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Cagliari, Sardinia - June
2008
Hotel 'Miramare': on Via
Roma, gay-friendly, with cross section of clientele; situated on the
harbour front, overlooking the posh yachts and ferries that regularly
come and go. Worth paying extra for a balcony room, as the balcony makes
the room feel much bigger and brighter. The balcony, although small is
big enough to stand out on and watch the world go by - and there's a lot
of it going by. The floor-to-ceiling balcony doors are pretty much
sound-proof for when Adventure
Gays need to sleep. The en suite / shower room is a
good size and the bed comfy, although a bit creaky, with two single
mattresses on a double frame.
As the reception is on the 2nd floor you have to be buzzed in from street
level, but they do always answer within seconds, so no biggie. All the staff, especially the lovely owners, were extremely pleasant and
helpful; from ordering cabs, recommending and booking restaurants to the
offer of the occasional night-cap.
Breakfast, which you won't fail to miss due to the clanging of crockery,
is served from 7am - far too early, but does go on throughout the
morning. Barrista coffee is served by a silence handsome waiter, and the
limited food choice consists of bread,
preserves, yoghurt, occasional fruit, and strangely a plate of sweet
(traditionally Sardinian) biscuits. Starting the day on sugar and eye
candy will keep Adventure
Gays going till lunch. [Miramare]
Calamosca Beach: is the
closest beach, just a short bus ride away - number 5 plus a short walk,
or the 5/11 takes you to the water. Pre-buy tickets (€1
each way) at
the kiosk next to McDonald's on Piazza Matteotti where all local buses
(and trains) go from. Facing the water, right of Calamosca Hotel, along
the coast you'll find a quieter, smaller beach and further around the
rocks you'll find other Adventure
Gays. Up towards the lighthouse and beyond you'll
find a busy cruising ground - nothing too full-on... most locals
preferring to simply drive up and down the hill window shopping and
talent spotting. The other local beach is Poetto, much bigger with more
restaurants but teeming with teenagers.
Bar 'Rainbow Café':
a short walk (about 15 minutes from the harbour) through the old
town and its many boutique shops - corner of Via Verdi and Rossini. A
friendly venue, where the gays spill out onto the pavement. As the name
suggests this is a café, bright lights and low music - more of a social
gathering, not a lot of action, but it is the only gay bar and definitely
worth a visit.
Club 'Go Fish': 10/15 minutes
taxi ride from Cagliari on Via Venturi. A very helpful doorman walked us
to the cashier desk where we were relieved of €15
each (1 x drink voucher inc.). The club has reasonably large indoor and outdoor areas. The
music is pretty much what you'd expect - a mix of UK/US divas, standard Eurotrashdiscohouse
and Madonna videos projected on the
wall, of course. The system of buying further drinks was rather
confusing, as the bar does not accept cash - you have to queue up back
at the cashier to buy further vouchers, which is an obvious ploy to
get you to buy more vouchers than you need - at €6
a go, all drinks
are the same price. With hindsight and if you know how much you are
going to drink on arrival you can buy all your vouchers at point of
admission. We actually left sooner than we might have done due
to this ridiculous policy, but nonetheless a fun night was had. And the
helpful doorman kindly arranged a taxi home for us. [Go
Fish]
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