July was one of the biggest months I’ve had in a long time. Travels in three countries, tons of summer fun, good times with friends all over the place.
And the biggest thing…Charlie I got engaged! The whole story is on my annual birthday post , which I published last week.
But let’s get on to this month — a month that began in Sardinia, moved overland to Lake Como, drove back to Prague, and got in a cheeky weekend to London as well.
Summertime in San Teodoro, Sardinia
Destinations Visited
Alghero, Stintino, Sassari, San Teodoro, Golfo Aranci, Capo Coda Cavallo, Tavolara, Olbia, Lecco, Bellagio, and Varenna, Italy
Prague, Czech Republic
London and Coulsdon, UK
Celebrating with Charlie’s family in the UK. Photo by his sister Jo.
Highlights
Getting engaged to Charlie in Lake Como will forever be the highlight of the month! The proposal was wonderful, it took place in a garden in Bellagio, and nope, it was not a surprise. (Who surprises someone with an engagement?! That seems crazy, in my opinion.)
We celebrated at a wine bar with a tagliere of meat and cheese, and glasses of Franciacorta (our favorite Italian sparkling white wine) followed by Barolo (my favorite red) and Amarone (his favorite red) and a boat ride to lovely Varenna for the evening.
Lots of fun in Sardinia. We began the month arriving in Alghero, a funky Spanish city on the northwest coast of the island where a lot of people still speak Catalan! While it’s a very touristy city, I found it to be the most interesting place we visited in Sardinia.
The highlight of Sardinia for us was our sailing trip off Alghero . The boat was one of the nicest small sailboats I’ve ever been on; Captain Andrea was a great leader and served us a delicious lunch; there were about 12 people on board, which was perfect; we sailed to beautiful coves and went swimming. Just an awesome chilled out day.
We also visited La Pelosa beach in Stintino, famously one of the nicest beaches in all of Italy. It was beautiful with shallow water that went out so far — though extremely crowded! (Know that you need to book a spot on the beach in advance, as they limit visitors. It’s pretty cheap, I think 3.50 EUR per person, but do it early.)
Next we headed to San Teodoro for a few days, which feels like a popular Italian holiday town, and has gorgeous beaches. One day we had a full proper beach day with chairs (such an indulgence!) on La Cinta beach, which I thought was even better than La Pelosa. Another day we booked a scooter snorkeling experience in nearby Golfo Aranci, and for our final day we took a zodiac boat trip to Molara and Tavolara islands.
A return to the mountains. We took the overnight ferry back to Genoa and drove to Lake Como, about two hours away. In the town of Lecco we took a cable car up to the Piani d’Erna, on top of mountains where you can hike and explore. It was 10 degrees cooler — so wonderful after roasting in Sardinia!
I think this year we are realizing that we’re more mountain people than beach people.
After a night in Lake Como, we drove back to Prague: a nine-hour journey. Oh, and the McRib is BACK in Germany!
Floating past Varenna, Lake Como, at Golden Hour.
More good times in Prague. Reuniting with my kitties is always a highlight of the month! Man, three weeks is a long time to leave them, even though they love their sitter.
We spent time with friends, hit up some food festivals, finally tried the cheap business lunch at the Four Seasons (excellent). And Charlie and I began researching wedding venues in earnest.
And this month we started swimming! There are a few cheap indoor swimming pools near us and we swam for nearly an hour for about $2.50 each.
A lovely long weekend in London. Charlie and I visited for a family birthday party, and it was so nice to see all of them at once (especially after COVID wrecked our Christmas gathering!).
I tend to do a lot of the same things every time I go to London, so this time I was determined to break out of my routine a bit. Charlie and I went to see The Tempest at the Globe Theatre, which was such a funny and original production. (Pro tip: pull up the play on your phone to follow along. It’s not a faux pas here like it usually is at shows, and they keep the seating areas illuminated.)
Charlie and I also went to Dans le Noir, an experience where you dine in complete darkness. Definitely a unique thing to try once! We also visited the V&A Museum and its Fashioning Masculinity exhibit. I was delighted to see Billy Porter’s famous tux gown on display.
