This weekend has proved to be yet another weekend of
balanced fun and relaxation. Saturday morning we had off and Erika, Lauren, and
I enjoyed a walk around the city. Along the way we stumbled upon a flea market
with a bunch of small vendors. I found some really cool jewelry embedded with
fibers from Sardinian cactus. Lauren found a shop where an artist was painting
and selling his work. It was fun to talk with him for a while and see his
paintings of the always beautiful Sardinia (if only I could carry around a full
sized painting with me on my travels, or afford said full sized painting). We
also passed churches I had yet to visit. Each church here has had such a unique
beautiful front (these featured impressive stained glass windows and an interesting
geometric sculpture). That evening we climbed Sella del Diavolo. Each view of
Cagliari from above seems more and more impressive.
Today Erika and I explored the cemetery in the morning. The
cemetery grounds were huge. It was the kind of place you could discuss death
without being sad, the beauty of the graves and the care given to each grave
was calming in a way. This evening was a completely different experience. It
still surprises me the extent of the graciousness of strangers in Sardinia is.
We were immediately offered (perhaps more forced) copious amounts of food and
drink upon our arrival in Orroli. While I’ve been aware of how clear it is that
I’m not Italian before, this night felt particularly so. The towns gathering to
celebrate Sagra di Santa Caterina showed us typical Sardinian dress, dance, and
music. It was crazy to see that each family slept on top of their “float”
pulled by tractor. The floats were gorgeous with hand sewn carpets and lace
covering the sides and top. It was fun to see and experience so much in one
night.
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