An unexpected accordion player greeted me at the cortas apertas in Tonara, Sardinia. He was kind in allowing me to photograph him while he played melodic tunes on his grandfather’s old musical instrument.
This is my response to the weekly photo challenge: unexpected.
Has anything unexpected happened to you lately?
This weeks weekly photo challenge is habit, and there is no better place in the world where the people still abide by the same habits or rituals as they did hundreds of years ago, like they do here in Sardinia.
This hard-working man from Tonara is making a wooden platter in the shape of Sardinia to sell or give away as gifts to friends. For millenia the islanders have used natural resources from the surrounding area to make stunning hand-crafted items that will last a lifetime.
This is my response to the weekly photo challenge: habit.
A short video of the Mamuthones from Mamoiada at the Tappas in Mamujada. My video taking skills aren’t the best and I wasn’t in the best place to capture the Issohadores. Here’s a little sneak peek into the mysterious Mamuthones.
The mystical Mamuthones from Mamoiada have always stirred my soul and made me question the origin of their existence. I have attended festivals in Sassari and Olbia where the Mamuthones preformed before the inquisitive public, but I had never witnessed their ritual dance in their town, on their turf, until this past Sunday when I attended Tappas in Mamujada. There is something so raw and connected to nature in their dance that pulls me in, curious, wanting to know more. So I went searching …
Mural in Mamoiada
The Mamuthone legacy is shrouded in secrecy Continue reading
Casu Marzu is eerie, very, very eerie. It’s a pungent cheese made from sheep milk and is left outside, uncovered, to rot. Tiny cheese flies infest the cheesy block and lay their off-spring, billions of small transparent maggots. The larvae feed on the cheese, thus causing fermentation and allowing the casu marzu to fully decompose into an eerie, stinky, creamy and highly sought after delicacy from the mountains of Sardinia. The moment I saw the sign above the door I knew what I had to do. Continue reading
Sardinia, Italy is a magical island filled with mysterious charm that is proud to show an infinite detail to each costume representing each town on the island. The island women have for centuries hand stitched their stunning traditional garb to the finest deep detail. Follow me on a photo montage of Sardinia’s traditional costume from Tonara.
This is my response to two photo challenges:
Travel Theme: Deep
Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite
Click on any of the links above to join in the fun.
Torrone from Tonara is Sardinia’s supreme sweet; made exclusively with local honey, egg whites and almonds. It is the first-rate nougat bar that the islanders reach for to satisfy their sweet tooth. Every corner of the island knows the best torrone comes from Tonara.
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to drive 200 kilometers to the heart of Sardinia. I roamed ancient streets and grazed on the abundant world-class torrone as locals busied themselves preparing the longest torrone in Sardinia, and they did it! 200 glorious meters stretched and curved along the streets of Tonara.
Traditionally torrone was hand mixed using a long wooden rod and taking up to three hours for the ingredients to harden. Today, machines have taken the place of hard labor but the result is still the same – a lasting sweetness that you can only find in Sardinia’s heart.
I caught the bus early Saturday morning to meet up with a friend in Sassari. We filled the car with an expensive tank of gas and headed south down SS131 towards the elusive province of Barbagia in the heart of Sardinia. We headed to an ‘open-house’ in the ancient neighbourhood of Toneri, Tonara in the province of Nuoro.
It is here, in the heart of Sardinia, where you can immerse yourself in a world of historical flavours, ancient traditions, narrow alleyways and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. It’s also here where they make the world-famous torrone but I’m saving that juicy, delicious bit for another post.
A fabulous post on why you should visit Alghero, Sardinia by one of my favourite bloggers in Italy.
What can I say about the beautiful Italian island town of Alghero? I will admit, upon walking around at first sight – we didn’t feel like we were in Italy. It almost felt like a mish-mash of Spain, Italy and Morocco. Colorful facades, an almost derelict elegance – all complete with beautiful sea views from any given angle. I instantly loved this ancient fishing town that is only a 40 minute Ryanair flight from Pisa.
This town has a Catalonian feel – not by coincidence of course, it was taken over by the House of Aragon in the 1300’s to be renamed ‘Barcelonetta’. It remained under their control until the 1700’s when the powerful Italian Savoy family took over. Fortified walls line the sea along with huge catapults located at various corners to scare away invaders from the sea. The owner of the B&B we stayed at told us that…
View original post 767 more words
Here it is folks – the who, what, where and when of summer 2013 in Sardinia, Italy. Concerts, culture, food festivals, jazz festivals, cinema and much, much more! For the first time in five and a half years, I have seen something that gets me so excited that I want to do cartwheels, back-flips and scream from the top of Gennargentu. Never in the almost 6 years that I have lived in Sardinia have I seen something so organized, articulate and thorough! I would like to personally thank the ingenious people at SardegnaEventi24.it for putting together such an elaborate and informative map listing all events in Sardinia for summer 2013.
Now you can have your very own event map! Complete with listings for every town and city in Sardinia. Print it, save it, carry it in your back pocket but whatever you do, be sure to download it – it’s super FREE.
To download your FREE event guide for Sardinia Summer 2013 please visit this link: Il Foglio di Sardegna Eventi; tell them I sent you!
So many wonderful events and so little time. Which event(s) will you be going to?
My Sardinian Life 