Good Morning! What a long, frustrating day this has been, but I will get to that later
My Italian breakfast of champions. This whole plate was for me. The Italians sure love their sweets for breakfast. Not the ideal hiking breakfast but tasty all the same.
Looking back at Arrone. Little did I know, but it wasn't my last view of it.
For all the frustrations and sore muscles -- look at this view. I would totally repeat this trip, hopefully with a phone! I had a funny moment on the trail. I rounded the corner just after I took this photo, only to catch an old farmer taking a whiz beside his car. After he zipped up, he caught up with me and offered me a ride. I had already seen enough of him!
I was determined not to drive you guys crazy with cat photos (you all know how I love them) but I couldn't resist this one. He posed so prettily for me. He wasn't gonna let me near but being an Italian male, he didn't mind a photo.
I walked through this tunnel on my way to the Cascata della Marmore. I detoured about a mile to see the tallest falls in Europe. I was so excited. I got there at nine in the morning, and learned that the biglietteria didn't open until eleven.
So I sat down with my iPad and a Coca-Cola Zero to wait. After all, I didn't want to miss seeing this. After about an hour and a half, I was standing by the ticket office when a couple came up to look at the sign. The woman explained to me that during November, they only open the water on Saturdays and Sundays, so no falls. Boohoo!
This is what I should have seen, but no biggie. This day was beautiful, and it was good to have a rest. The Cascata dell Marmore was created by the ancient Romans when they built a dam on the Nera River. In the first century, Pompeius and Cicero were part of the planning stage. So back to the trail, I went, for a brutal uphill climb.
Looking down on the area of the tickets.
When I got to the top (FINALLY), there was this cool park with some of the equipment it takes to maintain the hydraulics.
These look like giant crazy blue tubas to me, and they were about eight feet tall.
The dam.
Libero Liberati (20 September 1926 – 5 March 1962) was an Italian motorcycle rider and the 1957 Grand Prix World Champion He was sponsored by Moto Guzzi. Joe Henderson had a Moto Guzzi that was his pride and joy.
Once again, I walked beside the flowing river leading to Lago Piediluco.
Piediluco in the distance.
There is no prettier season than fall, no matter what country you are in.
AT LAST!
Pretty clever stairs!
And my troubles are just beginning! My hotel for the night, the Hotel Miralago, was under these Giraffe Sculptures. I won't comment on the name. I found it easy enough but it was closed. There was a telephone number but I decided to sit outside for a moment thinking maybe the owner would be back soon. I waited about an hour and then went across the street to a local bar. Lucky for me there were two young men sitting outside with phones, and one of them called the number for me. If you remember, early in my journey, my cell phone crashed. The owner of the hotel said that he was closed for fifteen days, and I had no reservation. Well, shucks (not actually what I thought). The barkeep claimed he didn't have internet but I kinda think he thought I was some kind of homeless woman. Of course it had just turned 1:00 when they roll up the sidewalks in Italy. I wandered back through the village and found a very nice bar with internet. I texted Dennis on my IPad, but I knew he was unavailable for several hours. He could call the emergency Camino Ways number and explain. Meanwhile, I tried texting them...didn't work and finally I emailed their general email, explaining the situation about my phone and that I didn't know where to go since the hotel was closed. I get an email back. We tried to call you but you didn't answer. We changed your reservation, and emailed you several days ago blah, blah blah. I never got an email. Here is the phone number of the taxi to pick you up. Bad words on the inside from me. I emailed again and got a similar response about calling. Finally in frustration, I sent a rather terse email (no swear words) about my phone not working. Long story short they finally called the taxi, and sent them to me. This took all afternoon, two glasses of wine at the bar and a big tip. I had a lovely ride back to last nights hotel, and got to see just how many mountains are in the area. My driver is picking me up in the morning to take me back to the trail, and I will be on my way. Ahhhh, the joys of travel, but it is all a part of the experience.
The view from the bar that I spent my afternoon.
When I got back to the hotel, I had a long shower and a wonderful dinner.
My first course was a lovely thick spaghetti with tomato sauce, and my second course was a plate of appetiser goodies. I wasn't all that hungry but I ordered this because I needed food for tomorrow. Discreetly, most of it went in my purse.
So good night and sweet dreams...until tomorrow.
P. S. Ignore any of my gramatical errors because I am pretty tired!
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