illustration: oh, cagliari.

contrary to last weekend's bologna debacle, this weekend proved itself to be quite spectacular. weather about 15 degrees warmer than florence welcomed us with open arms as we touched down on that marvelous little hunk of land. we discovered quickly that we were visiting cagliari during the low season. as we wandered the cobblestone streets heads turned. and stared. everywhere we ventured we were quickly noticed as foreigners, and we never came across any other fellow travelers. it was refreshing though, to be completely submersed in italian culture. english speakers were hard to come by, and as a result we were forced to use our italian and fend entirely for ourselves.

day one in cagliari consisted of a beautiful morning. we walked down to the waterside, only two blocks from our hostel, and explored the harbor. we roamed about the shore, marveling at the clear blue water. soon we found ourselves at cagliari's most loved poetto beach. with an enormous amount of joy and excitement in our hearts we took our shoes off and ran as fast as we could down a sandy ally, covered in brightly colored graffiti. as we ran sand kicked up against our legs and we threw off our bags and coats and didn't stop until our feet hit the cool aqua water. we screamed, laughed, cried out in disbelief at the beauty that surrounded us. one by one we went off on our own to discover our new found haven. i walked along the water's edge, my leggings wet and sandy, and i listened to the familiar sound of the waves crashing on the hardened sand. the water ran over my feet and i looked up at the sun and span around, arms wide open as the wind gently swept my face. there, in that place i felt completely at peace. i could not help but feel as though my heart would burst with joy. also, in that place i felt home. those elements, so familiar to me tantalized my senses, triggered emotions and memories so close to my heart, reminding me of the beautiful place i left behind.

and as i walked i gathered seashells, a little habit of mine that i tend to do whenever i find myself walking along a beach. with each shell i plucked from the wet sand i was reminded of how beautiful the world is, that as i stare out into that vast body of water, millions of people just like me are staring out over the great blue mass, seashells in hand, in awe of the beauty that surrounds them. and we are connected, we breath deep the same salty breeze that fills our nostrils, the same gritty sand fills in the space between our toes, and for that moment, all that hinders us, all that weighs down our hearts slips away, leaving us with a ephemeral peace.