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At home: In a village in Sardinia

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You may remember that we had a nice evening with our British and German table neighbours at the restaurant the other night? They ended up inviting us to their village in Sardinia, and of course we didn't hesitate to accept such a nice invitation! In the middle of the day yesterday we packed up the motorhome and drove to Scano di Montiferro, not far from Bosa. Wow, what an experience!

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Asking around

We weaved FREEDOM through the narrow alleys of the small village, asking one fabroree after another until we found the tall house by the piazza with the fountain. Angelo and Hilary welcomed us into their four-storey house and offered champagne on the terrace.

Once the bottle was empty, we moved to the couple's German (he called himself "Bavarian") neighbour Ernesto - an eccentric but wonderfully hospitable man, who gave us an experience by opening up his magnificent home! And then we were treated to even more champagne... including a 1995 Dom Perignon!

Friskt och gott brunnsvatten vid piazzan - som komplement till all champagne...
Fresh and delicious well water at the piazza - to complement all the champagne...

In the highest house in the village - which is like a museum.

Ernesto lives in the highest house in the village - a five-storey house that is a complete museum. Ernesto is a collector, and the fascinating stuff fills the walls, floors, ceilings and staircases: ancient farming tools, porcelain, Roman statues, French tapestries, Märklin train tracks glazed all around the walls, stuffed animals, dusty champagne bottles throughout the basement, wines on their own floor, and catalogues with labels from previously uncorked champagne bottles.

Ernesto is a bit of an inventor too. He doesn't like plastic and has designed ingenious wooden solutions for everything from shutters to storing champagne bottles. And how about an outdoor shower and hot tub on the 4th floor terrace?

Angelo, Hilary, Peter och Ernesto på Ernestos terrass
Angelo, Hilary, Peter and Ernesto on Ernesto's terrace
Ernestos fantastiska terrass
The fantastic terrace
Ernestos f.d. husdjur i en burk
Ernesto's former pet in a jar

Dinner party

The afternoon grew late as we sat and talked and suddenly we were offered dinner, which we couldn't refuse! First we had to go shopping at the butcher and in the small local vegetable and spice shop.

None of the shops we would have found without a local guide - they are effectively hidden behind small 'secret' doors without a single sign. When you enter, you find locally produced vegetables and meat from pigs here on the island. Imagine being able to buy fresh produce that way!

Den lilla byn Scani di Montiferro - här döljs de små matbutikerna effektiv bakom "hemliga" dörrar
The small village of Scani di Montiferro - where the small food shops are effectively hidden behind 'secret' doors.
Enligt våra värdar var vi "troligtvis de första turisterna i byn någonsin"- självklart dokumenterade vi de charmiga gamla gränderna!
According to our hosts, we were "probably the first tourists in the village ever"- of course we documented the charming old alleys!

Fantastic wines

Once back, we were invited to Antipasto (lots of goodies) at Angelo and Hilary's house and then to dinner at Ernesto's house. Our fantastic dinner host really didn't waste any time!

Dressed in a chef's jacket and chef's hat, he poured absolutely fantastic red wines (French wines from 1994 that he dusted off!) and served tasty starter salads of courgettes and white cabbage, beer-marinated pork that had been left in the oven for a long time and thyme-spiced potatoes. Then there was a sorbet of strawberries, banana and 30-year-old grappa as well as orange and grappa. So, what an evening! We were completely speechless...

Italien, Sardinien, Bosa

Breakfast at the local bar

We slept well in our campervan on a small street in the village, and at 9am this morning we met our hosts again for breakfast at the local bar. In this village everyone knows each other and we kept stopping to talk to one and another. And the same at breakfast of course!

When it was time to leave, we got both zucchini (absolutely huge) and salad that Angelo and Hilary grow themselves and fresh Salsiccia that we bought from the butcher. Now we are back at the campsite and trying to digest all the impressions!

Frukost på den lokala baren/klubben i Scani di Montiferro
Breakfast at the local bar/club in Scani di Montiferro
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