Una Casa Abruzzese, and Two Aussies - Up North

28 Oct to 7 Nov, 2021 - Lago di Iseo, Lago di Garda, Capo di Ponte, Bergamo - (Italy)



North, we went, by car. First to spend some time with our excellent German friends, Andrea and Hermann. The lakes, Iseo and Garda, seemed a fair compromise location, with similar travel times required by each couple from our respective homes. Eating, drinking, laughing, and reminiscing. We even managed to do some sight seeing.

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A Boulder on a Pillar
So, the rock was once caught in a conglomerate of sands and other easily eroded minerals. Everything else has eroded, and the rock protects the pillar underneath it, to an extent. Obviously, this will not be a permanent situation...


Riserva Naturale Piramidi
The four of us, in a national park of pyramids topped by boulders, not far from Lago d'Iseo.


Lago d'Iseo


Sirmione, Again
Our second trip to Largo di Garda, this year. With Andrea and Hermann, this time.


A Climber Engulfing a Building


Gateway to Lazise


Lazise Waterfront, with BFFs
Lago di Garda


Rock Art
The petroglyphs in this area number many thousands. Some are contemporary with Roman times or later, but the vast majority go back to Bronze and Iron Age. Animals, and hunting, are frequent motifs.


View from Capo di Ponte
Autumnal outlook.


A Very Memorable Meal with Hermann and Andrea
We were hoping for a good, authentically local meal. But it was long after normal lunch hours. We happened upon this place, which looked like it had finished service for the afternoon, but the chef and waitress jumped up from their pranzo to seat us and fill us with fantastic local dishes.


I Connect with a Lion
Well worn statue outside the 12th century Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, in Bergamo.


Pizza - by the Kilo
And I think we had a kilo between the 2 of us.


View over Bergamo


Random Sculpture at Sunset


View from Monte Isola


Atop Monte Isola


Isola di Loreto
Looking out from Monte Isola, to the north of Lago d'Iseo, with Isola di Loreto in the foreground.

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While in the area, we thought it opportune to take advantage of Patrick's invitation to drop in on him at Bergamo. Bergamo is his home when he takes care of his work on this side of the Atlantic, splitting his life in to three inequal chunks in the USA, Bergamo, and Bomba.

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Bergamo - Second Visit in a Week


Nice Weather for a Long Wander


Photography Exhibition, Bergamo


With Patrick
We had vin brulé, he had beer. We think the weather was more conducive to our way of thinking...


I'm Pleased with my Seafood

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Una Casa Abruzzese, and Two Aussies - Visitors

5 Oct to 27 Oct, 2021 - Bomba (and surrounds), Lago di Serranella, Pennadomo, Roccascalegna, Casoli, Creccio, Guardagriele, Vasto, Gole di San Martino, Tornareccio - (Italy)


Carrying on from the last entry, this one will be brief in stories, too, in a hope to catch up.

Before talking about our Bombese guests, a handful of pics of changing vistas from our house.

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Sunset - Maiella


The Front Arrives, with Clouds
The morning began clear, but the clouds arrived like a giant sheet being pulled across the sky by invisible hands.


Valley Seemingly on Fire
So, this particular morning, an unsual band of cloud far in the east, blocked the sun from hitting the whole mountain, but a strip of long dawn sun hit the base of the mountain, creating the illusion of fire below. This light lasted no longer than a few minutes.


From the Terrace
Perhaps our best sunset, so far, from our terrace. Bomba social media went crazy with pics of this particular sunset.

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October was our month of visitors. We hosted thrice at our house, and met one lot of visitors up north.

Our very first guests, who got to be our guest guinea pigs, Nick and Wendy. An Australian / American couple, residing in Portugal, formerly living in Italy. We first met them in Myanmar, subsequently overlapped with them in Peru, and caught up in Australia.

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Picnic with Nick and Wendy, Roccascalegna

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There was a short breather before Adam and Annett came. This was our first time meeting Annett, as Adam met and married her since we last caught up with him. We met Adam in Vietnam in the 90s, and have caught up with him in Costa Rica, Peru, the States on more than one occasion, and in Italy in Barga when Jo celebrated her 45th here.

