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Sunday 17th June 2012

Another beautiful day, weather wise, so get up at a civilized hour and after breakfast make a bee-line for the swimming pool. Day spent between taking a dip, sunbathing and a quick trip to the Coop store at Pieve Fosciana to get provisions to supplement those purchased the day before.

Tony and I call into the small nearby town of Castiglione and then manage to miss the entrance to Santa Lucia, ending up in the hills below Corfino.

All in all a relaxing day to start the week at this great location.

Monday 18th June 2012.

As Gail has lost the pin to her specs we head into the main town of the Garfagnana , Castelnuovo, where we quickly find a very helpful optician who does the repairs in no time at all and gratis.
Coffee in main square in very noisy cafe.
More shopping at Coop and we now realize that the store is actually not in Castelnuovo but in Pieve Fosciana ( slow learners! ).

Back to our Santa Lucia which is our private agriturismo/resort as the other two apartments are vacant this week.

More relaxation and a quiet dinner out on the patio on a lovely ,balmy evening.

Tuesday 19th June 2012.

After breakfast decide to drive up into the hills above Villa Collemandina for what we hope will be a coffee break at a cafe. This is thwarted by a power outage and after buying some fruit and veggies from little shop in the village we drive back the flat for lunch.

Since arriving we have been catching sight of what we think is a river below our lounge room window so we decide to explore. A short walk towards a very small village, Piannaci, shows us that there is no access to what we now know is a lake so we return in the direction of Villa Collemandina and check out an old dam and hydro facility which is now defunct.

We decide that we have had enough exercise for one day and so it’s back to the flat for the daily dose of sun, swimming, eating and drinking.

Wednesday 20 th June 2012.

The day for a slightly more ambitious travel plan which takes us first to the small historic town of San Romano. Pleasant enough but no suitable cafe for coffee so continue on to Camporgiano where we are able to enjoy a coffee outside overlooking the main square and Rocca ( castle ).

Leaving Camporgiano we manage to find ourselves in a cul- de-sac so we return to Poggio before heading south-west along the beautiful River Edron Valley.
We had been expecting an open valley on the way to our destination of Lago Di Vagli and Vagli Sotto but nothing could have been further from the truth. As we approached the lake and especially after passing the 90 meter dam at its head the surrounding hills closed in and the scenery became increasingly more dramatic

Picnic lunch in a superb spot overlooking Vagli Sotto and during stop at a cafe for icecream I manage to have a very interesting chat with the female proprietor who tells me a great deal about the history of the lake and town . Apparently the building of the dam led to the submersion of the former town of Carregine . This had meant the loss of a church with a number of frescoes and some factories. Evidence of the town can now be seen when on occasions the reservoir water level drops.

Return along the same route to Poggio before driving south-east to cross Lago Di Pontecosi. Slight wrong turn means we end up up in a quarry but eventually find ourselves north of the lake and make the short winding road back to Villa Collemandina.
A long but enjoyable day during which we received constant reminders that this area is truly one of Italy’s best- kept secrets. Virtually tourist-free and offering some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable.

We also received a couple of less- pleasant reminders of the perils of driving in rural Italy with our having to take evasive action on at least two occasions as cars appeared from nowhere from side roads. All adds to the spice of the trip.

Thursday 21st June 2012.

Tone and Marg decide to take things easy after the long and fairly arduous drive of the previous day so Gail and I drive back up into the hills past Corfino to the Orrecchiella Nat Park, under the brooding presence of the Pania Di Corfino ( 1603 meters above sea level ).

On the advice from of a guy in a Refugio at the entrance to the park we start off by tackling the 40 minute walk to the Orto Botanico garden at 1370 meters. This proves to be in a magnificent spot affording views of the surrounding area.

Decide against making the scramble up to the top of the Pania Di Corfino for two reasons- one Gail is not keen on walking on loose shale and two my better half reminds me that titanium knees are not ideally suited to such terrain. Personally, I felt that the reminder was superfluous as I have always been very rational when confronted by such a situation!

The Park Visitor Centre closed ( in the second half of June! ) so head back to the flat for snack and then it’s down to Pieve Fosciana to change some more money, fill up with diesel at $ 2.13 a liter and stock up on provisions.
Lovely chicken dinner on the patio on yet another splendid evening.

End the evening watching Portugal v Czech Repl in Euro 2012.
A goal from the shy self- effacing Cristiano Ronaldo settles the match 1-0. With his lacquered hair he is looking more like Rudolf Valentino every day but there is no denying his talent.

Friday 22nd June 2012

For almost a week now we have driven through the small village of Villa Collemandina without stopping to check out the small square just of the main road to Castiglione so today we walk there in search of a hidden gem. It certainly lived down to expectations and the one restaurant previously recommended to us was closed and up for sale. Nevertheless, the village still retains the tranquil charm of so many such small Italian villages and I’m sure that locals Anjou being far from the madding crowd.

Apart from that just a routine day enjoying all that this property has to offer on another in a long long of beaut sunny days.

On our last night in Italy together with Tone and Marg we are dining out at Il Pozzo in Pieve Fosciana so a report on that tomorrow.

As you can see I have had to catch up on 5 days in one go so apologies for a pretty lack luster effort. I will try to wake up the muse for the last few days of our trip.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret