders aren't normally filled to capacity for these "jolly boat" types of transfer. After stepping ashore in Alghero, I headed up the hill, into the old town, ignoring the larger, and more modern settlement to the right. I had been sent shopping by my good lady wife, who decided that as I hadn't bought enough T- shirts with me, I needed to buy some more. But where?

Fortunately I overheard a conversation between a couple from the cruise ship, and one of the locals, confirming that the clothes shop I'd seen earlier, was the place for keenly priced, and good quality clothing, for both sexes. OVS delivered on both fronts, so having made my purchases,  I looked around for somewhere that I could eat at, and also grab a beer.

I spotted an Australian couple we'd got to know on the ship, enjoying those very same things, under a series of shaded parasols occupying most of a square towards the top of a hill. They were just leaving, but gave me the thumbs up about this particular place. The typical Italian menu looked appealing, as well as moderately priced, so I grabbed a table and ordered myself a beer. Nothing local, or exciting, but a half litre mug of draft Peroni hit the spot. The spaghetti Bolognese, sprinkled with oodles of grated Parmesan cheese, and served up with local bread, satisfied my hunger on top of my thirst.

Afterwards, I treated myself to an ice cream, or should that be a Gelato? I've never quite grasped the difference between the two, but apparently it's got something to do with the fat content and the degree of churning that the finished product undergoes. I made a point of sampling a Gelato at most of the ports we stopped at, and they were all good. The one in the photo though, was taken on board Queen Anne, purely because it was easier to photograph.

I took a different route back to the quayside, walking along the raised walls that enclose the old city. The walls afford pleasant views across the harbour and out to sea. There was a lengthy queue for the tenders, although I managed to get a seat on the second boat back to the cruise ship.The return crossing was on the choppy side, and it was also rather warm onboard, but it was still an experience, and a most enjoyable day out, in a part of the world that few travelers, especially those from the UK, get to see.