Kilometro 55. Andrea e Nina

What is going to be the coming up month like if the beginning has been this way?! Andrea and Nina are two amazing guys living their dream in the Sardinian country side, hosting me and allowing me to pinch my tent in their field. The land is in the area of the wonderful Baratz lake and from here you can see the Capo Caccia lighthouse and the astonishing bay of Porto Ferro.

Portoferro con furore from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

But the surroundings are not the highlight of what is happening to me here...the persons are making this experience unforgettable. At my arrival I meet Giancarlo, a local shepherd that later in the afternoon will invite me to take part to a magical ritual consisting in cutting off the wool from the sheep. It will be here the I meet 4 other sweet persons and will live with them an unforgettable time! My fellows are Maurizio (the wise one), Lorenzo, Mauro and Nando! They're all shephards giving a hand to Giancarlo in this though job. At the end of the day we're all invited to stay over for dinner at Giancarlo's and Daniela will feed all of us with great tasty food including tipacal cheese and mirto!
All this can only happen if you're ready for everything to happen!

Island #1 report

Giglio riding from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

While Italy was loosing 4-0 to Spain in the finals of Euro 2012, I was grilling prawns and fishes with my dearest friends Silvia and Ruggy in a wonderful porch facing a quite bay. I know Giglio island by heart but still I feel sick right after watching it fading away from the ferry. I will always have a special connection to This place either because I went there for the first time during a tough era of my life, either because it's always been faithful to me never disappointing me. The warmth of Giglio Porto and its colorful houses, the chilly air of Giglio Castello and its amazing medieval atmosphere...and above all its endless spots with deep blinding waters. At the moment I'm on the ship taking me to Sardegna sipping on an icy beer ignoring what my next month is going to give me, but my positivity and my traveler state of mind will do it all, sure that I'm gonna remember this journey for ever. I prefer thinking at my self old, hanging out in a park with lots of kids listening to all my stories, instead of taking care of the people paving the streets being sure they're doing a good job!
Let the real story begin.
Cheers

Costa Concordia

I think the whole world knows what happened last January outside the coastline of Giglio island. Captain Schettino and the Costa Concordia were on every news and the images of the huge cruise ship laying on its side hit everyone with it's massive impact. Oh well.



As you might have understood from my previous posts, I'm spending some days on this island before heading to Sardegna for an outrageous challenge. Before landing here I promised myself that I would have never taken a picture of what made my country ridiculous to the world, but as I was approaching with the ferry to the peer I was just shocked from what I saw and changed my mind! I know these pics are not going to be anything new, but as a witness I want to express how sorry I feel for all this and share with all of you followers the views of this disaster from as many angles as I can. Sit down and take a deep breath!

65 km/h on the edge

When this stupid app will allow me to publish videos too, you will probably understand much better the title of my post, but since then just enjoy my pictures and my storytelling. The outrageous speed was reached during my ride on one of the most beautiful roads I've ever seen in my life...from Castello to Capel Rosso. A series of curves hanging on the most delicious view you could find on this island, surrounded by silence and a wild nature! And hundreds of meters down the bluest sea. Wow!

Giglio riding from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

Where can I go recover after such an emotion? Which path will I follow this time? I heard Cala Sparavieri is a quiet amazing spot, and the walk (about 15 min) is not even tough. Going up and downs few times, passing through a pinewood and climbing some rocks, you will get to this "crowded" spot which will not disappoint you at all. Deep all of a sudden, the water here is blinding as usual due to its color and if you won't burn yourself and make it to the end of the day, you will see a damned good sunset! For dinner I suggest you to try the world famous grilled chicken from the "macelleria da Franco". With 10 euros you get a tasty chicken and some great potatoes...and you choose the table! I chose to eat at Giglio Porto on a bench to feel some "chaos" after a whole day in the quietness of the island.
Stay tuned and maybe you'll get some videos too!!!

A slice of life from flamingshoe on Vimeo.

In a Super Mario pose. Capel Rosso.

