I’ve been “off the air” for a little while as I was concentrating on exploring rather than writing. In the last few weeks I’ve been busy doing the following:
- exploring parts of the Majella I hadn’t seen before
- visiting an abbey with an amazing floor
- visiting a basilica with fantastic frescoes
- exploring shepherds’ ancient stone refuges
- taking photos of the elusive Ferrari-red Ape with roll bars! (proof provided below)
- discovering a new restaurant and new Abruzzese dish
- showing some of my favourite places to a visiting friend
- tasting new olive oil
- getting a personal tour of Loreto Aprutino’s Oil Museum
- enjoying an exhibition of paintings from an important Abruzzese artist
- buying more CDs of Abruzzo folk and jazz
And if that wasn’t enough I was stunned as temperatures dropped 15 degrees practically overnight bringing snow and hailstones to a region that was basking in mid-20s sunshine the day before.
Of course too much exploring can be tiring so relaxing with friends over excellent food and wine regularly is crucial.
I had the pleasure of drinking two wines I hadn’t come across before:
The first Villa Gemma Bianco (white) from Masciarlli the same people who bring you Marina Cvetic. This white is made from 80% Trebbiano d’Abruzzo – 15% Cococciola – 5% Chardonnay, its colour is pale straw and it has slightly fruity taste (apple perhaps). It costs around €10 in Abruzzo shops and I think it is fabulous.
The second was recommended to me by Octavio in the New Evo restaurant in Loreto Aprutino. It was our last night in the area and we wanted to have something special. Closing the wine list I asked Octavio if he’d recommend something and he suggested a red from the Pasetti Vini. They are based in Francavilla (CH) and the chosen red was from the Pasetti range. This wine is made from Montepulciano d’Abruzzzo grapes grown on the foothills of the Gran Sasso mountains. We wanted something special and were not disappointed.
I’ll give you more details about what I’ve been doing in up-coming posts.
Related posts:
- Cantine Aperte 2009 – Wine Producers Open Their Doors On 30th and 31st May 2009 (Saturday and Sunday) many...
- Marina Cvetic, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo I like wine. It’s not the first time I’ve said...
- Plenty of Rain, Food and Conversation in Abruzzo; But Here Comes The Sun! We arrived back in Abruzzo last Friday evening having flown...
Can you advise me how to get from Sulmona to Loreto Apruntino please?
To get from Sulmona to Loreto Aprutino. I’m going to assume you are using public transport.
I would do it in two stages, Sulmona to Pescara then Pescara to Loreto Aprutino.
For Sulmona to Pescara you can use a train or bus. Go ahead and enter “Sulmona” as departure (partire or partenza) point and Pescara as arrival (arrivare or arrivo) point and the date and you’ll get the timetable.
Note that there are several Sulmona departure points for buses but I suspect you’ll want Sulmona -Ospedale or Sulmona – Stazione FS.
By bus for arrival in Pescara you should pick Pescara – P le Repubblica.
In Pescara the train station and bus station are in the same location.
You now need a bus to Loreto Aprutino that has a last stop in Penne about 10 minutes further on.
You have to work to find the time table for local GTM buses from Pescara Follow the link, click on Linee e mappe on left the click on Linea suburbana Penne – Pescara towards the right.
You want the timetable Da Pescara a Penne via Loreto Aprutino.
Best to ask where the bus stop is and confirm on boarding the bus that it stops at Loreto Aprutino.
I hope this helps.