How it all began......
Jeff, Sylvia & Flop
.
We first discovered this beautiful region in 2009
Being keen walkers and after discovering a recent publication on Italy's Sibillini National Park: Walking and Trekking Guide (Cicerone Guide), reading about the diversity of the walks and about the Grande Anello
(an 8 day trail through the national park circling around the mountain range) we decided we just had to check it out!
We spent a couple of days at the coast soaking up the beach culture of the Adriatic and the sunshine and then headed inland a short distance (circa 30km) to the mountains.
Within a few days we had walked on exposed ridges, up to stunning lakes of surreal colour, through tranquil valleys with gurgling streams and onto summits with stupendous panoramic views for miles in every direction.
The diversity of the walking terrain was amazing – from rolling hills to steep craggy outcrops reminiscent of the Dolomites to lush vegetation-clad hillsides. We saw the most amazing wild flowers, brightly-coloured butterflies, fascinating fossils, lots of strange insects and so many faces in the stones! We also discovered facilities for both downhill and x-country skiing and, perhaps most impressively, very few people!
This magical area just seemed to have it all!
Our adventure started when we relocated over here in 2010 - you can read all about that in
Renovating our Farmhouse
We first discovered this beautiful region in 2009
Being keen walkers and after discovering a recent publication on Italy's Sibillini National Park: Walking and Trekking Guide (Cicerone Guide), reading about the diversity of the walks and about the Grande Anello
(an 8 day trail through the national park circling around the mountain range) we decided we just had to check it out!
We spent a couple of days at the coast soaking up the beach culture of the Adriatic and the sunshine and then headed inland a short distance (circa 30km) to the mountains.
Within a few days we had walked on exposed ridges, up to stunning lakes of surreal colour, through tranquil valleys with gurgling streams and onto summits with stupendous panoramic views for miles in every direction.
The diversity of the walking terrain was amazing – from rolling hills to steep craggy outcrops reminiscent of the Dolomites to lush vegetation-clad hillsides. We saw the most amazing wild flowers, brightly-coloured butterflies, fascinating fossils, lots of strange insects and so many faces in the stones! We also discovered facilities for both downhill and x-country skiing and, perhaps most impressively, very few people!
This magical area just seemed to have it all!
Our adventure started when we relocated over here in 2010 - you can read all about that in
Renovating our Farmhouse
Meet The Team ........
JEFF
Hi, I’m Jeff and was built in the late 1950’s from a special mould! !
Before relocating to Italy I spent all my life in the south Manchester area where I ran my own business, primarily sub contracting in grounds management and maintenance for the education department.
My interests over the years have been mainly in the outdoors:- subaqua diving, kayaking, skiing, motorbikes, hiking and climbing.
I also had the great pleasure of being a member of the Cheshire Search and Rescue Team gaining first aid, trauma and tracking qualifications. I held the position of Party leader and was also a member of their Mountain Bike Quick Response Team. I have also passed courses with MLTA and MT and hold the Walking Group Leader & Mountain Leader certificates. Prior to leaving the UK I also worked as a voluntary instructor for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.
Before relocating to Italy I spent all my life in the south Manchester area where I ran my own business, primarily sub contracting in grounds management and maintenance for the education department.
My interests over the years have been mainly in the outdoors:- subaqua diving, kayaking, skiing, motorbikes, hiking and climbing.
I also had the great pleasure of being a member of the Cheshire Search and Rescue Team gaining first aid, trauma and tracking qualifications. I held the position of Party leader and was also a member of their Mountain Bike Quick Response Team. I have also passed courses with MLTA and MT and hold the Walking Group Leader & Mountain Leader certificates. Prior to leaving the UK I also worked as a voluntary instructor for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.
SYLVIA
Having very keen outdoor enthusiasts for parents, my childhood seemed to consist of sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, skiing, walking and camping!
Finally leaving home gave me a welcome reprieve from all this activity!
After graduating in Leeds I lived in south Germany for many years working in corporate finance-related roles. You guessed it, childhood interests were rekindled - Bavaria is a great location for skiing (both alpine and x-country) and walking. It is just a nip over the border into Austria and just a couple of hours into Italy (note where the real interests lay!) I am a keen skier and hold the BASI alpine qualification but nowadays have a greater interest in telemark/cross country.
Unfortunately, due to house renovating skiing has been somewhat neglected but hopefully this will change in the very near future!
