croatia III: hvar

For me, hands down the best part about Hvar: the gorgeous, gorgeous islands off the coast. The second-best part of Hvar: the insanely gorgeous church directly on the waterfront path past the main part of town. The third-best part of Hvar: the salt-water pool and tasty breakfast with a view of the harbor. Korčula was a lot more our speed in terms of the overall town vibe/party atmosphere (as in, we were in Croatia for the gorgeous landscape and not so much for the party) but there's no mistaking that it's a beautiful part of the coast.

croatia II: korčula

           

Definitely my favorite of the three places we stayed in Croatia: Korčula town, on the island of Korčula. We booked a rental apartment for four nights (Apartments Karisima -- definitely recommended!) and enjoyed wandering around the old town, biking out to the two sandy beaches about 45 minutes away, and kayaking out to the island Badija with its fourteenth-century monastery. The area had this wonderful relaxed summer camp kind of vibe which I really enjoyed. Not sure how crowded it gets in the high season, but it was lovely while we were there. Plus we got to go to mass in the cathedral in the center of the old town -- going to church in foreign countries is always something I like (bongos and a guitar at a Catholic church in Rome! Easter at the American Episcopal Cathedral in Paris!) and this one did not disappoint. Oh, and the Marco Polo bakery by the harbor! We went there every morning we were in town and ordered variations on the same three pastries (one savory spinach and cheese, two sweet apple or cherry) and bought tiny americano coffees at the cafe next door and enjoyed the view of the Adriatic Sea. Even on the one morning it poured rain, we enjoyed hanging out under one of the umbrellas and watching the goings on in the town. Korčula is a winner.

sardinia IX: blue

Amazing blue sea and looking down on a tiny deserted beach that we drove down dirt roads to find. And with that we conclude our coverage of Sardinia (for this year's trip, anyway).

sardinia VIII: spiaggia della pelosa

More of my favorite aesthetic ever, brought to you by Spiaggia della Pelosa just north of Stintino, Sardinia in mid-July. Finding parking was crazy and those colorful umbrellas on the tiny strip of sand look pretty packed together, so we admired the colors from afar and chose two loungers and a blue umbrella at the less crowded beach up the way, which was across a narrow straight from an abandoned Spanish watchtower. We swam out into the straight and I explored the island while Stephen chased fish all through the underwater plants. We drank cans of Ichnusa beer that didn't stay cold for long (gotta love the Italian summer sun!) and ate a picnic lunch of cheese and bread and olive oil and were delighted about our lives.

sardinia VII: birthday beach II

Floating. Santa Teresa di Gallura.

sardinia VI: birthday beach I

This is where I spent (part of) my birthday: Santa Teresa di Gallura, on Sardinia's northwestern coast. We weren't really sure whether it would be nice or not, and in terms of the beach experience it wasn't necessarily the greatest -- crowded! as you can tell -- but in terms of my favorite aesthetic that ever was, a.k.a. tons of colorful beach chairs and brilliant blue water, it was the jackpot.

sardinia V: costa smeralda

The Costa Smeralda has some of the most stunning coastline I saw in Sardinia, but it's definitely a world of weird. An expensive world of weird. I'm a total convert to paying for loungers and umbrellas on the beach (after having tried it for the first time in Positano), but €50,- for a couple of spots on those nice cushy loungers you see in the first picture seemed a tiny bit extravagant. We rented the non-padded blue and yellow ones (way cheaper) and spent a few sunny hours refusing to buy pashminas/sunglasses/hats/assorted other knickknacks from the beach hawkers and then busted our way out of there for the open road.

sardinia IV: water

Three shots of the water on the Golfo di Orosei.

sardinia III: cala gonone & the golfo di orosei

     
Some shots from the two different days we did the Golfo di Orosei boat tour (separated by a day of hanging out at a beach to the north of Orosei & subsequently at the pool at Hotel Villa Gustui Maris, pictured above). We totally loved Villa Gustui Maris last year, so much that I reviewed it on Trip Advisor. Their breakfast is one of my favorite hotel breakfasts ever -- little individual silver coffee pots! fresh fruit! local Dorgali ricotta! eating on the patio overlooking the Golfo di Orosei! So great.