The best part of Italy....

It’s again been a few days since we’ve written. We do apologise, but there has been good reason for our tardiness. First we’ll start from leaving Visp. We left just before lunch thinking that it should be a quick 1 hour drive to Lake Maggiore via the train tunnel going from Brig into Italy. Unfortunately big Cal didn’t fit into the train which meant we had a 7 hour drive almost back to Mont Blanc to get back to the side of pizza and insane driving. On arrival to Lake Maggiore, we found a camping ground in Arona, right on the shore of the lake which gave us brilliant views. The next day we took a ferry from Arona to Stresa which takes about an hour each way and gives an amazing view of the lake and the three islands just off Stresa. Stresa itself is a beautiful little town with winding streets that can take an entire day to explore. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of seafood, pasta and wine in the square of the town.


The next few days were spent doing shopping trips to outlets surrounding Milan, and relaxing around the shores of one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. It was great to get some relaxing in before picking up Mum and Dad Griffo and making the big trip down to the Villa.

On Monday we made our way to Malpensa Airport in Milan to pick up our new travel partners. We were both SO excited to see Mum and Dad Griffo, give them a big hug, and start the new chapter of our adventure with two great travellers. Once they made their way through Italian Customs (We won’t say what Frank thought of Customs as he might not be welcomed back into the country) we started the big drive down towards Perugia and Villa Capanne which has the reputation of being heaven on earth and carried the burden of exceptionally high expectations from both of us. Due to delay in Customs, and some heavy traffic, we spent the first night with all four of us in Cal parked in a truck stop on the highway with a refrigeration truck next to us revving all night long. What a great welcome for Frank and Annette!

Early the next day we made our way to the Villa. This place is absolutely incredible.... Frank and Annette are lucky enough to have two wonderful friends that own this piece of paradise in Umbria. To try and describe this place seems to be a futile task, but we’ll try. On driving through the front gate of the golf course that the villa sits above, the surrounding area changes from the rugged Italian country side to a perfectly manicured landscape scattered with several hundred year old olive trees. Once you weave your way through the golf course and up the hill, you arrive at Villa Capanne. The MOST beautiful house we have ever seen. A perfectly restored old Italian villa has all the charm of a traditional villa, but all of the comforts of a 5 star hotel. Every aspect of the villa has been finished to an exceptionally high standard ensuring the ultimate in luxury at the same time keeping its original charm making it’s guests feel like they’re arriving back home even as they enter for the first time. Once you finally get your head around the inside of the house, you walk out to the back yard where the infinity pool looks over the entire golf course, and castle sitting on the opposite hill. The garden surrounding the villa is full of lavender bushes, fig trees and an assortment of herbs as well as perfectly maintained lawns kept to its high standard by the full time gardener. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! We’re so very very lucky to be allowed to stay here and will never EVER forget this experience. We will of course upload photos of this amazing place, but must warn that they could never do it justice. See the website at http://www.villacapanne.com/.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Assisi, which is the home of Italy’s, and Franks patron saint, St Francis. To visit this brilliant town with Mum and Dad Griffo has been one of the highlights of the entire trip, and something we’ve been looking forward to since planning the trip back in Australia. We walked around the town for a few hours taking in the beautiful streets and churches. Once we arrived back to the villa, we enjoyed yet another night of happy hour and dinner on the terrace overlooking the most incredible view on the planet. What a life we lead during this brilliant adventure.

A&J xoxo