Cruising the Med – Oblia by Chris

This may be the one stop on the trip that you’ve never heard of. Sandwiched between Naples and Rome, Olbia is a side trip to the island of Sardinia. It’s the closest you’ll get to a day in the country on this trip without renting your own car and driving off on your own for the day (which is possible).

We decided to take Olbia as a rest day. In retrospect, I wish I had stuck with my original decision and done the kayaking trip, but my day wandering the town was quite enjoyable none-the less.

I woke up to the sight of the competition parked across the pier from us. A cruise ship with a Giant “MOBY” on the side, along with Tweety, Sylvester, Bugs, Daffy, and Taz.

Turns out that Moby is one of the large Italian Ferry companies servicing central to northern Italy. The Fantasy, (along with its 15 or so sister ships including the Moby Magic) cruises between the ports of Sardinia, Corsica, and the mainland of northern and central Itally.

Also out on the pier was a welcoming reception from the town of Olbia. They had a live band playing traditional Sardinian music and a huge tent full of local foods, all staffed by some very friendly locals. For some strange reason I didn’t take a picture of that. Brain fade. Maybe I did need a break that day.

Olbia is basically a small town. No sky-scrapers (one 14 floor apartment block), no giant cathedral, just people living and working. It is full of little shops and restaurants. Olbia feels like a small town on the island of Sardinia should feel.

There are plenty of quaint streets and little squares in the old part of town. I wondered those for most of the day, and ended up finding – shockingly – an old wooden Indian in front of a pizzeria at one point.

Here are some more pictures from my day.