Proceno

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Every year, Mom and Lynn spend several weeks in Italy in a castle above a small hill town called Proceno. I had heard magnificent things about it, and finally had the opportunity to go see for myself. Regardless of the fact that I was just back from my two weeks in the states, I was really excited about another ten days off as well as being able to spend a lot of time with Mom and Lynn.

I was on the first flight to Rome, which meant I had to be up at 4:00 as the taxi was picking me up at 5:00. The only nice thing about travelling that early is that the Heathrow Express does not run that early, so one has no choice but to take a taxi - too bad!

Mom and Lynn were there to meet me at the airport. I was so excited to see them as it had been almost a year. There was general glee all around until Lynn announced that the very next thing on the agenda was coffee as she had not had any yet. Fully in agreement, we had airport coffee - remember that we were in Italy. It was delicious.

We piled into the car and Mom drove to Lago di Bolsera - the largest volcanic lake in Europe. It is absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately deadly as it turns out. While we were still in Italy, a German man and his two children drowned while swimming in it. One can never be too cautious with water - even this beautiful lake.

We had lunch at La Pineta. Mom had chosen it because of its lovely views of the lake and the fact that it serves coregone, a fish that lives only in the lake. I had it served with rosemary and lemon - ambrosia. I will warn you now - the next Italian entries will be filled with discussions of food. Not only am I crazy on the subject (especially in Italy), but so is Lynn. She and I would begin discussing lunch as we drank our morning coffee and dinner as we paid the bill for lunch. Mom would very kindly look at us as though we were mad, but let us get on with it.

After lunch, we drove to Proceno. It is everything that I had been led to believe and then some. I hope the photos do justice to the absolute splendour of the place.

That evening was really special. Pucci, the owner of the castle, puts on concerts every several months and she had put this one especially for Mom and Lynn. It was really a special night. We started with a buffet dinner - one dish more fabulous than the one before it - and then went in to listen to the concert. It was very simple, just a violin and a guitar playing old Italian airs, but it was gorgeous to listen to - especially in that setting.

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Photos

Lago di Bolsera
This is just one part of it.

La Pineta
These are just part of the gardens. We sat on the porch overlooking the lake.

La Pineta
Another view of the garden and the lake.

Coregone
The first of many photos I took of food while I was in Italy.

Proceno
The street outside our front door.

The Castle
This is a view of the castle through the gardens.

The Castle
This is the castle itself -- magnificent.

Mom
This is Mom as we were walking down from our flat to the main part of the castle.

The Concert
These were the guests at the concert.

My View
This was the view from my bedroom window. Too bad!

Proceno
This was early in the morning as I was walking around the town. You can tell how high we were by the cloud coming through the hills.

Proceno
A view of the castle from the town.