Orta is a small peninsula with rather a large hill in the middle, Sacre Monte di San Francisco, or the sacred mountain of St Francis of Assisi. Yesterday we walked around the peninsula, this morning we went up to the top of the hill to visit the twenty 17th and 18th century chapels dedicated to... Continue Reading →
7th August: Lake Maggiore and Isola Bella
Today we had a lie in and a leisurely breakfast before saying goodbye to our neighbours and driving a relatively short distance to Lake Maggiore. We had a bit of trouble finding the stopover site in Baveno but got there in the end. After lunch we got the ferry to Isola Bella, an island with... Continue Reading →
5th August: Orta San Guilio on Lake Orta
Last night was really hot and sticky. We slept with every window open as wide as possible and didn’t even need a sheet over us. We rose quite early and John collected some croissants for breakfast while I made a drink. After breakfast we packed and left to make our way up to the Italian... Continue Reading →
4th August: Not quite what we’d hoped for
We packed up and left Cogne at around 10.15. The journey to the Ligurian coast was uneventful… Well, apart from the toll machine shouting at me in Italian because I couldn’t work out where to put my payment card! The last part of the journey into Savona was a masterpiece of engineering. The two carriageways... Continue Reading →
3rd August: Punta Pousett 3046m
Fuelled by last night’s rather large pizza we set off early to make our ascent of Punta Pousett. It was a little cloudy to start with but the clouds soon disappeared and by 8.30 it was hot and sticky in the forest. We were glad to reach open meadows where there was a bit of... Continue Reading →
1st August: The Casolari dell’Herbetet traverse 2656m
Another stunning walk with all the attributes of yesterdays’s on a much grander scale. We set off early knowing this walk would take about 7 and a half hours and it was going to be another hot day. The ascent was only partially shaded but I was quite pleased that I didn’t struggle too much... Continue Reading →
2nd August: Housework and botanical gardens
This morning, after a long lie in, we tidied and swept the van, did some washing and went shopping. Then after lunch, we caught the bus to Valnontey and visited the botanical gardens. They were a little disappointing: partly because the flowers were past their best, mainly because we had seen so many more vibrant... Continue Reading →