10378 yak and little wild boar

an interesting place to eat at... and or to stay... located at about 1000 m above sea level and with stunning views that encompass both the coast and the gran sasso range

its the Rifugio delle Aquile and used to be an agriturismo although now i would say the food is more restaurant based than set menu agri stile

there are two ways to arrive there, either from the Ascoli Teramo road turning up towards the mountains at the Campli intersection, or via Ioanella which takes you past Torricella Sicura in the back road

where its situated there are several walks in the hills, and if you take the back road via Ioanella about two or three km after leaving the village you arrive at well marked walking paths and easy parking

its another place popular with people from Teramo as it is maybe a fifteen minute or so drive from the City and allows a healthy mountain walk before a hearty lunch....

apart from the usual options there is a Yak stew on offer...which is pretty well melt in the mouth stuff and very tasty... and another option is young wild boar which was oven baked , again crispy on the outside and tender meat

there are other various Yak options and as yet i have not tried them all...

its the sort of terrain up there which suits these animals well and its good to see them roaming the hills grazing although not in winter time when they are brought in

this area is also well famous for its sheep herds as not only is it un-farmable in the sense of cultivated ploughed fields its also rich in natural springs, and allows shepherds to take flocks up there to graze on the grasses and wild flowers that abound during late spring and summer.... as its all too wild for hay cutting...

its one of those areas and i know there are many in Abruzzo that takes you back in time because basically there is no way the traditional farming methods can be improved and being within the national park are not allowed to be anyway...

its worth a visit to the area even if you take a picnic ... as the restaurant is not the cheapest here although the accommodation seems good value....

winter time when there is a bit of snow around the atmosphere with huge log fires burning makes it a really homely place to eat... and if going for wine other than the house wines it has an excellent selection to choose from...

its one of the things that i appreciate most about abruzzo i guess.... 15 km from the city you can be in what must be some of the wildest and natural landscapes ... with not a care in the world eating some of the best food to be found anywhere...

[url=http://www.rifugiodelleaquile.it/]Rifugio delle Aquile[/url]

Category
Eat & Drink

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/10/2008 - 03:17

It sounds wonderful, John. A place worth a visit.
In a way it reminds me of another place in Lucca, called the "Antica Trattoria dell' Eremita", a few minutes away from Gallicano and the Castelnuovo di Garfagnana - Lucca road.
The cuisine is very simple, all local products, the fresh trout is delicious and the views superb. The hermit must have brought a couple of angels to cook desserts in the kitchen...
A great way to visit the Apuan Alps. Costs are very reasonable.

[url=http://www.eurovacanza.com/scheda_hotel/albergo_foresteria_eremo_di_calomini.asp#]Albergo La Foresteria dell’Eremo di Calomini a Gallicano, Lucca[/url]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/10/2008 - 06:56

Well I found their website. Although a pretty one, it does load oh so slowly and has far less information than you have given John!!! Still - [url=http://www.rifugiodelleaquile.it/]Rifugio delle Aquile[/url]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 02:47

sally you will find that this is a problem with many Italian sites... they tend to use web people that design a very complicated site with little regard for the basics of load time ...and even worse do not seem to think beyond that appearance to actually getting their site ranked or even found... you just have to bear with it

Gala there are many gems.... sometimes it seems to me that maybe one can spoil the satisfaction for those that find these out of the way places by themselves... by publishing their details.. to my mind its a way of saying thank you to them... generally i prefer the simpler places ...we have another agriturismo we use that does not have a web site, serves astoundingly good value meals, and has rooms at euro 19 per person... its located just ten minutes form the centre of Teramo... maybe less... its run by a family that only started it up last year and who happen to be related to someone our son goes to school with... which is how we got to hear of it...

[url=http://absolutely-abruzzo.co.uk/LaPinetta.aspx]Agriturismo La Pineta[/url]

to hopefully help them get going a bit quicker i built a quick page on our site to show the place off a bit... its a really friendly atmosphere and i cannot think of any place that offers such good value accommodation... people that have stayed there that we know have also commented on the fact that the rooms in the winter have always been warm as well...

sorry to have had to list it from our site... but its just the way it is... have been hesitant about linking to it but its hardly a secret that we are involved in house sales in abruzzo... and because they are just starting out... well its a year now... and it is good simple and cheap accommodation it seems to me that its worth a mention...

Sally hopefully if you click the link this one will load a bit quicker... if not ... maybe i have been living here too long or its something in the water

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 03:18

John, I agree entirely with you and it is a great idea to divulge those special places that you find. Not every small business is on Internet.