My Sardinia Experience

My Sardinia Experience -

The most curious thing is that although Sardinia has been part of my life from day one and as much as I adored coming here for my vacations as a child and even in my teens I would come on my own so that I could pass a whole month down at the beach,  lap as much sun up as I could stand it and go to the town festivals.

I also use to say that I would never come to live here.

Why?  the answer is simple as a teenager I was comparing my busy social life and the opportunities that I had in England to the life style that is lived here and at the time I just couldn't see myself being part of it.

The first thing that bought me to have a taste of what  real life here was like was  back in 1987, I was twenty at the time. 

My passion for cookies opened up an opportunity for me to come here and work for 6 months in a small patisserie and learn hands on how to make all the lovely Italian cream cakes and traditional cookies with all good intentions of going back to England and setting up shop there.

In my 6 months here I saw a completely different Sardinia, I mean the places were still the same but what changed my way of thinking was when I starting making friends and I started experience a social life completely different from the one I had in England which was mainly pubs and disco's.

Here we would organize ( the we is a group of friends) a meal at someone's  house or down at the beach and even picnics in the countryside,  out for a pizza, it didn't really matter where the location was in the end it was all about sitting around a table laden with good food and wine in good company and having a laugh.

Of course came the outings too I was taken to see places that up until then I didn't even realize existed.

To cut a long story short I met my future husband.

Even though I loved every minute of these 6 months, when I made this decision to move to Sardinia, it wasn't easy at the time I was moving 2000km  away from my family, friends and a life that I knew.

It took time to adjust after all Sardinia and England are like chalk and cheese.

8 years down the line my family had grown to four, my home was taking shape and I had my very own bakery.

Then out of the blue one day I get a phone call I was almost pleaded to take in to consideration the idea of going back to England, you don't need to know the in's and out's but to help you understand my decision a serious illness was involved.

My duty as a daughter told me that I should pack my backs and go back, but my heart did not let me do it.

I kept asking myself do I really want to leave all what I have here.

Take my kids away from the freedom that they had here and the possibility of enjoying a whole summer season and all that comes with it, the Sun,  the sand, the beaches, the festivals, the family gatherings, the family pizza night outs and the driving around looking for the perfect tree to set up the picnic.

Basically everything was and still is orientated around the family.

A pretty simple life that I know,  but it wasn't until the fear of losing all this that me appreciate even more these simpler yet precious things.

I do believe that I have been lucky, I have my family, I live in a beautiful place, I have my work which I love and the cherry on the icing is that this has permitted  me to do what I really love most… creating!

Then 2008 came the internet, better late than never, and a few years down the line Experience Sardinia was born...