There's no way I can miss the chance to start my tour on Giglio island from my favorite spot ever: Capel Rosso!
This tip of the island at its very south is part of the marine park of the Arcipelago toscano made of 7 other islands among which Elba island is probably the most famous. To reach this secluded spot you have to go through a 30 minutes breath taking path (I noticed the community here did a great job improving the signs all over), passing next to one of the two lighthouses present on the island and finally getting where the silence is king!

Due to the toughness of the walk (especially on the way back after a whole day swimming) there's no one here most of the time,and that's why I get naked right away spending my day feeling free as a bird...just like the many ones flying above my head choosing this place as their nest. The turquoise waters make this spot unbelievably beautiful and once you jump into the water with your snorkeling equipment you will be even more impressed by the amount of fishes. Today, for example, I ran into a huge school of "occhiate" made of hundreds of fishes!!!

If you like climbing a little bit you can lay on the smooth granitic rocks and be right in front of the infinite horizon, otherwise you can take advantage of the steps sculptured in the rocks and reach a sweet bay with calm waters...either ways you'll be oastonished! You can get a better idea of what I'm talking about taking a look at one of my older posts on Giglio island too if you want.
After watching Super Mario last night showing off for his second goal against Germany in the semifinals of Euro 2012, I decided to use those steps as a training tool and start my wellness process right from today...stay tuned for the videos on my next post!

Santo Stefano...a bridge to Giglio island

I've been waiting this moment for months and now I'm finally at the peer waiting to be boarded on the Giuseppe Rum ferry to reach my dear island. My friend Silvia (met in Nicaragua in 2005 during one of my world famous journeys) is waiting for me there! I haven't seen her for a while now, but real friendship is when you meet someone again after a long time and it feels like you hung out just the night before...and that's what happens with her.

She knows how much I care for the Italian soccer national team and that's why she's already booked a table at a restaurant where we can cheer for our team and get drunk with some cold white wine...landing time 20.30...match time 20.45...just the time for a warm hug and the suffering will take place. Let's go Italyyyyy!!!!!!!!

Grottaferrata is where everything starts from

I've just downloaded this new blogger iPhone app to figure out how helpful it could be during "The Islands Tour", and to tell you the truth I'm not so disappointed. From the reviews I read people were pretty pissed at Google for it, but let's see how it works when the post will be published and I will check it on a real browser. Let's try adding a photo...and you guys please leave a feed back!

The Islands Tour

Sorry for my English speaking readers, but this post has to be in italian since it's the opening one of a series talking about my next traveling project that is gonna take part entirely in Italy and to be more precise on some of the best islands we have in this country. If you're curious about anything or want to ask questions in general, please fell free to leave a comment and I'll be right back at you with the best answer I can.

Eccomi qui, pronto per la mia prossima avventura! Prima di tutto voglio iniziare col dire che sono molto fiero di me, perchè ho preso piena coscienza di essermi evoluto come viaggiatore. Questa volta, infatti, avendo i miei canonici 3 mesi a disposizione (io considero viaggi solo quelli che hanno una durata superiore ai 2 mesi) non sono stato lì a farmi troppi problemi su dove andare, quale angolo remoto del mondo visitare o quale cultura andare a sentire mia, ma la scelta della meta si è basata solo ed esclusivamente su cosa sarebbe stato meglio per me e quale area del mondo avesse avuto le migliori condizioni metereologiche. Il viaggio sarei stato io non la meta, sarebbero state le persone che avrei incontrato, le mille deviazioni di percorso che avrei fatto, le incognite che rendono il vagare affascinante. E così la mia scelta è ricaduta sull'Italia, il mediterraneo nostrano e le sue isole incantate.
L'emozione di prenotare i biglietti è sempre la stessa, sia che si tratti di aerei, treni o traghetti, e quando ho ricevuto la conferma dell'avvenuto acquisto delle tratte Civitavecchia-Porto Torres e Cagliari-Trapani la tipica pelle d'oca ha attraversato la mia cute. 340 Km in bicicletta seguendo la costa, accampandomi con la mia fidata tenda dove capiterà e dove gli scenari saranno mozzafiato, cucinandomi materie prime locali nella solitudine di una baia sperduta. Già so che i chilometri saranno molti di più, ma questa volta c'è la sfida nella sfida, quella con il mio fisico e quella col fato che mi porterà dove solo lui vorrà.
Lasciata la Sardegna l'isola più grande d'Italia, la Sicilia, diventerà la mia nuova casa per i successivi due mesi con le sue isole minori a rappresentare tappe intermedie agognate: le Egadi, Pantelleria e Ustica.
Inutile dirlo che questo è il disegno generale, ma poi solo i tacchetti della mia mountain bike potranno disegnare accuratamente su una mappa il percorso più fedele a quello che sarà il definitivo.
Posso solo dirvi STAY TUNED e provate a non perdervi neanche uno dei miei futuri posts, nonchè i collegamenti Skype con la number one web radio "Wasabi Radio"

