Instead, we chose the Italian island of Sardinia, second largest in the Mediterranean (after Sicily and before Cyprus) and equidistant from the mainlands of Italy and North Africa. About 70 miles from North to South and 45 miles across.
When Emma began reading about the almost 1200 miles of coastline, the innumerable beautiful beaches, the relatively unspoiled mountainous interior and the intriguing mix of cultures and cuisine, she decided that it deserved three weeks. Sept. 26 to Oct. 17. NY-Rome-Cagliari.
Starting with three days in the southern capital of Cagliari and then driving generally clockwise around the island. Only the first three stops have been locked in with hotels, three nights in Cagliari, one night in Pula on the coast southwest of Cagliari and two nights in Carloforte, the main town on the island of San Pietro off the southwest coast of Sardinia. https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/jpkgey/this-tiny-sardinian-island-town-is-doing-nose-to-tail-tuna
A search for entertainment in Cagliari came up with what looks like a first-class opera performance - The Barber of Seville at the Teatro Lirico. http://www.hotelbaiadinora.com/en/appointment-to-the-opera-house-the-barber-of-seville/ So we have a dose of culture for our second night ( in the form I like best - comedy.)
(By coincidence, the hotel where we are staying on the fourth night seems to have the best English-language description of this non-traditional production.)
An enclave in the northwest of the island known as "Costa Smeralda" was developed by the Aga Khan and is supposedly super-lux but the rest is much more traditional and simple. King-size beds are not common. Sheep vastly outnumber humans. The mountain bandits are supposedly gone but a healthy anti-authoritarian attitude lives on. The relative underdevelopment of the island can be deduced from the fact it took Hertz 6 days to confirm a car with automatic transmission for us.
I am making a supreme effort to travel light which means no more than 20 sets of underwear, 20 tee shirts, two towels, six pants, 7 shirts, 2 shorts, three types of shoes, snorkel mask, umbrellas, computer, cellphone, related chargers, batteries, the usual toiletries and portable pharmacy, Swiss Army knife, repair tape, rubber bands and, of course, lots of articles printed from the internet about food and restaurants. See, for example, https://www.sardiniaunlimited.com/10-sardinian-top-dishes
It will probably be hard to find English spoken in the countryside. I expect to rely on the Italian I have gleaned from movies, mangled Spanish and, most importantly, the impressive abilities of Google Translate - which seems to be able to convert spoken English to audible Italian with reliability.
Good luck to us all!
