One of the main reasons for selecting the campsite was its
proximity to Sappada, a village recommended by our Bradt guidebook to FVG (Friuli
Venezia Giulia). The beauty of Val Visdende meant that we could have spent more
time there investigating the footpaths and cycle tracks. However, we are not
sure how much longer we will have before we have to start our journey back
home, so we decided to move on and visit Sappada on the way.
We drove back down the river valley, passed its small waterfalls and through
the roadworks to the main road. We parked on the outskirts of the village and
made our way into the centre and the tourist information office. There we were
given a map of the village and we purchased a FVG Cards that will give us 7
days of free access to many venues in the area. They were rather concerned that
there were no venues in Sappada where the card could be used but we explained
that we would be going to other areas of FVG where it would be useful. They
also gave us a printed list of all of the places where the card could be used, very
useful for planning our itinerary.
Sappada is known for its traditional architecture and there is an excellent
route through a series of hamlets that make up the older part of the village.
There are many good information signs that explain the history of the buildings
and the hamlets, explaining that they are definitely
separate from the other hamlets, though to the uninitiated they don’t
appear to be. They are obviously very proud of their hamlets and independence,
even if hamlet only consists of 4 or 5 houses. Almost every house had a
wonderful display of flowers and, together with the architecture, this made for
a very pleasant walk. It was getting late for lunch and, just as our stomachs
were beginning to rumble, we came across a small café. The mountainous areas of
Italy are well known for their cheeses and, especially, their cured meats. FVG
is famous for its San Daniele ham with production centred in San Daniele dl
Friuli but also covers Sappada. We were therefore very pleased to find that the
café specialised in local cheeses and hams. We chose to share two platters, one
of cheeses and one of hams, which came with plenty of local bread. It was absolutely
delicious.
We were heading for Sistiana close to Monfalcone and within easy reach of
Trieste. Beautiful scenery gave way to lower, flat land as we approached the
sea. Trieste is on a peninsular of land that sticks out into Slovenia, a result
of the splitting up of part of Austria after the first and second world wars.
Sistiana is on that peninsula and only a few kilometres from Slovenia.
Camping Mare Pineta is a complete contrast to the quiet, secluded and scenic ‘Da
Gasperina’. It is a really large site with apartments, many cabins and a huge
number motorhome pitches, the ACSI ones being set within the pine woods where
we found a space amongst the trees, using levelling blocks as the ground was
sloping.
Photos: The cows came in to inspect the Da Gasperina campsite – a little unnerving for the German couple!; The river Visdende on the way down to the main road; Three quirky heads greeted us as we entered Sappada; One of the typical houses on the Sappada trail; Lunch at the Plodar Kelder café.
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