Bye bye to my home – I’m On the Road Again!!

Finally allowed to travel – within 5 hours of restrictions being lifted to Italy I had my flights booked.  Before the first flight I had a covid test at the airport – waited in the car in the parking lot for the results.  I passed!  Or was it failed?  In any case I got both emailed and printed pages to show I was safe to travel.

The first check-in was actually the longest – the lady at the counter looked so long at my passport I started to worry – but no problem.  I had my covid test proof, my Personal Flight Locator forms, my declaration for getting into Italy – I had it all.

After a goodbye to my patient, kind and loving partner I boarded the first of three flights.  The plane to Vancouver was packed, followed by a 3 hour wait for the next flight to Frankfurt.  Once again I showed all of my papers, and again no problem.

The flight was quite long, and right after serving us dinner they made us close the windows and shut off the lights.  I don’t think it ever actually got dark outside the whole way, but it was a long ‘night’ and I didn’t get any sleep.

Arriving at Frankfurt airport I again showed all of my papers, and again no problem.  I found my scheduled flight to Rome on the boards and limped a long way to the listed gate.  I had a few hours to wait so read for a bit, then decided to take a little nap – there was plenty of space on the lounge chairs to stretch out, and I was at the right gate so knew I’d hear the folks arriving for the flight and all of the boarding calls.

Wrong….I woke with a start at 3:01 – the flight was supposed to start boarding at 2:50 so I knew immediately something wasn’t right.  Still fuzzy-headed from my nap I grabbed my backpack and camera and shuffled to the closest check-in gate.  A lady in front of me had just missed her flight to Mallorca and I felt bad for her, while just hoping I hadn’t missed my flight to Rome.

I quickly showed the check-in lady my boarding pass and she said to ‘go that way and turn left’ – well, I was at gate A16 and my flight was now leaving from A56 – a very, very long way – in fact very close to the gate I’d arrived at three hours earlier.  I ran as fast as I could, given my injured foot, and arrived huffing and puffing and almost crying to find that I wasn’t quite the last one – about 15 folks were still lined up to board.

The last flight wasn’t too long and I arrived safely at Fiumicino a little bit ahead of schedule.  I collected my bag and headed to passport control/security – but there wasn’t any.  There were several armed guards standing around, but no one that wanted to see my passport or anything.  I simply walked out!

Colin and the little ones arrived only a few minutes later to pick me up and we were on our way ‘home’.  It’s not that far to Papiano so we arrived at a decent time, although to me I’d been up and on the move for about 30 hours.

I had a very nice welcome from several of the locals, especially Antonio at the bar. I took it easy for a couple of days getting used to the time change and everything.

On Sunday we went for a nice bike ride of 22 km., and another one this morning of just under 20 km.  

There are two major renovation projects going on near us.  First of all the bell tower is finally being fixed – they’ve had the funds for it for some time but apparently there was prolonged discussion about exactly what to do.  It’s now covered in scaffolding and work is progressing.

The other major project is right below us – a mutli-unit building that was damaged in the earthquake five years ago.  They started this morning by blocking off the lane way and have started removing debris from the inside. 

The morning of my last day in Papiano was beautiful with a lovely sunrise.  Chairman Meow came to say goodbye – well, he came for food and a pat on the head…ok really he just came for food but I managed to pat him on the head without getting bitten or slashed.

I took a few final photos of the terrace and the view, and we were on our way around 11:30.  

As we passed the bar we waved again to Antonio – we’d said our goodbyes the previous afternoon.

We headed south to Terni, then southeast, passing many sections of roadworks.  It slowed the journey down some but lord knows most of the roads need it.

We stopped just short of our destination, right below the town of Rivisondoli. 

It was a lovely evening although it’s starting to get chilly as soon as the sun goes down.

The next morning was another beautiful one – we took the dogs for a nice walk along a paved path right next to the camper park, then I checked out some sculptures in a nearby park.

They’re made of metal and seem to be used for lighting fires in.  We figure there must be some kind if festival, maybe in the winter – this area a big for skiing, etc.

We continued on past the town of Roccaraso and followed the road to the top that will be the finale of stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia.  We’ve been watching the race every day on tv and this one stage will be the only one we’ll be able to get to in person this year.

The 7 km climb to the top isn’t that steep but it will be right at the end of a long hard day for the riders.

There’s no parking allowed at the very top, but lots of wide areas a km or two down.  Several campervans were already there but there was lots of space so we did get an excellent spot.

