Roman's Yacht at Costa Smerelda

Ugh...you know that sinking feeling when you wake up later than you meant to? We are staying in a four star hotel on the fancy schmancy Costa Smerelda...where Roman Abramovich's yacht (one of them anyway, a mere 300 feet) bobs in the harbor.

Yet we don't get a wake-up call and now Cindy is rushing to get all of her morning preparations done and still squeeze in some breakfast. Oh the tyranny of a multi-stop press trip with early wake-ups and dinners that go on until 1 am. But in true GoNOMAD fashion, we aren't complaining, no way! At least I've got a little time here in the sunny courtyard to blog, my favorite hobby.

This is the Gold coast, a place where people like Vladimir Putin have giant mansions, and the new President of Italy Berlusconi owns seven villas. It's spectacular the way that Amalfi is, with same dramatic cliffs and winding roads. Yet the rocks are more barren, more moon-like. The views of the water include these very large yachts, giant vessels that must be owned by sultans and shieks, not just rich dudes.

Today we travel inland, toward the other coast to Alghero, where we will jump into jeeps to see some of the territory a little closer up. An island of this size (just about as big as Sicily) with just 1.6 million people spread out over vast areas leaves a lot of room for sweeping views and giant spaces with no civilization. It's magnificent in its breadth and scope, to someone like me who is used to crowded New England...where there are few things I'd call sweeping or panoramic.