After saying our fond farewells to Yolanda and Mario, we left Cannobio and headed west, aiming for the Adriatic coast. The region was filled with rolling hills and packed with beautiful, sprawling fruit farms. We passed apple groves, acres of wineland and hundreds of plum trees.
We spent the night at an amazing place called Ca'Monti, which is an apricot farm nestled in the hills with a view of the Santerno Valley. Matthew, Lucas, Steen and Grandpa all joined in a game of bocce ball, and while Nicholas and I cheered them on. (This is one of my favorite pictures of grandpa from the entire trip.)
At one point, the owner came out and showed us how the game is really played. Nicholas took the opportunity to have a few moments alone with his great-grandpa.
We truly enjoyed the friendly hospitality of this bed and breakfast. It is a place that I could easily imagine spending a month, writing a book as I enjoyed the cool breeze coming through my window. I will never forget the extraordinary dinner we had that night of fresh raviolis in a butter sage sauce, lamb chops and vegetables. All of this was consumed as we sat on the terrace, watching dusk fall over the hills.
Day 4 -- San Marino and Silvi
In the morning, we started off with a long scenic drive through the hills. When we reached the coast, we decided to take a bit of a detour into one of Europe's smallest countries, San Marino. San Marino is situated on the top of a mountain overlooking the sea. To get there, we drove part way up the mountain and then took a series of elevators up to the very top, where we wandered around the tiny streets, ate lunch at the same restaurant that hosts the weekly Rotary meetings...
...and marvelled at the amazing views over the cliffs.
After San Marino, we returned to Italy and cruised down the coast to Silvi, where we spent the night at Villa Rossi. This is a recently restored castle, filled with beautiful rooms and offering a very nice restaurant. After we arrived, grandpa rested in his room while we scoped out the local supermarket and took a quick trip to the beach.
I ended up eating my dinner at a small table in the hall outside our room, because Nicholas decided that sleep was the only option for him at that point.
At the mention of yet another place designed for the intake of food, I have to stress how important and fun eating was on this trip. Every meal was a new, delicious experience. I, at least, completely enjoyed the unlimited access to pasta, sweets and excellent bread. I know Steen and the boys loved the constant availability of gelato. And grandpa kept an ongoing ranking system of the many tomato sauces we tasted along the way.
If you want to please your sense of taste, Italy is the place to be.
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