Thank you so much for taking the time to visit our page. Here is a little bit more about us so you know who you will be staying with during your holiday.
My wife, Juliet, is a huge fan of what she lovingly refers to as “Organised Fun”! When we first met I could never quite understand her passion for researching a place, finding out everything there was to do and making a rough plan of how best to spend the time on our planned weekend breaks. She used guide books, asked around and scrolled through the internet to make sure we wouldn’t miss out. She had previously done this for trips around the world, holidays and other short breaks and it made her happy. I put it down to being one of her British quirks. It went against my very laid-back Italian nature. My style was much more to arrive in a place, soak up the atmosphere and see where fate would lead me. When we started our trips together that changed into arriving, soaking the atmosphere and seeing where Juliet would lead me! And it surprised me to find that I loved it. I loved having my own personal tour guide to lead me around, point out the highlights and best spots to grab a bite or a drink, the hidden museums and the lesser known sights. Even more so I discovered that I loved it when she insisted on us taking an open top bus tour or joining a guided walk. This gave me even more pleasure as we discovered new places and built our memories together. We understood the true value of local knowledge to make sure we had the best possible experience. We would come away from those trips inspired and ready to plan our next adventure. That inspiration has brought us here together, to Sardinia. We have formed Go Comida to bring you local knowledge and the opportunity to fill your time with “Organised Fun” to help you build your own memories and truly experience Sardinia.
We have done the leg work for you. We have searched out the hidden vineyards, lesser known historical sites, the hard to reach (or follow!) hiking paths and the perfect selfie spots for you. You can relax, knowing that you will leave Sardinia full of memories, local knowledge and some of our passion for the food, wine, culture and people of this beautiful island. You will find here on this website some basic outlines of some potential experience days. This is not a full list of itineraries but is there to provide a little inspiration. We welcome you to get in touch with us. Pick up the phone, drop us a WhatsApp or an email. Tell us what you love, what you would like to see, if you would like a private experience for you and your friends or family and let us suggest some experiences for you. We can help you arrange accommodation that suits your needs and your budget. We hope you will choose to spend at least a day with us, to really experience Sardinia as we do. You do not have to be staying with us to take advantage of our services.
We permanently relocated to Tortolì in January 2018 after meeting and living together in London, UK. We were lucky enough that Gianfranco and his family had built a beautiful home on the edge of the old town and they were all bonkers enough to allow us to turn our apartment into a welcoming place for holiday makers. So we embarked on completing building work in the summer of 2017. We gave the orders to some builder friends, handed in our notice at work and prepared to move! We had the plan of moving in January 2018, thinking we could finish the last of the building work, decorate, move in to our new home and open our business in time for Easter.
When we packed up our truck to move over and leave our chaotic London life behind we were aware our building work was going on “Sardinian Time” and was a little behind! So in January we moved over and were able to put on the pressure to try and get the works completed. We missed our Easter deadline, but took advantage of the time we had to hike, explore and fully fall in love with our new home.
Having thought we would be well and truly up and running, we had also planned to get hitched at the end of May!!! So in the chaos of completing the building work we also threw together a wedding (with about three weeks’ notice! We were embracing the Sardinian pace of life!!!). It was a perfect mix of British and Sardinian traditions, a rock music disco, more food than you could possibly imagine and marked the real start of our life together in Tortolì.
Family and friends enjoyed a holiday with us after the wedding and a few weeks after we welcomed our first guests into our home (a few months behind schedule). Since then we have welcomed and helped tourists discover this wonderful place. It now feels normal to be driving around the amazing mountain roads and suddenly come across a traffic jam made up of one other car, a shepherd and a hundred sheep or a herd of free-roaming mountain cattle! We love to go to the local festivals and events in the villages and towns around us. They seem to happen most weekends and so we are never stuck for something to do! It is a huge change from our life in the UK, and we wouldn’t swap it back now. Sardinia has become our home, our passion and our pleasure. We would love to help you experience some of Sardinia as we know it.
Gianfranco has worked for many years in mainland Italy and London, UK. He speaks great English (with a bit of a Gino D’Acampo accent!) and some French. He is passionate about the food, wine and culture of his local area. He is a qualified Environmental Hiking Guide (AIGAE) and Sommelier (WSET) and is able to offer tours of the local sites, vineyards and hiking trails upon request. When his powers combine you can expect to explore the great outdoors and at some point a tasty local red will appear with a fabulous view! See our Hiking page for further information.
Juliet grew up in Yorkshire, UK. She is working hard to master the Italian language and used to speak some German, French and Spanish (although her brain is a bit full with Italian now, so she seems to have forgotten all other languages…perhaps a project for next year!). She is a fully qualified Physiotherapist and Pilates instructor. She is able to offer treatments and private, or group, Pilates sessions to guests and tourists staying in the local area. See our Pilates & Yoga page for more information.
We would love to welcome you to our home and help you discover the Real Sardinia, away from the mass tourism. Juliet is coeliac and Gianfranco is intolerant to fructose. As a result we are highly aware of the importance of feeling safe when people are providing you with food. We are able to recommend the best restaurants, cafes and bars for your dietary requirements, where you can go and safely enjoy your meal (and your holiday). You may be surprised by the number of restaurants offering foods suitable for allergies and intolerances!