Sardinia: A Mediterranean Beauty

Sardinia lies to the west of Italy and the south of France and it's about as close to Italy as it is to the north coast of Africa, which probably helps to explain its beautiful climate when we visited. During the summer months, temperatures range between 70*F and 80*F with almost no rainfall, but surprisingly, in the winter, it can dip down to the low 40s.

Before heading there on Disney's inaugural cruise around the Mediterranean in 2007, I'd heard from friends that we would be wowed by this island. It was somewhere that I hadn't really come across before, so I took their reports with a small pinch of salt. Let's just say when we got home, I was just as enthusiastic as they were about the beauty of this place.

Sardinia's history goes back thousands of years and, like much of Europe, the Romans ruled here, as did the Spanish, who were in charge for more than 300 years, before passing it to the Austrians. Eventually the island became an autonomous region of Italy, which is how it remains to this day. However, it's about as different to the mainland as it's possible to be. The pace of life here is much more laid back and the frenetic driving that we've witnessed all too often in other parts of Italy didn't seem to be as evident here. One thing that was fortunately very evident were the wonderful gelaterias, serving the ice creams that Italy is famous for.

On our shore excursion, we headed to the north of the island, otherwise known as Costa Smeralda. This was an area created by a group of financiers in the 1960s and today remains home to a number of , well-known European celebrities. On our bus ride through this area our guide pointed out a number of villas, all set well back from the roads that were the homes for famous names.

This is the scenery that instantly comes to mind when you think of Italy -- stunning mountains behind picturesque villages with beautiful houses and villas, many with bougainvillea in full bloom crawling all over the buildings. It was a breathtaking sight and it's the sort of place you dream of heading to for a break away from everything.