Greetings from Mr. Waffels

Update from Mr. Waffles: He is doing fine so far, eating everything in sight (but is still very thin) and just enjoys the beautiful surprisig change that life has offered to him - living with people who care for him even though he is old and sick.

Thanks to everybody who supports him!!!

Ristorante La vecchia tipografia

Lately we have been to the ristorante "la vecchia tipografia" in Poggio Mirteto which is a former printery. Beautifully interior and beautifully decorated and tasty food.

Very good pizza from the wood oven.

 Dessert-creations.....

Yum! We can recommend it.

Rieti and Greccio

Rieti is the capital of the region Rieti (obviously) and only 45 minutes from Cottanello away. It has a beautiful river flowing through, nice cafes and bars and an amazing underground (Rieti Sotteranea) which you can explore in a guided tour.

 Not far from Rieti is Greccio, famous for it's collection of christmas cribs. It is a small village high up on a hill and full of religious artwork like paintings on the walls.

Both are definitely worth a visit.

Farfa

Impressing is a visit of the abbey of Farfa in Sabina. This old Benedictine monastery had big power in it's golden age and has been founded probably in the sixth century. Still today monks and nuns are living there (not together of course).

You can visit the abbey, the cathedral and the medioeval houses around where you can buy traditional artwork etc.

If you need to cool down after the cultural visits you can go to a place at a river nearby where Italian families like to have a picnic in the hot months. Put your feet into the cool water and have a siesta in the shadow, or walk a little along the river bed.

Mr. Waffels

A few days ago we got a call from guests of us who had found a dog on the street, in a very bad condition. We went there, and thought he had an accident with a car. He was not moving, very dirty and had some wounds. 

We put him into our car and drove to the next vet who took great care of him. He said the dog has an infection from ticks, fever, an increased liver and he also had big wounds on his testicles. He is a very old fellow who probably lived all his life on the streets. So he asked us if we are willing to take care of him and cure him. 

Of course we said yes.

So the vet took care of his wounds, gave him lots of injections again the dehydration and antibiotica and a huge prescription paper for us. 

The guests who have found them wanted to sponsor his cure, and the kids gave him the name Mr. Waffels.

Mr. Waffels is a lovely guy. He is with us now for some days, has been eating and drinking from the first day on and taking his daily injections very bravely. And you could see that he got better from day to day.

He is still very thin and you can count every bone, but we give him lots of food, and recently he even stole some cookies from the table outside. So he is definitely doing much better already.

We took care of his fleas, and just today gave him a good wash with a nice peach shampoo which he seemed to enjoy. 

He is very calm, doesn't bark at all, and is mostly just lying on the grass.

We are probably the first persons who are taking care of him at all, he doesn't seem to be used to it.

 

So far we don't know how long Mr. Waffels is going to stay with us, maybe we can find a nice place for this old friendly fellow.

Buon Ferragosto!!

On the 15th of August is Ferragosto in Italy which is the day when Maria went to heaven. This is in Italy a very important holiday like christmas.

We celebrated it by going to the Lago del Turano and the Lago Salto, one hour from Cottanello. 

Beautiful blue-green water and green surroundings...

 ...swimming restaurant on the Lago del Turano....

 On the Lago Salto we finally decided to stay for a while. There are little private places where you can sit at the lake, or more "official" places like here where you can also rent campbeds, parasols or paddleboats....
Beautiful relaxing day, also for lots of Italian Families and Friends.

Gusto al Borgo

Another lovely place to eat is the Gusto al Borgo in Casperia. At the moment you can find it in the heart of the beautiful lively village, just follow the signs. Here you can not only taste the Italian haute cuisine but also order without problems vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten-free menus.
The food is fantastic and it is recommended to come with an empty stomach :)

They also offer Italian cooking classes where you can learn to prepare original dishes made out of organic produce.
See more at Gusto al Borgo.

Lovely italian cuisine in a beautiful environment

A beautiful place to have lunch or dinner in Sabina is the agriturismo TerraSabina near Poggio Mirteto. Make a reservation by phone and enjoy tasty organic food, mostly fresh from the garden.
Serena and her grandmother Olga are preparing and serving you a wide variety of antipasti, pasta or rice dishes, fresh salads, fruit or home-made ice-cream.
You feel like eating in the living-room of  good friend, and the views over the surrounding hills are stunning.

 Take a further look at TerraSabina.

New sun blind

Finally we put a beautiful big awning on the wall to bring more shadow over the terrace. With the help of our friend now you can sit under a nice sun blind in the typical Casa Pace colours yellow and green and enjoy even more the sight over the green hills and Cottanello.