We put up the flags and had a quiet afternoon.  The folks that pulled in next to us came over with a cup of espresso for each of us – very sweet but packing quite a caffeine jolt.

One morning I took my longest ride yet – almost 40 km, which isn’t bad for me – to one of the highest points around.

There’s a tower near the top, and you can see down to the next valley, with wonderful views in all directions.

We got going Sunday morning right on time – just after 9:00.  It was a bit of a drive north to where we’d chosen to watch the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico from so we went most of the way on the peage.

We found the perfect place to park for the night for the following day’s race – right next to a cemetery in a church’s large parking area.  

There’s a war memorial, and also a nice water tap for free use.  

At one side of the church there’s an excellent view of the plain below, and the town of Camiore right in the Sea.

Around dinner time the parking area started to fill up – there was a special service of some kind happening in the church, and folks were very dressed up.

I asked a fellow that was outside with his little girl if it was a ‘matrimonial’ and he said ‘no – baby’ so I realized it was a christening.  The ceremony went on for quite awhile, with the priest doing a lot of talking and praying.

We had a couple of very stormy days, including a severe lightning and thunder display.  Every time we thought the storm was passing the thunder came again from another direction – just rolling around and around the hills.

I ventured a bit further on another ride, taking a gravel road part of the way – it wasn’t too up or down, which was good, and had an interesting shrine part way along.

Every time we go down into the village I look over the stone wall for the tortoises – sometimes I see them, sometimes I don’t.

One day I saw at least six of them, including one of the babies – unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of the little one.

A couple of days ago we took a day-trip to the town of Spoleto.  It’s not really that far from here and was well worth the trip.  

The old town is, of couse, built on a very steep hill, but very fortunately there is a series of escalators that take you right to the fortress at the top.

There’s a well preserved roman bridge, as well as more than one lovely church and other roman ruins.

We’re going to have to make another visit as there was just so much to see – we settled for having burgers for lunch, then headed home.

Later that evening I went up onto the back ridge to try to get some full-moon photos.  

I never did get the moon – there was a bit of a haze – but I did get some decent sunset pics so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

I’ve started going for slightly longer rides, mostly to the west/southwest and to some different villages. The terrain is still hilly, but a bit less cultivated, with more forests.

The geese across the way have all disappeared – one day they were there, the next time we looked they were all gone. A bit early for christmas goose, so we’re not sure what’s happened to them.

Henry got another haircut and looks adorable – I think he knows he’s looking quite stylish and seems to have a bit more swagger in his step.

The brits, Janet and John, had a little pool party and dinner last Saturday, and it was just lovely. The pool isn’t heated, but really doesn’t need to be.

Their property is near the top of the hill across from us and has fabulous views of the surrounding hills and medieval village.

We knew some of the other guests already, and also met some new folks. Dinner was ‘BBQ’ and was much more than we expected.

We started with several antipastos, including prosciutto and other cold meats, melon, olives, cheeses, etc., all of which were delicious.

Then there was the main course – various meat skewers, sausages, etc., as well as a lovely salad. After that there was an abundance of delicious looking desserts, but as usual I passed on that course.

It was a very lovely afternoon and evening, and we walked back home fairly late – I think it was around midnight, which was much later than usual for us.

Chairman Meow has lost some weight, which is good since he had become a bit chubby – although we do wonder if we should now get him some worm tablets as it seems that he gets fed by at least two or three people daily so him losing so much weight seems a bit strange.

He’s still very friendly – especially if he thinks you’re going to feed him – but we still need to be wary of his teeth and claws that can come out quickly and unexpectedly.

My longest ride so far has been about 33 km, and today’s foray was supposed to be fairly short. I left a bit late in the morning and stopped at the pharmacy in San Valentino della Collina for a couple of things.

I planned on making a short circuit around to the Conad that has the good butcher, but it turned out not to be such a short way.

I’d used google maps to plan my route and had simply done a screen-shot of the map – no problem! Unfortunately on google maps you can’t always tell the difference between a small paved road, a gravel road, or a goat track – and I ended up on the latter.

After coming to a creek I could see the track continue on the other side, but alas – there was no way to get across so I had to backtrack some distance and go down another track.

Luckily this path went thru to a proper road and I actually knew where I was. A short while later I was in the Conad store asking the butcher for some prosciutto. When I told him it was to go with melon as an antipasto he sent me to the cheese ladies next to him.

After calling for a colleague that spoke english I got what I wanted. I’m experimenting with several new things to serve at a small gathering we hope to host next week. As we weren’t able to properly celebrate Colin’s b-day back in April we’re planning a belated get together.