Thursday was our last day in Sassari. The temperatures had dropped quite a bit, and the wind rose steadily as the hours went by.

We started with a quick walk up the other side of the valley. There's a viewpoint up at the top, but you can't actually see much from it... You get a better idea of Sassari's twixt-mountains-and-sea position on your way up:




We descended through streets that always seem to need a photograph:



We also spent some time in the Cathedral of San Nicola. No photos, as they're not allowed, but it's a beautiful, light-filled place, offering plenty to see as you make your way around the various chapels. There are some lovely old frescoes; a number of images that are obviously designed to be carried around in procession; relics of Santa Benedetta; and a sculpture of St Michael the Archangel doing away with the dragon by means of what looks very much like a kris...

And we toasted our north Sardinia experience with a bottle that hails from the very edges of Alghero:


By Thursday evening the wind was buffeting our fortunately very solid little house.

And it was still really evil when we got up on Friday. Rain now too. And just as we were heading up to the bakery to buy our picnic lunch, some particularly nasty weather god decided to HAIL on us... For goodness' sake...

We checked the Trenitalia website. No notifications of disruptions. So we set out for the station, still being pushed around by the wind. Luckily the rain had eased to drizzle.

We board the train:


And we wait... For quite a while. We're not sure what the problem was, but we set off 20 minutes late, and for a long time we went really, really slowly...

By the end of the journey, we were over 50 minutes late. But the weather was so foul that we'd been steeling ourselves for much worse outcomes, and were reasonably relieved.

And lunch was excellent: Panadas, and more of those aromatic pappassini:


The first part of the run down to Cagliari is very scenic. From the region of layered rock you move into an open, upland area full of sheep and grass and stones -- stony outcrops, stone walls, the odd stone tower. The windows of this train seemed particularly reflective, so it was difficult to take any pictures even in dull conditions. But at least these offer some pointers:







So then we walk to our accommodation. Up a hill, of course, in good Mediterranean style.

The Italian government recently introduced legislation banning self-check-in for holiday rental properties... Don't start me on this. We all know there are issues with holiday lets driving up rental prices for locals, and they need to be addressed. But knee-jerk idiocies like this are NOT going to fix that problem. They're just going to cause lots of aggro for hosts and guests alike.

As they did yesterday afternoon. We'd made arrangements to meet our hosts, only to have them all fouled up by a late train. Needlessly inconvenient for everyone.

Anyway, finally we're in. It's a nice little apartment (although our vast space and detached position in Sassari means we've had to do a bit of adjusting to adapt to a smaller layout and the presence of neighbours).










We have two nearby churches, and their bells are lovely:




So, we're now pretty much at the bottom end of Sardinia. This is the island's capital, and certainly feels busier than Sassari. And Christmas is nearly upon us. Another phase of the journey begins.