P.S.
Ah dimenticavo! Per iniziare una 4 giorni al Giglio era d'obbligo visto l'affetto ed il profondo legame che ho con quest'isola.

Komatsubara Claus

Oh well! Few months have passed since my latest appearance on Waratte KoraeteWaratte Koraete (the name of the show in Japan), but it's been worth waiting!
First of all because in the era of trilogies, this is gonna be a duology and I'm happy it all happened and took place during some special holidays in a very perticular time of my life.
And second, because watching these two episodes I can finally scream to the whole world and the net that I'm proud of my family.
Some people might think it was kind of a show off posting on my blog such intimate moments (and it actually was, since it doesn't happen all the time to end up on a national japanes channel while taking a walk downtown Rome), but this is the proof that having a positive attitude and being surrounded by special persons sharing and being part of that positive way of looking at life make everything happen.
I'm glad all my relatives had the chance to live such an experience, and I hope in the future we'll all be able to look at those events like something that could have happend just because of a moltitudes of circumstances.
Thanx mom and dad for being such open minded persons...I hope one day you'll be proud of me as I am of you.
Enjoy.

Dolomiti...what a beauty!

Waiting for episode 2 of the world famouse Japanese series "Daniele San", here's another post about the endless beauties my country has to offer.
From unspoiled beaches to soft hills, from majestic mountains to secluted islands, Italy has got it all and this time I went visiting an area of my country I've never been before: the Dolomiti mountains.
This time it was me, my sweet E and our amazing friends from Molenhoek (Holland) Pieter and Manon and we were all based in Levico, a thermal, shiny and quiet location set on the Levico lake just 20 minutes from Trento. It was the perfect location for an healty vacation, giving us the chance to do pretty much everything, from skiing, to trekking, to visit museums and ancient castles...everything!



As a matter of fact, after settling our stuff at home and enjoying the first evening with good food and grappa, the day after we all woke up with a great need of high altitudes and very cold air, so we all packed our equipment and headed to the Panarotta peak (2002 mt above the sea level) to rent some ski and face the steep slopes. I'm not a great fan of skiing after I broke my ligaments few years ago playing soccer, so I waved at everyone after they bought their ski passes and looked around for the highes peak to reach. With a map in my hands (the paths here are very well shown with signs) and an amazing will of sweating my ass off, I looked at the time and realized I could reach the Fravort peak (2300 mt high) and come back on time for a warm grappa with my friends. And so I did!!! The sky was blue and the sun was hiting so hard that I didn't even realize how long that walk was, and by the time the sun was going down I met everyone at the hut as planned to get buzzed with some local spirits!
The day after we were all a little bit stiff and with a little hang over to repeat the sporty day, so we decided to have an easy trekk through the Sella valley and visit Arte Sella. In the middle of nowhere, there's this quite impressive piece of land settled in the woods all surrounded by masterpieces some artists created afetr being invited by the owner of the land in change of a three week stay in their place. It's quiete useless to say that you can breath peace and cretivity all over, and once your tour will be over (there's two path you can follow: one is about 40 minutes long and the other a couple of hrs...we did both) you will feel reborned and with a sense of freedom...definatly a place to go!