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With Adam and Annett, Roccascalegna


12th Century Castle, Creccio
Creccio is a village nearby that I have been wanting to visit for some time, having heard about some of the Medieval features.


Communism, Guardiagrele
The poster board, with anti fascist bills displayed in the main square of Guardiagrele. It showed many indications of having spent decades being out in the elements, not least of all the rust on this antique badge holding pride of place.


Chiesa di San Petro, Vasto

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And the most recent to come and stay, Anna, was hot on their heels. A former co-student of Jo's, when she did her Master's, Anna lives in England. We have also had her join us on a previous Italian visit, when we stayed in the Dolomites for Jo's 50th.

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Anna and I
In a higher part of the walk through the gorge of San Martin.


Jo and Anna


Sunset Drinks on the Terrace

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With guests, we had a few trips to the airport. Nearby, we made a discovery...

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We Found Proper Bacon
We found a bakery which serves brunch. And the highlight in the brunch is crispy bacon. Almost unheard of in Italy.

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Una Casa Abruzzese, and Two Aussies - September

4 Sep to 4 Oct, 2021 - Bomba (and surrounds), Scanno, Barrea, Parco Nazionale del Gargano, Tornareccio - (Italy)



So sorry about the delay in getting this up. Being a couple of months behind, I won't fill this with any stories, just the pics.

First up, a few days away locally, camping and BnB, to Lago di Scanno and Lago di Barrea. Jo had this one penciled in to our diary ever since she first saw a photo of Lago di Scanno.

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Heart Shaped Lago di Scanno
It's neither a particularly long nor strenuous walk to this viewpoint, but we were amazed how many people didn't seem to make it. The number of people on the trail made us ready for a small crowd to be here. In contrast, we had it to ourselves from the time we arrived until we left, 20 minutes later. The changing light, predominantly caused by numerous clouds casting shadows on one part of the lake at a time made it hard to get a nice, even photo.


A Room Literally over the Street in Scanno


Detail from Animatronics
In Chiesa di Santa Maria della Valle, Scanno. This delightful animatronics creation was full of characters going about all sorts of life, with figures everywhere moving to fulfil their tasks.


Church Straddling the Road
Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Annunziata, on the shores of Lago di Scanno, ensuring that large vehicles have to go around the long way. I'm sure when it was built, the size of the opening over the road might not have been thought of as restrictive to traffic.


Camping at Lago di Barrea
On the shore, with the town of Barrea on the other side. Very pretty at night, too.

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Also in September, further south-east, we revisited the coastal area near Vieste. That was a priority after the weather shortened our previous visit.

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Trabocco in Puglia
So, it seems that Abruzzo does not hold a monopoly on trabocchi. This one is on Punta Paglianza, not far from Vieste.


Sturdy looking platform ...


Natural Arch, Sfinale


Torre Sfinale


Laghetto Falascone d'Umbra
A small lake, high in the national park, The only patch where light penetrated the dark and shadowed forest.

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Finally, a small collection of other pics of September.

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We are now Volvo Owners


A Random Piazza
We had some time to kill waiting for some friends, so chose a random nearby town. Treglio, as it turns out, has a lovely little bar on a delightful little piazza.


Some of What We Recovered
The lake level is quite low, so most of the clean up involved dragging out things that are normally well under water. We ended up with a few interesting bottles. Overall, though, we were expecting to find a lot more. This was a pleasant surprise.


Doing Our Bit
With Perry. Down at Lake Bomba. Clean up day.


Mosaics in Tornareccio
Tornareccio is well known in the area for two things. The first is its primary industry, honey. More recently, the town has been decorated with all manner of mosaics. Over the last 15-20 years, artists have provided a range of styles and themes. Unsurprisingly, bees and bee products are common topics.


Lunch on a Trabocco Restaurant
We have included pics of trabocchi before, but with summer coming to an end, we decided we should get a meal slotted in before the restaurants finish for the season. Five courses, and some. Six cold appetisers. Four warm appetisers. A pasta course. Three mains, and three desserts. Wine, coffee and digestivo. All seafood (apart from dessert, naturally).

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