Questo slideshow richiede JavaScript.
This summer, we had to figure out something different to do as we got kicked out of my parents’ house for a few days while Valentine was getting spoilt rotten by zia Cate, Nonna and Nonno. So we took advantage of the opportunity and explored a few spots in Italy that we had not been to yet.
Our first stop was in Monteprandone, in the Marche region near Ascoli Piceno. We were not far from the Adriatic coast and the seaside town of San Benedetto del Tronto, but the village felt much closer to the villages in the hills of Umbria and Tuscany , but without the tourists. We had been planning to spend some time by the seaside in the morning but the weather wasn’t great, and the hotel suggested that Ascoli was much nicer as a place to see than San Benedetto. We followed the advice and were not disappointed. The city was indeed beautiful with a lot of marble (travertino) buildings and roads. It was also pretty spotlessly clean, and again off the tourist path. We couldn’t resist trying some Olive Ascolane of course.
We set off for a couple of hours drive south, to Puglia. This time we did have some time by the sea in the Gargano area. Really liked it here too: clean and warm water and some memorable meals by the beach. The towns of Manfredonia, Mattinata and Monte Sant’Angelo were all very interesting too.
Final stop on the way back towards Rome was in Benevento. Again pleasantly surprised by the main pedestrian Corso, surrounded by beautiful buildings where we had lunch. We then stayed in a beautiful secluded hotel near Telese Terme. Louise and Olivia were brave enough to enjoy the pool, while I mainly ate and took in the beautiful views, before driving back to see Valentine. We certainly missed her – I like to think she missed us too but in reality think she was too busy with all the activities!
Quest’estate abbiamo dovuto trovare qualcosa di diverso da fare, visto che siamo stati “cacciati” da casa per qualche giorno mentre Valentina si faceva coccolare da zia Cate e dai Nonni. Quindi, ne abbiamo approfittato per visitare degli angoli dell’Italia che ancora non conoscevamo.
Per cominciare, abbiamo attraversato gli Appennini e siamo giunti a Monteprandone nelle Marche. Anche se a soli 5km dale spiagge di San Benedetto del Tronto, il paesino ci ricordava i paesaggi delle colline umbre o toscane. Il turismo di massa non sembra essere anora arrivato da queste parti, ma cio nonostante il paese era pulitissimo e molto ben mantenuto. L’indomani pensavamo di andare a visitare la famosa costa adriatica ma da una parte il tempo nuvoloso e dall’altra i consigli dell’hotel ci hanno spinto giustamente verso Ascoli Piceno. Un’altra bella scoperta, con il centro storico e le piazze bianche in travertino. E naturalmente abbiamo dovuto assaggiare un bel cartoccio di olive ascolane.
Da li siamo partiti verso sud fino in Puglia. Qui abbiamo approfittato del bel mare al Gargano, con acqua e spiaggia pulita e bel tempo. Le citta di Manfredonia, Monte Sant’Angelo e Mattinanta si hanno anche sorpreso positivamente.
Ultima fermata prima di tornare a Roma in Campania, a Benevento. Ancora una bella sorpresa il Corso con grandi palazzi e locali simpatico dove abbiamo pranzato. L’albergo a Telese Terme era un po nascosto ma bellissimo. Luisa e Olivia hanno approfittato della piscine circondata dagli ulivi, mentro io mi sono limitato ad ammirare gli stupendi paesaggi del Sannio e l’ottima cucina regionale. E poi di corsa a Roma per riabbracciare la nostra Valentina!