Not sure how the universe arranged for me to end up on my own in Porto Rafael near the Costa Esmeralda in north eastern Sardinia but I am grateful to have landed here. It is a unique community, well-loved and fiercely protected by its citizens. I was so enamoured with it that I extended my five day stay to seven and would have stayed longer had I been able to. Here is why.
Porto Rafael is beyond enchanting. It’s history tells the story of a man named Rafael Neville, a Spanish nobleman and artist, who in 1959 fell in love with the region and chose to develop it harmonizing architecture with the area’s natural beauty – showing immense respect for the environment.
The homes here blend into the landscape. They are hidden under weather-worn granite hills rounded from years of winds, or built so they are barely visible from the sea. Everything is in balance. Few buildings rise above the natural vegetation. This is what makes the area so peaceful, unique and full of character.
Look carefully in the photo above – those are homes bottom left!
In keeping with the residents desire to build a community that is safe, protects privacy, and maintains a quiet atmosphere there are no street names and few house numbers in the 150 hectares. Unbelievable! There are low stone walls, inviting wooden gates and stunning Bougainville everywhere.
There are only privately owned homes, one tiny market/deli, two bars (which are also coffee shops here in Italy) and three restaurants. Two of these restaurants are found in the piazzeta in the Punta Stroppello harbour along with two boutiques (rather high end) and a lovely jewellery store.
If you are in the community it is usually because you’ve been invited by one if its citizens. Or, as in my case, one of its citizens runs a B&B! My simple but perfect abode was tucked into the hillside on the edge of this peaceful harbour – down this rustic cobble stone walkway.
A very compact studio apartment yet it had everything I needed including a washing machine and a delightful patio that captured the morning sun for coffee and provided welcome shade in the evening for a glass of prosecco.
I was thrilled to find several small beaches within walking distance. I visited them everyday. Pristine beaches reflecting the communities commitment to protecting the environment. Several mornings and evenings I had them to myself but during the day I shared them with a handful of sunseekers.
The sand, the sun, the sound of the waves and the shimmering sea to slip into – stress melting moments these. The exact way that I had envisioned ending my three month adventure. My heart expands with the memory of such bliss. I definitely embraced “dreaming is living”.
After researching extensively I decided to take the four hour train from Florence to Salerno and then the Travelmar Ferry from Salerno into Positano. The train ride is nothing special but the hour and a half ferry ride up the coast to Positano is positively stunning with breath-taking vistas round every bend. And after listening to a dinner guest retell the agony of driving down the Amalfi coast with its appalling traffic I knew I had made the right choice.
If ever you are presented with the opportunity to visit Positano jump at the chance – only then will you truly understand what I am trying to share here.
Every block surrounding the Duomo, not a word of a lie, has at least two different bars/coffee/pastry shops, a gelato stop, several trattorias or bistros, and a restaurant or two. Just deciding where to eat, never mind what to eat, becomes an almost unsurmountable challenge.
I love that bars here are coffee stops during the morning and switch to serving liquor at night – makes perfect sense to me! And I say coffee stops rather than shops because coffee here is usually consumed standing at the bar – where you pay less money, down your shot of espresso and continue on your way in a matter of minutes. If you choose to sit and sip you often pay more for the luxury of a seat.
I’ve also learned that you order your coffee at the till, move down the bar to wait for it, then drink it before returning to the till to pay for it. I looked very much the foreigner the first time let me tell ya – ah, the nuances of protocol in a new country!
Food everywhere in Florence is so exceptionally delicious it’s dangerous to leave the apartment. My daily gelato is to die for, the Cafe Americano knocks my socks off, the pastry makes me want to weep and this all before noon – Mamma Mia!
Pizza here is an explosion of flavours! The ingredients are so fresh and the crust fat-edged to hold everything in yet thin in the centre. When drizzled with olive oil infused with herbs it reaches the ultimate in perfection – an experience not to be missed. What’s the bet this guy eats the whole thing?!
Paninis and baquette sandwiches are made with mouth-watering cheeses (often bufala which is my favourite), salami, sun ripened tomatoes, a bit of lettuce if you’re lucky and not a lot of sauces or mayonnaise because they aren’t needed. Artichokes and roasted eggplant are common ingredients as well. These open-faced options below are frequently my dinner.
A fabulous sandwich at my favourite stop, Accademia Cafe, is 4 euros while coffee and a scrumptious pastry is 2.50 euros. Can’t beat that! Needless to say they know my name now. Aldo, the owner, and I cobble together conversations in “Englitaliano” which is great fun and although I tell him I’m Canadian he still thinks I’m Swedish.
But better than street food is visiting the local markets to stock up on items to cook at home. Two favourites here are the Sant Ambrogio Market, predominantly visited by locals, and the more up-scale tourist market of San Lorenzo. Very different but each has its own delights.
Sant Ambrogio Market, a few blocks from the apartment I’m renting is one of the main reasons I choose this location. Wishing to live like a local and experience the local colour was a major criteria for my stay in Florence and this market doesn’t disappoint!
The market vendors are a friendly bunch who love their jobs and it shows. They chat away, joke with the locals, smile warmly and try to speak English or some other language with those who aren’t Italian. Their laughter pierces the din like a xylophone riff – it’s so infectious. They take time to make recommendations and ask questions. Buying a roast beef was a bit difficult since I non parlo Italiano and the butcher thought I wanted steak. So even with hand gestures and much pointing I still headed home with the fattest steak ever tucked under my arm. Ha – such fun!
The selection of cheeses, breads, salamis, pastries, and fresh pastas is almost overwhelming and choosing one over the other presents a major challenge and is the reason I always head home laden with more than I need. Everything is just too damn tempting and so ridiculously delicious it’s insane!
By contrast the scene at the San Lorenzo market is more up-scale and geared toward tourists – it has many delectable delights.
Huge truffles worth 300,000 euros come to mind and no, I did not misplace a zero.
The second floor of the San Lorenzo is strictly a fresh fast-food market with many quality choices and the opportunity to sit and sip a prosecco or glass of wine while watching the crazy throngs of tourists – entertainment in itself. 
My afternoon delight – one of many – love the place!
The cathedral bells announce a new day each morning and mark the end of the day each evening – there is something charming and other worldly about this – a sense of being transported back in time. The bells occasionally ring at other times throughout the day but it’s difficult to determine the significance. 
The whole “Centro Historico” is totally pedestrian which makes sauntering and shopping so civilized and enjoyable. Gathering places are important here so you find little squares/plazas all over the city where people sit and chat or have a cafe largo and some churros at a street cafe while watching the world go by – maybe even two plates of churros:) And if you forget how to properly order a coffee here, no worries, there is a tile on the wall outside the cafe with the guidelines. There is a real sense of community reflected in these gathering places.
The city feels very safe, even late at night and crime isn’t rampant. As a single woman this is something I appreciate and it enhances the quality of my time spent here. Tapas bars are open until the wee hours of the morning and on the weekends the streets are full of people traipsing home at 2:30am perhaps wandering home from watching a flamenco show like the one I saw below.
With two weeks ahead of me I wonder what other discoveries will endear me to this place called Malaga – this place that is already beginning to feel like home.
tripsandtrappings 