Simon plans for us to cycle towards Cagliari on quiet back roads but try as we might we never find any. Instead it is the SS 195 all the way which at times resembles the A30 with a number of high speed cars and lorries hurtling past. But never mind, at least it is scenic with massive industrial works consisting of factories with intricate pipes and chimnies flaming like bunson burners. The smell of oleander and fennel is replaced by sulphurous gas. I am tremulous for most of the way but we arrive hot and sweaty but unscathed. Approaching Cagliari the shoreline is littered with hundreds of Sea Balls which we gather are composed of fibres of seagrass pushed together by wind and tide to form perfect spheres. There are lots of flamingoes of course. We find our pensione on the seafront but it is on the second floor. There is an ancient lift which only seems to stop at level 1 and 3 so we have to carry the bikes up the stairs. A characterful old building and the owner Luigi shows us around and tells us what to see in the town - all in very fast Italian. The heat is intense and we dash from one shady area to another. We refresh in a small restaurant in a square in the Castillo area beneath the steps to the Cathedral. Beers, water and panninis do the trick and we sweat our way up to the top of the Torre dell'Elefante for fine panoramic views of the old city and the marina. The narrow back streets are cobbled and steep with tall elegant buildings decked with colourful washing. Nigronis under the arches of the Via Roma watching the world go by before supper in Trattoria Lillico as visited by Rick Stein. We sit outside in a narrow street and the place is heaving with locals. We eat an amazing spread of seafood antipasti, spaghetti with clams, sea bass and snails and finish with some chilled Mirto, a Sardinian liqueur made from myrtle berries. Truly finished we retire exhausted.
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