a day off in the Alps

Okay, it's been a long time since my last entry. Time is going by rapidly over here. How about you? My visits abroad gave me long-lasting experiences. When I was in The Netherlands, our relationship between my husband and me took an unexpected turn. Let this be enough for today. I would not be able to explain it and there's nothing I've seen/read/heard of that ever comes any near to what I've experienced/went through. We are okay, sort of, by now and that is what matters.

When in Italy, I enjoyed the event and the scenery. I think I still owe you some of the photos I made in the Alps.

Here they are, with the story behind. All the following photos were made on October 28, 2006.

This is the train station of Fossano. Fossano is a small town, this is where almost all the Hungarian delegates to the Terra Madre event were hosted. It took a 1.5 hour-ride to Limone, which is about 40kms from the French-Italian border.

This is now Limone (yes, it DOES mean lemon in English). Funnily enough, there's a smaller town nearer to the border, which is called Limonetto (and yes, it means 'small lemon'....). Limone looks like a nice small town for tourists who like hiking in the Alps.

Hiking roads start not far away from the centre, as the town is located in a narrow valley. The hills are very close. We started in one of the trails and soon found ourselves* here.

(*I went with a friend of mine, who was also a delegate. She is a mother of 3 and is a geologist.)

Isn't this a magnificient view? I loved how more and more faraway hills unfolded in front of our very eyes just by having gotten higher in the mountain... When we are down in the valley, close to the everyday burdens, no matter how sweet those can be, we can not see far. It is only when we get high enough that we get to see those out-of-reach beauties that do exist among us...

Speaking of beauties, here's one - a lizard. Can you spot her/his face?

We did not have much time for hiking, though. We went uphills for like 2 or 3 hours and had to descend before dusk settles. This is how high we got.

I love the different colours of the autumn. It was early afternoon and the Sun was up. Our trail down was nonetheless inspiring - full of colours, no people around... Just the air between heavens and you...

Have I told you that I have a strong affection towards hills? Just because they are there and as they are. This love did not start here. It started back many years ago, probably when I first saw real, big hills. When I was a kid, my parents often took me to a hilly area which was about two-hours drive from our hometown. There we would spend the day beside a mountain creek playing, barbequing... Later on, back in 1991, my heart was captured forever by the thing called The Medicine Wheel. I became hopelessly addicted to mountains, which I don't mind at all. I do not pursue them, do not seek them in every possible occassion. I love them in a much more subtle and stronger way.

There is a Museum of Mountains in Torino. The entrance fee was as much as 6 Euros (this is a bit high for me) but I said yes to the temptation. The museum itself was not as much as I thought it would be, but there was a qoutation I knew was worth the fee. I am still looking for it. It was about the burning love for the hills. To look for them, to never really turn one's back at them. To have an inexplicable and so human love, a non-human and yet so natural love towards them. Or something along these ideas.

Finally, we did have to leave the hills - I bid farewell by washing the dirts and sweat of the hard uphill hiking off in a mountain river. Yes, it was VERY cold. And I loved it.

This is me, looking for a suitable bathroom in the river :))) Later on, we found a little convent in the village. This is something you find everywhere, isn't it? No, I'm kidding. But yes, this was a small prayer house of no special interest as per tourist books. Yet - isn't this an architectural gem?

With real slates on the roof.... I like how the different types of textures show in the following picture:

And finally, we made it to the centre again, as we had to take the train back to Fossano. We had a one hour stroll in the centre to discover the place. We had a nice icecream in a bar. I enjoyed the sights in the shops and being quite proud of the only (half) sentence I know in Italian I said it out loudly to the workers of this shop:

... molto spettacolo... (very spectacular) I think there should be a substantive verb in the sentence as well, but I warned you that I only know half sentences. The workers were delighted nonetheless at my being able to speak a little Italian.

We caught the train in time and arrived back at our hotel just in time for the evening meal. We had a great day-off.