Sardinia Day 2: Cagliari, Iglesias, Nebida

Our second day of Sardinia adventure was the most serious one in terms of distance travelled, as we drove to the south of the island to see two cities and a natural resort. We started with Cagliari, a big city build around a citadel on a hill. The real reason behind it was probably defence system but years later tourist benefit a lot from this solution by having a picture-postcard view on the city.

We started our tour by the citadel from where we wandered down through narrow streets to Torre dell'Elefante which is a defence tower elevating over the city. Between we stopped for a coffe (Italy, right?) and popped in a couple of churches and a basilica. The city seemed quiet and ancient. The mood was Roman-like.

There are a couple of defense towers scattered all over the city, we chose the one in the centre that would give us a 360° glance around. 

From there we did a short walk on cobblestone streets around the city to reach the remains of Roman amphiteatre and back to the car.

Our next destination was Iglesias - a historic town with no sea line. The description in the guide said it was a city that bubbles in summer and slumbers in colder months. I'd say it was more of a coma than a nap but OK :) We had additional bad luck since we reached it during siesta time so not only there were no people but also everything was closed. So we had no other choice than to wander around super narrow, dark and shabby alleys without any other entertainment than our own presence.

We somehow managed to free ourselves from the labyrinth of the lanes and got to the castle. Or what's left of it... A short walk up the hill through bushes and we were able to see the ruins.

To sum our trip to Iglesias - it didn't stand up to to my expectations but to give it its justice, I guess in the high season it would have been way better.  But the next place truly wowed us. Only a couple of minutes away from Iglesias, Nebida is the place to see. Mesmerizing views from a panoramic viewing point above the cliff and a mighty Scoglio Pan di Zucchero (Sugarloaf Rock) standing out from the sea make this place truly special. Restless water, white, yeasty waves, dull and overwhelming clouds - it all contributed to the mood of awe and respect to the nature. We all felt like hipnotized by the charm of this place. See yourself.