| :: The Leonetti Family :: success is a happy life welcome friends, family and stalkers | photos and narrative since 2001 |
| Day trip for gin buying - gin is a big thing in Italy now. Who knew. And wine tasting. And views. 8 August 2020 Monforte d'Alba |
| Views of Serole & of course GJ 3 August 2020 Brallo, Italia |
| We are officially on vacation! We busted out of Brallo with E&E and Matty Patatty... and went all the way to Roccaverano! What a lovely evening. Wine, cheese, golden light and sunsets. Awe summer... It is easy to forget that the world has gone crazy. Wear masks, social distance, stay at home and NOT travel unless it is an emergency 7 August 2020 Serole, Italy |
| Giro di Marguareis 4 days & 53 kilometers +2.5K up and - 2K down It's always so nice/ convenient when we can find a perfect high altitude trek route that takes us right back to our car. 10-13 August 2020 Italy & France Day 1 Pian della Gorre 1041 to Rifugio Garelli at 1966 meters That was not where we had reserved - but on the way up Joe's Sportiva hiking boots blew out both soles. Weird as my Han Weg hiking boots blew out snow showing last winter. We bought them in 2007 - different brands - same year expirations. So we arrived after 2+ hours up 900 meters and Joe, thankfully, had another pair of Salomon trail shoes in the car. He had to run down and back up - he left his pack with me so that helped but a huge storm kicked in - rain, hail, wind. He made it in good time and was back in about 3 hours, chilled and soaking wet but with shoes intact. Uff. 10 August 2020 Rifugio Garelli |
| Day 2 Rifugio Garelli to Rifugio Mondovi 1755 meters +3 hours - where we had planned on staying the night before, but happy we didn't - we stopped for tea and they were turds. And then on to Rifugio Mongioie + 4 hours. Long day on the trail but beautiful views on the way, we were looking forward to the tent we had reserved. Which I loved. This year, because of covid, they added new tents as an option to the typical dormitory sleeping (always not fun), the tents were on beautifully crafted wood platforms, in a little pine forest next to the rifugio. Views, stars and cowbells. I loved it a lot. 11 August 2020 |
| Day 3 Rifugio Mongioie 1550 meters to Rifugio Don Barbera 2079 meters - this was an easy-ish 4.5 hours - up about 887 meters. It was nice to get someplace and be able to hang out and rest. We had no wifi & no 4G unless we stood on the hill way off in a cow herd. No connection is fine but we didn't want Zaven worrying. We played lots of Gin Rummy and Zonk. This rifugio was popular for eBikers. Which I think is cheating. 12 August 2020 |
| Day 4: Rifugio Don Barbera back to Pian Della Gorre - we hiked the first few hours in France, it was about 1000 meters down down down to the valley floor. Lovely views and ended in a gorgeous forest with lovely, bubbling, mountain waterfalls and aqua clear pools. 13 August 2020 |
| Beach days! It was wonderful to go lay on the beach and drink beer and not hike up a big mountain. The beach was eerily quiet for Ferragosto. The news said, because of covid, a lot of Italians went to agriturismos instead of the beach. Fine with me. Bad, summer, beach hair & blue skies. 14 & 15 agosto 2020 Noli, Italia |
| Obligatory doing-house-stuff trip...happy to be able to take a break and visit charming Tubingen. Holzgerlingen, Germany 17-20 August 2020 J Final beach trip & birthday weekend end of August |
| Birthday Beach Weekend Crazy weather. But mostly warm and gorgeous. Last beach days. Summer is officially over. Sigh. Looking forward to Autumn and praying not to be locked down again. Noli, Italia 29 & 30 August 2020 |
| Fribble (he's the one on the right) had a bum paw and was limping. He is special and extra inactive so we were unsure what had happened - had it fallen asleep? Atrophied? Psychosomatic paralysis? The working hypothesis is that he got it stuck in his too tiny basket (he has gained a lot of lbs and looks like a black and white bowling ball) wrenching his paw out (nail stuck on the wicker) and spraining his wrist and shoulder. The vet gave him some anti inflammatory something but I think he was getting well on his own. |