Final Port - Sardinia

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Our last stop is the island of Sardinia and Porto Cervo. Sardinia is an island a little larger than Corsica, but not as strategic in terms of location and therefore not as populous. It is full of hidden coves, craggy mountains, isolated villages and jet-set resorts all fit neatly into an area that can be crossed by a car in a day.

Porto Cervo is the ultimate of these jet-setting resorts and is truly the home of the rich and famous. Only private yachts are allowed to dock in the port. We had to anchor in Poltu Quato and take a bus to Porto Cervo. Furthermore, the bus is not even allowed to stop in the main resort area. It can only drop off passengers in a parking lot reserved for the hired help. We had to walk about half a mile to get to the rich and famous. It turns out they weren’t really there yet as they generally charter their yachts to wannabes (paying $250,000 a week for 10 passengers) to get them warmed up for the prime season of late July and August.

This port really looks a lot like Southern California. It was purchased and built built in the 1960’s by the Aga Kahn as a gift for his wife, Rita Hayworth (Kelly reminded me that there was always more I could do for her). It is all constructed to look like native architecture, but instead of being hundreds or thousands of years old like some of the ports, it is about 40. All of the stores are outlets for the most exclusive and chic brands in the world. There were few people there and the shop managers did not seem to care. I guess they make all their money in prime season.

Believe it or not, the only thing we bought was a pair of fingernail clips. While Kelly can compete in Olympic shopping and challenge for medals, even she has her limits and after a week of strenuous purchasing, this place was too much for her. We did find a great Italian bakery with some wonderful chocolates when we walked around behind the port in between the various resorts.

After leaving Sardinia, we began our journey back to Rome the La Maddalena Archipelago, a nature preserve of sorts that goes on for miles. The scenery was (of course) beautiful and a nice way to wind up the last day of the cruise. The crew threw it final party, the famous champagne and caviar splash and all the guest hung out around the pool, listened to party music and got doused with fizzing champagne. You can see a bit of the party in the pictures below.

We shared our last meal on board with our friends Steve and Pat from Chatanooga (actually Soddy Daisy) Tennessee and Bud and Terry from Newport Beach who I have mentioned before. After a fabulous dinner, the crew surprised us with an anniversary cake baked by the pastry chef (not exactly a Sam’s special). This one was so good that even Kelly, with her pedestrian taste buds (that prefer twinkies and ding dongs) loved it.

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