To make a long story short, the remaining three days waere made of walks (we took a whole tour of the Levico lake one day, and went visiting Trento and the Pergine castle another one) and some culture (we couldn't miss the chance to visit the Rovereto Museum of Modern Art, totally worth a look!). In less then a week we tried to get the best of our staying, without forgetting to rest a little bit and just taking it easy enjoing our passion for food and good living.
For the food lovers, as a matter of fact, don't forget to visit the "Crucolo" hut and taste their world famous "Parampampoli". We loved it so much that we ordered through their site four bottles...already gone!
Cheers.

Japanese Easter

As I said in some of my previous posts, there's no need to move too much to feel like traveling...and this post proves it one more time.
I had just come back from my one month and a half unforgettable trip through India, Hong Kong and Seychelles, and I was taking a nice walk downtown Rome to feel finally back home when I ran into these crazy guys from a japanese TV network. Komatsubara was standing in the middle of Piazza Navona with a sign saying "I'm Japanese...do you want to be my friend?" and I just couldn't resist from stopping and trying to talk to him. I could never imagine that he was from a TV show and that hiding somewhere were his fellows with cameras and a translator.
The chat among the four of us was going just great, I was happy to bring some of my life experience into the show, when I suddenly thought about inviting them over my house for our family Easter lunch...and they accepted!!!
That's the way it all happened. We all ended up on Nippon Television Inc on a show called "Waratte Koraete".
I still can't believe my eyes!
Enjoy*

Er sor Mario e la sua dolce Teresa

I'm sorry for my english speaking followers, but this is gonna be a post in Italian and it wouldn't be fair translating it due to it's spontaneity when it first came out of my mind. I hope you'll get it translated from someone...and I'm sure you'll love it!

Sono le 6.30 e sono già in macchina. Er sor Mario alle 5.30 mi' sveglia chiedendomi "sei sveglio bene?!?!" ed io, per non risultare distrutto agli occhi di un vispo ottantenne mattiniero, faccio finta di essere già sveglio quando in effetti chi gli risponde si è una mummia sonnambula incapace di articolare i suoi gesti. A tentoni disfo il letto e piego tutti i lenzuolini, per scendere giù dove c'è... Mario con la gamba tremarella che mi fa col suo accento toscano, il baffetto hitleriano bianco tagliato tutto storto e asimmetrico :"siamo in ritardo sulla tabella di marcia!!!". In quel momento suonano le campane che rintoccano le 6, quelle stesse campane che ieri notte fino alle 00 hanno tuonato nelle mie orecchie con il campanile proprio di fianco alla mia finestra. Siamo in ritardo?!?! Mi ripeto autisticamente Mentre il rintocco ancora rimbomba tra un neurone e l'altro del mio cervello spappolato. Nella mia vita di tutti i giorni quando sono in ritardo sono le 11...cazzo, fra 5 ore?!?! Mentre tutti questi pensieri (tutti...è uno solo ma a quest'ora il mio Pentium cerebron ha le performance di un pallottoliere) mi passano per la testa, mi volto e guardo Mario muovere le labbra e gesticolare senza però emettere suoni; È li che racconta dei suoi viaggi in macchina con la sua dolce Teresa, che snocciola numeri manco fosse Berlusconi...ma sono numeri che fanno tenerezza perché sono la loro storia. 1973, 23 ottobre, orari, vie, nomi di paesi assurdi!?! Ho davanti a me due persone che hanno un energia tale da avergli fatto girare in macchina, fino a poco fa, mezza Europa. Addirittura ad Amsterdam sono andati! E Mi immagino Mario, tra quei canali, con un bel cannone che spunta da quei baffi smozzicati...si perché loro so gajardi! Torna l'audio e i labiali di Mario riacquistano un senso...bene, il mio cervello ha finalmente ripreso a funzionare. Teresa mi fa strada e scendiamo x le scalette della loro casetta, la più in alto di tutta Roccatederighi piace dire a Mario. Fuori è buio!!!! Ma non quel buio pallido di quando uscivo per andare a scuola, il buio nero quello pesto. Mario continua a raccontare e Teresa ogni tanto fa dei ridolini squisiti che riecheggiano fra le viette deserte del XII secolo, mentre io fra me e me penso che vorrei un giorno essere come loro.
E così iniziò la mia seconda giornata di un week end di novembre alla ricerca del mio terreno perfetto.

