Posts Tagged ‘abruzzo’
From the top of the world. The Pizzo di Ovindoli, Abruzzo
On a hot summer weekend, I took my kids out to our place in Ovindoli – in the mountains of Abruzzo, Italy. An hour and a half away in Rome, it was sweltering, but at 1400 meters/4500 feet from sea level, we could be active all day, without succumbing to heat stroke. My older son…
Read MoreCommemorating WWI soldiers in Abruzzo
On my recent ski escape, I was in Ovindoli, in Italy’s Apennine mountains of the Abruzzo region. Like most little mountain towns, Ovindoli has a memorial to the soldiers who died both in WWI and WWII. For those who know the region well, most of these towns have much longer lists for the First World…
Read MoreSnow was only okay, but the skiing was fabulous. Abruzzo
Is there anything more magical than the first ski run of the season? Even after all these years, it never fails to put me in a good mood. I’m generally loathe to organize complicated travel plans for the Christmas holidays, since I hate to travel at on of the most chaotic times of the year.…
Read MoreSheep, cows and horses, oh my! The perils of mountain biking in Abruzzo
My older son plays Varsity tennis each fall and is often traveling around Italy for matches on weekends. My younger son and I often use this as an excuse for a solo escape to the little town in the mountains of Abruzzo for some fall foliage and mountain biking. This year was no exception. Earlier…
Read MoreHiking the Celano Canyon in Abruzzo, Italy
Earlier this summer, during a particularly steamy Roman week, I found myself daydreaming constantly about a weekend escape to Abruzzo. I often get out for weekend to the town of Ovindoli, about 1 1/2 hour drive from Rome. Since the town at 1400 meters from sea level it is much, much cooler than Rome ……
Read MoreEscaping the city on the ski slopes of Abruzzo
My kids had a week of school vacation in February and they wanted to go skiing, and I was happy to exchange the office for the ski slopes for one glorious week. There’s something special about escaping the city to take temporary residence in the mountains. Our mountain escape of Ovindoli, in the region of…
Read MoreRinging in the New Year on the slopes of Abruzzo
I generally don’t travel far during the holidays. While I’m almost always up for travel, the super-busy Christmas holidays is a time I’d rather not deal with hectic airports or packed trains and highways. I tend to stick close to Rome, generally making short trips to nearby towns and cities. It’s also a great time…
Read MoreCrunching through the leaves on my mountain bike in Abruzzo
I’ve written about it before, but it’s always a pleasure for me when I can make a weekend escape out to the mountains in Abruzzo. With my busy work schedule and my kids’ insane sports programs, this luxury is becoming rarer and rarer. With my older son off at a tennis tournament in Germany, my…
Read MoreSpring/summer mountain biking in Abruzzo
It’s been far too long since I’ve managed to get out to my little mountain escape from the city, in Ovindoli, Abruzzo. I’ve been dying for a weekend escape mountain biking on this picturesque high plain in the Apennine mountains. I wrote about my last biking trip out here in the autumn. Although I never…
Read MoreA slice of heaven: mountains and a book
Just thinking back to my last weekend. After many of months of kids’ exams, kids’ sports competitions and my own work keeping me away from my preferred weekend getaway in the Apennine mountains of central Italy, I finally (!!!) managed to escape the city. The weekend was short, but enjoyable. Here I am out-of-frame in…
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