Monday, January 21, 2008

Prossima fermata: Sardegna

Since I have been gainfully employed of late, I haven't had much time for doing things of much interest to the general public (or even the specific public, really).  I apologize for that.  TASM without TA is but SM: just another boring expatriate.


It's hard to find Adventure around here, especially in winter, so we've decided to take a holiday to Sardinia in a few weeks.  (You all understood that use of "holiday," didn't you?  Cheeky Brit is spreading the rumor that Americans are so small-minded, they can't even figure out what that means. Rumor dismantled.)  Sardinia, in case it's been a while since social studies and it didn't come up on the geography quiz, is the large non-Sicily island off Italy, near Corsica.  We will fly directly from Milano to Cagliari, Sardinia's capital.

The weather should be pleasant and mild, but it's not exactly tourist season, so we're expecting it to be quiet -- hopefully just us and some locals! Over the course of history, a good number of developing civilizations have found Sardinia's location just too temptingly strategic, so it has an understandably chaotic political history and a diverse and fascinating culture.  Though Italian is used for most official purposes, the Sardinian language is apparently very closely related to Latin. Neat. 

I believe we will keep busy eating, hiking, hunting up some music, and checking out archeological sites.  Though I'm not sure how/if my Italian will support me in the venture, I hope to find a way to check out the sheep-herding/cheese-making process there.  Agritourism, you know, is all the rage for city slickers who like to pretend they've discovered a place and aren't so very removed from nature after all.  (I am not party to this trend, of course, which allows me to make salient observations as such from a safe distance.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh nice, Sardinia is supposed to be beautiful (it's on our list of places to see :-)

Anonymous said...

rummy here - swiss ms. this all sounds very relaxing. i'm sure the rigors of early retirement are tough on one's nerves... frazzled i'm sure you are.
your british acquaintance sounds very annoying. it must be frustration and envy about that pesky revolution creeping up again..? never trust a 'red-coat'!

Anonymous said...

Somehow I missed the part about what your gainful employment is. Someone (let's call her Italian Knee) mentioned to me an idea of what it might be, but I am suddenly seized by the fear that a direct reference to how Swiss Ms. earns her keep might violate the unspoken code of secrecy and privacy protection on this blog.

Swiss Ms. said...

Jenicrob, you are correct: Releasing the details of my employment to the general public would greatly compromise the image that I've spend so long cultivating.