Tuscany set

Behehehehehe
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No words
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Sleeping Vineyard
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Colourful
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Fingers like
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Harvest under the sun
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Cut in the sky
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San Quirico d'Orcia

Traveling doesn't mean only taking planes and going to far away places, traveling is a way of living, a way of exepriencing any kind of situation and that's what I've been doing lately. Italy is probably one of the nicest country in the world (talking about beauties to see) and Tuscany is hands down the region which has the most to offer.
This post is about the part of Tuscany I like the most (and I know Tuscany very well since I spend more time there then in my hometown Rome): the Orcia valley (Val d'Orcia in Italian).
In one of my older posts you might have read about Pienza, or you might have run into a post about a trekking I did in this area...well, this time I'm gonna talk about San Quirico d'Orcia and again I'm gonna give you some great tips on how to explore the surroundings being sure not to miss the best part of it.
Starting from the accomodation, my lovely girlfriend invited me to stay over a fabulous Relais called Palazzo del Capitano. The hotel is in an ancient building perfectly restored just behind the majestic Palazzo Chigi (the city hall bulding), and here you can be sure to spend a delightfull vacation either enjoying the wellness center after a long day out or just chilling out on the marvelous terrace on a shiny sunny day. The restaurant, then, is just supreme. The Trattoria il Vecchio Forno is one of those few things in life you can count on, from the menu, to the wines, to the great service you get in a cozy location (during winter time is jsut sweet to have dinner in front of their powerful fire place) everything is just perfect and the only thing you can do once you're finished eating is to wait for the next culinary experience you'll have there.
And what's better then a nice walk after such a great meal?! You're only few steps away from the main square and the astonishing Horti Leonini from the 15th century; here you'll be able to walk through history deeped into a blinding green (check my pics in the post) surrounded by the powerful walls of the town and a sense of peace. But this amazing mediaval center has much more to offer: the "Collegiata" is another thing you can't miss visiting, because here is where you reach the highest level of beauty. I was speachless the first time I faced such a masterpiece and if you're so lucky (like I was) you might have the chance to attend a classical night concert in it depending on the events the town organize every once in a while.

But San Quirico is not only what's inside the walls. Even better is the outside, with its worldwide famouse surroundings and the many path leading you to hidden castles or colourful vineyards. What I did was to buy a detailed map of the many trails and start walking from early in the morning till down and get "lost" with my heart into such amazing locations and colors.
The first day my girlfriend and I had a 16 kilometers walk follwing the "Bagno Vignoni ring", an easy walk going through dirt roads, woods and follwing for a short time the river giving the name to the valley (the Orcia river indeed).
The following day, to rest from the great effort, we enjoyed the day visiting the many wine producers tasting and buying fresh squeezed olive oil and above the average wines (Poggio Grande is defenatly worth a visit especially for their Sesterzo wine).
The third day we totally challenged ourself and had a 30 kilometers trek starting from San Quirico to the Sant'Antimo abbey and back to Castello di Ripa d'Orcia getting lost few times but happy for that beacuse we saw things otherwise we would have never.
It's quite useless to speak to much about what we experienced during these walks and what we saw, it's better to let the pictures speak, and if you have any questions I will be more then happy to reply as fast as I can and in an accurate way.
Hope you enjoyed the post but above all I hope you'll visit these places.