In Le Marche we chose a location close to the mountains to enable us to spend more time doing the things we love. Unfortunately, the nature of house renovating has prevented us from pursuing our walking/snowy interests to the extent we would have liked but these will definitely be featuring more on the agenda in the future! With the right conditions, the Sibillini range and also the region of Abruzzo offer some fine skiing for all disciplines, downhill, telemark and x-country.
I also enjoy food, most things Italian, meeting new people and enlightening them on all this fascinating area has to offer.
Finally leaving home gave me a welcome reprieve from all this activity!
After graduating in Leeds I lived in south Germany for many years working in corporate finance-related roles. You guessed it, childhood interests were rekindled - Bavaria is a great location for skiing (both alpine and x-country) and walking. It is just a nip over the border into Austria and just a couple of hours into Italy (note where the real interests lay!) I am a keen skier and hold the BASI alpine qualification but nowadays have a greater interest in telemark/cross country.
Unfortunately, due to house renovating skiing has been somewhat neglected but hopefully this will change in the very near future!
In Le Marche we chose a location close to the mountains to enable us to spend more time doing the things we love. Unfortunately, the nature of house renovating has prevented us from pursuing our walking/snowy interests to the extent we would have liked but these will definitely be featuring more on the agenda in the future! With the right conditions, the Sibillini range and also the region of Abruzzo offer some fine skiing for all disciplines, downhill, telemark and x-country.
I also enjoy food, most things Italian, meeting new people and enlightening them on all this fascinating area has to offer.
FLOP
Wuff wuff my name’s Flop and I keep a happy, gentle watch over the Other Two ....... and at meal times a rather intense, drooling gaze!
I had the incline they needed a canine companion so I sniffed them out after landing in kennels as a result of the earthquake in L’Aquila, Abruzzo in April 2009.
It was a sad time :-( but I wasn’t in there long though, I made sure of that! I snuck my way out by charming some new foster humans, a lovely couple, I don’t think the lady could resist me.
I had the incline they needed a canine companion so I sniffed them out after landing in kennels as a result of the earthquake in L’Aquila, Abruzzo in April 2009.
It was a sad time :-( but I wasn’t in there long though, I made sure of that! I snuck my way out by charming some new foster humans, a lovely couple, I don’t think the lady could resist me.
Look that’s me when they first saw me, I can still do that face when I want to conjure up another biscuit ;-)
Me in the kennels in L'Aquila
along with 420 other homeless doggies
A couple of hours later and I’m outta there (see pic below) and feeling a lot happier as you can see, now off to Le Marche for my next adventure.
(A GREAT BIG thanks by the way to all those fantastic folks who looked after us all in the kennels, amazing humans!)
I'm outta here!! Me in the box in the kennels in L'Aquila ready to be shipped out to Marche to my new life :-)
I spent the next 17mths looking after my new foster humans, their cute little Jack Russell and a wuff wuff gorgeous female black Belgian Shepherd doggy mixture.
I was quite smitten with Miss Belgium but alas, me and Jack didn’t always see tail to tail! So it was a case of FIDO, or is it LIFO? and then I was off again.......
..........to my next home.
I don't think the Other Two were that keen on dogs at all really, well to begin with, but I knew once I got my paws in they wouldn’t have much choice and, of course, I was right.
So nearly 8 years on and I’m well happy, get spoiled rotten, walked twice a day (sometimes wufftastic treks in the mountains) and do lots of sleeping inbetween, just a bit of a layabout really – after all it's a dog’s life!
Of course they absolutely adore me.......... mind you, I’m pretty taken with them too.
So we’re all living together happily ever after and I’m their best friend, just as I had predicted! :-)
I was quite smitten with Miss Belgium but alas, me and Jack didn’t always see tail to tail! So it was a case of FIDO, or is it LIFO? and then I was off again.......
..........to my next home.
I don't think the Other Two were that keen on dogs at all really, well to begin with, but I knew once I got my paws in they wouldn’t have much choice and, of course, I was right.
So nearly 8 years on and I’m well happy, get spoiled rotten, walked twice a day (sometimes wufftastic treks in the mountains) and do lots of sleeping inbetween, just a bit of a layabout really – after all it's a dog’s life!
Of course they absolutely adore me.......... mind you, I’m pretty taken with them too.
So we’re all living together happily ever after and I’m their best friend, just as I had predicted! :-)
Me looking cool and shadey!