Of tourists and locals on a sunny day in Alghero

If you stay long enough in a place even on a holiday you soon get to distinguish between the locals and the others.

Now I know that is stating the obvious and it is all too easy to spot the holidaymaker.  All too often some of them act like an occupying force, oblivious to the local customs or sensibilities forgetting that cardinal rule that you are a guest in another country.

True you are spending money, boosting the local economy and providing jobs for people but there can be an arrogance about tourists.  When we are in Greece we try to learn some Greek words.  Now Tina who masters all languages with ease is good at it, me I just end up wishing the shop owner that his donkey’s testicles are heavy.

So given that Tina is Italian it is to Italy that we come for our holidays, usually spending it with her parents who are Naples and we usually end up in resorts which are primarily favoured by Italians.
But this year we are in Alghero which attracts many more from the north of Europe and on the beach and in the old town there is a babble of languages, a few English, some French and others from further north.

Today as I set off on an indifferent day for the harbour to record the fishing boats I find myself people watching.  There they are in the bars and on the long seats by the sea wall.  Most of the locals are hard at work but some like these were taking it easy.  The old man  was giving advice to some chaps from the Council debating which of the grids needed lifting before an inspection of the storm drain could take place while the man with the bike had cycled down from somewhere outside Alghero on his day off.

All of which left the man from Milan, sitting with his espresso waiting for the family to reappear from the old town laden down with tourist treasures culled from the many gift shops.

Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson