Sardinia — Your day in paradise

[by Asisa] When you wake up in paradise, everything is coloured in a softly glittering, golden tone. An early bird texture. You open your eyes and understand: This is how you felt when you were a child: Deeply relaxed, after a good night’s sleep, purified, with mellow, relaxed muscles, happy and calm. Ready to embrace the day.

When you leave your bed in paradise, you first take a deep long breath at the open window. It is still early in the morning. You see nothing but the greenery surrounding the sweet hotel you just spent your first night. You enjoy the fresh air. There is a nice breeze and no sounds except a couple of chirping crickets. You feel a tickling joy flowing through your entire body.

You take a shower. The water is soft and clean, caressing your skin and making your hair shine. Your first look into the mirror is reflecting the boosted colour of your eyes. You hop into a dress and your sandals and leave your room.

Downstairs you hear nothing but the gentle mix of rustling trees and the discreet diligence of a woman preparing coffee.  „Buon giorno!“ The woman is the owner of this little hotel. Her name is Renata. She smiles at you and you smile back at her. Then you walk into the garden and take a seat under the pergola.

You inhale the irresistible scent of fresh coffee, mixed with the  promising heat of the day.  Your breakfast is served. You enjoy it to the fullest. The coffee melts the last bits of sleepiness away – sip by sip – breath by breath and smile by smile over the beauty of the pretty garden.

Before you leave the hotel, you make a cross on a blackboard next to your preferred dish you will enjoy for dinner. Divine meals, who endow the words „reduced to the max“ and „purity“ their real significance. Cooked by a man, who turns the organic ingredients of his cuisine into a magic concert of blissful delight. His name is Piero. Renata’s husband.

Piero and Renata discussing the meals of the following day.

On your way to the beach you walk through the sweet and lush garden of the hotel.

Then you cross a little street and enter a quiet alley. For 15 – 20 minutes you walk along this alley next to a river. If you want to, you can rent a bike from Renata. During your ride nothing will distract you except for the wonderful colours, the gigantic mountains and the quiet ripple of the sweet water on your left with savage animals playing around. I kid you not, my friend. Freaking Flamingos. Not on that day. But they are there, the flamingos.

And then, during this walk, all of a sudden, you feel your body changing. You feel things going on in your system that starts cooking out the juices from the city. The cleansing process has begun.  A process that will guide you back to yourself. You breathe in the clean air, and breathe out the dirt, tension, worries and nervousness. Breathe in, and out. With every breath you feel a growing feel of calm contentedness.

After 20 minutes of walking along this quiet alley, you arrive at your core destination:

It’s insane, I know. All pictures were taken in September. Temperature was constantly around 25 degrees.

The more tired you are the more probably you will feel the urge to cry now. With all this stunning beauty in front of you. Freedom, liberty, peace. QUIET. No obligations whatsoever. No stupid distraction. No noise. Nothing but pulchritude.

You cross a little bridge across the sweet water to the beach and continue your walk looking for the perfect spot.

You will find your spot very quickly.

You breathe in the salty and purifying air of Sardinia and lie down on your rag. You feel the warm sand underneath you and the earth carrying you. You finally feel ground. Grounded. Connected.

You finally feel you are where you are.

In the next coming hours you will be busy …

Lying in the sun on your back
Lying in the sun on your tummy
Lying in the sun on your side
Grabbing a bottle of water and drink
Standing up, walk to the clear blue water and swim
Go back on your towel to lie in the sun
Listen to some freaking good music on your phone
Grab your sandwich and enjoy it under the umbrella you got from Renata
Decide to take a nap under the umbrella
Fall asleep
Wake up
Have some fruit and water
Take another swim
Go back on your rag to lie in the sun
Get up, walk a bit and have a coffee or a tea or whatever in the little bar
You will be very happy to see nobody else but a few people from the village having a coffee too
Get back to your rag
Drink more water
Read a nice book
Put away the book
Decide to grab sand in your hand and let it rinse
Grab more sand and start cheering of joy
And then you are perfectly fine doing nothing at all.
…

Your perspective when you lie on your back will be this one:

Not filter, bitches.

Your perspective short before your nap will be this one:

Your perspective when you look behind you will be this one:

Your perspective when you look to the left will be this one:

Your perspective when you look to the right will be this one:

And your overall feeling will be this one:

Eima in the sun, not wearing any protection, stupid girl.

Eima in the water:

Eima underwater:

And then, after hours and hours you totally didn’t feel passing, you realize the day is ending …

… and you really really really don’t want to leave, because you feel so so so so happy. Happy and light, sexy and energized.

It sounds cheesy. But there really is no bigger happiness imaginable here and now. Whatever that magic is — you will feel it and never forget it.

You pack your things and take some pictures from the beautiful sea:

On your way back to the hotel you get lost a bit, because there are so many beautiful ambrosial flowers (jasmine EVERYWHERE!) and houses and things to watch.

And you think, hey, why not take a detour through the little village with my bikey!

And again you are amazed because Italians do it better. Everything. Also the parking.

Then you buy this gorgeous beautiful bag: The handmade, indestructible traditional leather bag of the Sardinian sheepherders.

Or a pair of indestructible hiking shoes, also from the sheepherders. Everything is handmade and exquisite. And affordable. You would pay 5 times as much in your city but then for way less quality.

And then finally you decide it is really time to go back home. You remember the cross you made on the blackboard this morning. Sardinian specialities and Italian classics like fresh pasta, salads, veggies, seafood, meats, vegetarian dishes and deserts are waiting for you! You hurry passing this sweet little church.

When you arrive, you will see the other people staying at the hotel but you won’t be bothered. This paradise is a secret place and stays a secrete place, because only people like you want to go there. Because only you and your fellow mates love pure and uncompromising, dramatically fundamental, ’simple‘ beauty.

Here are your fellow animals. Laid-back, sexy, and sweet.

You go to your room. After your shower you lie down a bit on your pretty bed. Just because you still didnt lie down enough today. Just because it is so nice to feel your clean, warm and tanned skin on the fresh white sheets. What a bliss. Then you put on a dress, go downstairs and wait for your dinner. You sit in the garden finishing un aperitivo and enjoying some pane carasau with Sardinian olive oil and make a note in your holiday diary: MUST buy this olive before I leave!

Then you start your dinner with your first dish …

… continuing with your second dish …

… #nomnomnom …

After your three course dinner you might wanna talk a bit with one of your fellow animals. Or just be with yourself and have a little night stroll along the alley or grab a bike and ride to one of the two little villages around you. You enjoy another glass of the absolutely delicious wines of Sardinia.

Finally you go to bed. Early but happy and satisfied. You sleep tight like a baby until you open your eyes to another sunny, beautiful, and exquisite day. And another one. And another one …

When you leave paradise, you will feel a stitch in your heart together with the scent of the macchie growing all over the isle. You will be infected for the rest of your life, dear fellow animal. And you won’t regret it.

Yes please — I want to go!

UPDATE September 2015: Since I wrote this blogpost in 2012 the hotel moved to a new spot in Sardina. It’s barely imaginable, but the new spot is even MORE beautiful. On top of all of the things mentioned it has a pool, is bigger, and comes with plenty of more additional features.

The website still looks a bit odd and will be relaunched soon. Call 0039-(0)784 812030 or 0039-(0)348 0807504, ask for Renata and say „Hi, I am exhausted and need some rest. I read the blogpost of your friend Asisa and cannot wait to book my holidays and dive into paradise. „

She will laugh and tell you, that I exaggerated. Don’t believe her a word.

Happy holidays!