Another day, my friend Dylan and I went to the Peter Pan-themed afternoon tea at the Shard, which was so fun and I highly recommend for a unique afternoon tea in London. We ended the weekend with a pub meetup with some of our London friends.
Stuck on the side of the highway! Fun times.
Challenges
The single worst moment of the trip was when we were driving from Alghero to Stintino. Most of the interior or Sardinia is extremely rural, and we drove past endless dry yellow fields. Then I caught a whiff. “Is that garbage?” I asked.
Then we were SMACKED in the face with the most putrid garbage scent I’ve ever experienced. We saw a dump truck unloading garbage — the road between the two most popular destinations in northwest Sardinia literally takes you past a dump. It was close to 100 degrees out (38 C). Imagine hot, boiling garbage invading your nose, your mouth, the pores of your skin.
I feel a tremendous amount of sympathy for anyone who has to work in those awful conditions.
Charlie got stung by a jellyfish on our sailing trip in Alghero. Alghero has some jellyfish-rich spots that can usually be avoided, but even in a low jellyfish area, Charlie got stung on the chest.
Luckily there was no need for anyone to pee on anyone — Captain Andrea had some sting remedies available.
(Since this happened, a new mural has gone up in our neighborhood in Prague — a mural of JELLYFISH! Charlie was miffed. I couldn’t stop laughing.)
We got a flat tire — then another. We were leaving Alghero on a Sunday and were planning to visit Bosa, stay in an agriturismo in the interior for the night, then head to San Teodoro the next day. Well, the tire began ker-thumping as soon as we left the property.
Here’s a tip: do not break down in Italy on a Sunday. And if it’s rural Italy on a Sunday, GOOD LUCK!!
Our agriturismo called local mechanics, who came to check it out, but apparently Charlie’s car has an unusual tire size and they didn’t have one that would fit. All they could do was patch the tire. And of course this process took five hours, during which we worked at our agriturismo. The owners very kindly made us some carbonara, even though they don’t usually serve lunch.
Five hours later (our agriturismo guy was yelling at them — YOU WENT TO LUNCH? How long were you at lunch??), the mechanics returned with a patched tire. We eagerly got back on the road.
15 minutes later on the highway, ker-thump ker-thump ker-thump. AGAIN. Five hours and that patch did nothing!! We contacted the agriturismo, who contacted the mechanics, and they drove out and met us. They offered to tow us to Sassari and the tire would be repaired first thing Monday morning.
Sassari is a bit of a gritty city with limited touristic appeal, but we actually had a great night there! We stayed in a fantastic little guesthouse called Album Boutique Rooms, just a wonderful modern oasis that feels luxurious but is actually pretty cheap. (The owner plans to expand to Alghero in the future and once that’s there, it will be THE PLACE to stay in Alghero!) We had great pizza at La Nicchia and excellent gelato at Naturalia.
The next morning, the tire was fixed very well, and we were told it would get us safely back to Prague. Since getting back, Charlie has had the tire replaced.
One wedding venue we checked out has THIS view.
Blog Posts of the Month
27 Things to Do in Rockport, MA, a Coastal Beauty — Rockport is a town where I’ve been going forever, and it has so much of the quintessential New England charm that visitors come here to experience. You should visit it (and more of the North Shore!).
Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at the Shard in London
This Month on Patreon
On the Adventurous Kate Patreon , I publish exclusive content and never-told stories that you can access for $6 per month. We also have a private Facebook group and members get free access to the Book Club each month.
This month’s big post was about my Dans le Noir experience in London — the entire evening dining in the dark, being surrounded by strangers, having no idea what you’re eating, no idea even how to pour yourself a glass of water. It was a really interesting experience!
I also wrote a big update on where New Hampshire Way is now. More on that a bit below. My Patreon people have been the only ones who have known about my New Hampshire site over the past year.
Oh, and my Patreon people found out about the engagement before anyone else.
