The castle and old town watches over you wherever you be, there as a security just as it has long done, perhaps as it should be.

Today we are spending most of the day in the old town area which is within the walls of the old castle . Firstly we went on a wild goose chase looking for the Friday market that did not seem to be happening. Next we went down to the hotel where Debra's friend Piera works to introduce ourselves and say gidday.

Now one just never knows what is going to be next served ones way.

Donny had ordered a coffee and hot chocolate and sat on the balcony which overlooks the town beach and rocky escarpment. M-L and I went in to ask to speak with her. We asked at the bar / cafe area if Piera was there. The lady behind the bar looked at us quizzically, I asked again for Piera, she looked over to a guy sitting in the lounge area and spoke some italian, he said a few words and a smile came over her face, ahh Piera see see, I nodded. The next thing she did was go to the fridge and pulled out a Sardinian beer then whipped the top off, grabbed a glass and presented then to me on the bar and said - Biera !!! It is just prior to 11.00 am . Naturally we took the beer and went outside to tell the others this story, still none the wiser regarding Piera.

After our drinks we went to another section of the hotel and asked, she starts her shift at 4.00 pm this afternoon. That sorted we wander up home and then pack for our picnic at the recommended spot as per the Kim & Debra Hughes Welcome Folder - all 55 pages of it - another story for another time. A beaut spot under the shadows of the cathedral and castle walls overlooking the ocean and the very important landmark just offshore called Brown Island.

Shared the area with a few others including ma and pa, 80 something's with an English accent, ma tall with trackie daggie shorts, how do I know and why is this important I hear you asking - well it goes like this. I decided to do a little exploring down the path towards the water, it is a bush track with plenty of twists and turns, I came around one of the said turns and here is ma squatting with her shorts and undies at ankle height and in full flow! Not sure who received the greatest shock but she tried to yank the duds up and fell over sideways with one hand on the ground and one around her duds - not pretty . Then for the rest of the afternoon we seemed to run into all over the old town both with a smile in recognition of our new found intimacy!

There is a reasonable climb from picnic level to old town and castle level, our estimation is 250 - 300 metres so we tried to imagine the enemies attempting to penetrate this fortress - almost impossible. There is an entire small village that still lives within the castle walls, they drive to parking areas and then walk the narrow lane ways, another world really. The art of basket weaving is still carried out, lots of old italian women plying their trade and selling. The streets contain small businesses to serve the old town population and tourists, we hunted down the Trattoria La Schizzula, Kim says is good and serves the best desserts, it is made up of a few tables in rooms either side of a lane way and also a few tables along the lane way. We have our Sunday lunch spot worked out so no pressure Kim!

We have to wait to enter the museum and the highest part of the castle wall, it's siesta between 12 .30 - 3.00 pm. We come across Manual who is an artigianale at his Gelateria - in other words he makes home made ice cream. We taste test and all say it is better than the worlds best that we had in San Gimignano Tuscany. Only difference is poor ol Manuel only knows how to work in his business and not how to work on his business, simple stuff but his turnover could be increased ten fold with the touch of a few buttons.

Siesta over, we engage with the seagulls on top of the castle, up there you can actually feel like a bird, M-L not so keen at this height. We stand and stare and wonder for some time. A whole new world here compared to the standard Castelsardo life. In many ways the streets and sights in the old town are the same as they would have been a long time ago.

Down hill run home for a spell and a few Pieras. We then go and vist Piera, have a chat then have another Piera then across to another Trattoria to engage the nose bag. All in all a wonderful day right in the mainly hidden backyard. Castelsardo has much to reveal to those that peel back the exterior.