Sfizi di mare, San Foca, Salento

Together with my older post, this one is intended to enrich the possibility to have an unfrogettable experience in southern Italy and to be more precise in an area called Salento (Puglia).
My girlfriend and I were so lucky to run into Sfizi di mare right at the beginning of our short vacation, that all our staying turned into a culinary orgasm!
Right on the road following the coast of San Foca, you don't have to put to much effort to discover this place, first because of the chalkboard on the street capturing your attention and second because of the people coming out of this place with a big smile on their face. You must be a seafood lover but above all a raw seafood lover to enjoy it, beacuse all you get here is super fresh dishes coming right from the Adriatic sea.
The place is not that cozy, wiht plastic tables and palastic chairs, but that is the main value since here you're free to be yourself and no formality is required at all.
If you'll ever go here beacuse you followed my sugestion, please let me know what you think.
Enjoy*

The Cool Hunter

How can I miss the opportunity to publish a post pointing at a site with such a cool name!?!?!
Plus this is actually one of my many sides (check on the homepage), and the guy who put this site on the net really caught the inner sense of such a way of being. It doesn't pretend to be posh, but just share with the rest of the world everything beautiful (in every way), or just a brilliant idea.
The Cool Hunter is totally worth a visit.
Enjoy.

Ryanair. Trapani's Birgi airport, a short cut to Levanzo.

Wow, I've just realized that it's been quite a lot I haven't posted anything on my blog, but that's mainly because I've been busy at work to get ready for my vacation...and then with my vacation itself!
But I'm back again, more motivated then ever to tell you about great places to visit and maybe let you dream a bit.
This summer my choice was Sicily again, but to be more precise we decided to stay in Levanzo island.
From Rome (as from any other city with where Ryanair flies from), is really a piece of cake to get there: fly to Trapani, take a public bus to the port, a ferry...and in 20 minutes you're set!!!

Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa
This is not the place for night life, shopping or anything compared to Ibiza or even the eolian island Panarea...this island is for true nature lovers, for those who love the wild, the quiet of a small town still looking like 50 years ago but above all for those who like laying on the rocks while sunbathing (and we're two of them!!!).
The main point here is that there's no sand beaches, but if you look at the bright side of the thing, during peak season you might run into little bays where you're gonna be the only one there to enjoy the amazing waters. That's what happend right the first day we challenged the island (beacuse you gotta "fight" against nature a bit to be alone) and got to "Cala Calcara" on the east side. Not only the bay is breathles, but on the way you have to go through a land property with a huge abbandoned villa inside where there no sounds at all around you and the time seams it has stopped. Villa Florio is the name, and on one side there's an ancient Saracena tower giving that special mystic touch to the place makin' it even more unbelievable!

One more hot spot you gotta reach with a tough walk is "Cala Tramontana", on the very north side of Levanzo. There's only one road on the island (and half of it is dirt road) and to get there you gotta walk all the way to the end of it (we're talking about a small island though) and then face a damn steep path into a canyon to finaly feel relased...but it's worth every single step, I assure you!
Let's have a break with hard places to reach, and let's talk about the place where you can enjoy one of the best sunset ever: "Il faraglione". From downtown (lol, this makes me laugh!!!) it's just a 5 minuts walk and to tell you the truth I think this is the best spot on the all island (actually on the way there there's another one, but I'm not gonna tell you since it's alway empty and I don't want it to get crowded).
"Cala Fridda", Cala Minnola" and "Cala Nucidda" are ont the east side of the island as well and are all pretty easy to reach, but it gets dark around 5 o'clock there (the sun sets on the opposite side and they're all underneeth a hill) so you'd better go there early in the morning if you want to enjoy them for a quite amount of hours.

Talking about the town, it's very easy to get lost in the many alleys forming sort of a labirinth, so be careful because you might run into some wild dogs very dangerous especially if their hungry!!!
Ahahahahahahah! Did you believe me?!?! Oh please! This is the safest place on earth, where you could leave your kid out till 3 o'clock in the morning and be sure they come back happy and with a big smile on their face. Life here is very simple and so is the night life...just be sure they can swim, because the only thing that could happen to them is to fall into the water.

The day we left, we were super sad and wanted to stay 2 more weeks there at least, and this thanks also to our wonderful house we rented where we had great moments and bbqs always chilled by the wind typical of a house on top of a 600 meters freaking stepp hill.
Though to walk up there, but unforgetable once you face that view!
Levanzo is totally among the three best islands I've seen in Itlay!

We miss you...but we will come back soon for sure!