We were up early in preparation for our flight to Rome.
After completing last-minute packing, we walked over to the nearby Titanic
Hotel where MAC called a taxi which magically appeared after only a few minutes
and drove us to Tegel Airport. Here there was quite a long line to check in for
the Lufthansa flight to Munich but the check in desk and gate were the same which was an
interesting arrangement. The flight was delayed by about half an hour due to
fog at Berlin. The 55-minute flight to Munich brought us back nearly on time
and we had plenty of time for the transfer to the flight to Rome. Boarding was
automatic through gates which were activated by scanning the boarding pass. The
flight to Rome was smooth and we passed over the snow-covered Alps and landed
at Fiumicino pretty much on time. Well-done Lufthansa for getting us out of a
jam.
We picked up our white Fiat Panda which was a diesel and set off for Casperia which is a very small town about 1 ¼ hour’s drive from Rome. After we left the autostrada the route to the village became ‘circuitous’ and we learned the shortcomings of GPS in Italy! Although the 'lady' guide on the GPS gave instructions about turning right or left, there were often more than one option at the junction and it was not obvious which of the 'rights' or 'lefts' was the correct one and we certainly took the wrong one on more than one occasion. We were to find this syndrome again in future days. But we eventually found the village and parked the car.
At this point we called our AirBnB host, Maureen, to find out how to get to the house which is within the walls of the old village and where cars are not allowed. We soon found out why they are not allowed as this place has steps up the wazoo!!! We met Roberto, Maureen’s husband who told us to leave our big bag by the car and carry on up to the house with the smaller ones. So, carrying our smaller bags, we started up the steps to the house, 72 in all. Huffing and puffing we finally made it. We met Maureen our charming Welsh host who had lived in Italy for 42 years and at this place. La Torretta for over 20 years.
The house is wonderful and the original portion of it was built in the 17th century and contained old original frescoes from the date it was built, although new parts have been added and modern amenities included. We were shown to our room which was lovely with some of the original frescoes from the old house. The room contained a comfortable bed, a nice bathroom and windows which opened out on a view to die for. Soon after Roberto came up with our big bag which made us feel very guilty indeed as he is not young and we should have brought eh bag up ourselves. After a short rest, we drove to the restaurant where Maureen had kindly made a reservation for us. This was in a nearby village called Roccantica This was a really lovely restaurant called Le Cucina del Borgo, but we were the only ones there. Our host Christian gave us a beautiful meal in this old house with brick arched ceilings. I chose a wine but Christian told me that he had a better one which cost the same amount, it was a Brunello di Montecino and his recommendation could not have been better, it was a simply great wine. We were served gnocchi, bacala, lamb and swordfish with a couple of real winners for dessert one a tiramisu (of course) and the other a riff on Irish coffee.
We left the restaurant extremely satisfied and started the
drive back to Casperia. On the way, in the headlights a whole family of wild
boar crossed the road in front of us, giving us quite a shock, we were not quick enough to get pictures, I am afraid so you will have to take our word for it!!. There must have
been three or four adults and maybe six young. For a moment we thought that
maybe the wine had played tricks with us but the next day, Jennifer, Maureen’s
daughter confirmed there are many wild boars in the area. We returned to the
village and parked, then it was those steps again up to the house. Tired but
very happy, we went to bed.
We picked up our white Fiat Panda which was a diesel and set off for Casperia which is a very small town about 1 ¼ hour’s drive from Rome. After we left the autostrada the route to the village became ‘circuitous’ and we learned the shortcomings of GPS in Italy! Although the 'lady' guide on the GPS gave instructions about turning right or left, there were often more than one option at the junction and it was not obvious which of the 'rights' or 'lefts' was the correct one and we certainly took the wrong one on more than one occasion. We were to find this syndrome again in future days. But we eventually found the village and parked the car.
At this point we called our AirBnB host, Maureen, to find out how to get to the house which is within the walls of the old village and where cars are not allowed. We soon found out why they are not allowed as this place has steps up the wazoo!!! We met Roberto, Maureen’s husband who told us to leave our big bag by the car and carry on up to the house with the smaller ones. So, carrying our smaller bags, we started up the steps to the house, 72 in all. Huffing and puffing we finally made it. We met Maureen our charming Welsh host who had lived in Italy for 42 years and at this place. La Torretta for over 20 years.
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| The view from the terrace |
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| The main lounge |
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| The original 17th century frescoes in our room. |
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| Breakfast on the terrace |
The house is wonderful and the original portion of it was built in the 17th century and contained old original frescoes from the date it was built, although new parts have been added and modern amenities included. We were shown to our room which was lovely with some of the original frescoes from the old house. The room contained a comfortable bed, a nice bathroom and windows which opened out on a view to die for. Soon after Roberto came up with our big bag which made us feel very guilty indeed as he is not young and we should have brought eh bag up ourselves. After a short rest, we drove to the restaurant where Maureen had kindly made a reservation for us. This was in a nearby village called Roccantica This was a really lovely restaurant called Le Cucina del Borgo, but we were the only ones there. Our host Christian gave us a beautiful meal in this old house with brick arched ceilings. I chose a wine but Christian told me that he had a better one which cost the same amount, it was a Brunello di Montecino and his recommendation could not have been better, it was a simply great wine. We were served gnocchi, bacala, lamb and swordfish with a couple of real winners for dessert one a tiramisu (of course) and the other a riff on Irish coffee.
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| Dinner at Le Cucina del Borgo |
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