Thursday 10th April

Today we decided to drive to the Garfagnana Alps to show Charlotte some snow before it melted. We travelled through some charming villages and then started the steep climb up the mountains. The higher we got the narrower the road became, the weather started closing in, and we ended up in white out conditions. Poor Leon’s driving skills were really put to the test, with me, having my usual mild to severe strokes and Charlotte harping in the back as to when she would start to see snow! Finally after a long scary two hour drive snow started to appear out of the mist. We drove until it became quite thick, then got out of the car for a quick play, as it was freezing!(we didn’t even have the right gear, likes gloves and such)and to add to the general ambiance it had started to rain. We drove on hoping there would be a village at the top and promised Charlotte we would come back another day when we were properly prepared.

At the top of the mountain there was a village called Monte Claudia, so we parked the car(which can be quite stressful here, most car parks are for locals of the town only and the public ones are a well kept secret and have restricted daytime access and baffling one-way systems) and realized yet again we had arrived at siesta time. At least one things Italians do at siesta is eat, so we found a restaurant opened and enjoyed pizza and a calming alcoholic drink before returning down the perilous mountain. The weather got worse with thunder and lightning, but we safely made it back home.