Sunday, May 15, 2011

Quercus Village

This morning we decided to go the Macchia Grande's wood situated near the Bracciano's lake ( 30 km North from Rome).  We met our friends at 10:00 a.m. although the weather wasn't sunny enough. There were five families with their children and, as a consequence, there were five cars. We arrived  at "Quercus Village" at 11:00 and children quickly went among those high threes after they had dressed trekking boots and long pants up. They followed a path around that forest and it wasn't dangerous because they didn't leave the path and didn't enter caves. They're more than capable of looking after themself. Moreover, they always get mobile phones while they were walking through the wood.

The landscape is characterized by deep valleys which are home to hazel trees and hornbeams. On higher ground the vegetation is typical Mediterranean shrub. Many species of animals, such as crested porcupines, squirrels and fox, live in this environment.
Also very important in this environment  are the pastures, where the indigenous "Maremmana" cattle roam freely. Amongst the large variety of nocturnal birds of prey, which populate the wood surronding the "Quercus Village", are the long-eared owl, the tawny owl and the barn owl. In the humid ground green frogs can be found. 





This place is perfect for running, trekking and biking. The "Quercus Village" is held by a farm, a family business, which give tables, barbecues and other things we need. We brought a lot of things to eat and cooked roasted chicken and sausages there. Very good! We had rosé wine too!

http://www.quercusvillage.com/
http://fsnc.it/


 
The two photos below show all our friends with their children ...

... and children's table.

And then we had coffee.


In the meanwhile I'm not running any race and I've lost motivation and got weight. This month the weather is never too hot and never too cold. Perfect for running! It's a real pity that I'm not running during that beautiful spring. But, unfortunately, I'm busy and I can't run four times a week.

I hope all my blogger friends will have a nice week!

10 comments:

Fran said...

What a beautiful place Giorgio and what a fun day you've had with your family and friends.

Lost motivation in running? Let's shake hands, I'm having the same trouble too.

Hope your schedule will allow you to run more often again soon.

Johann said...

Looks like a lovely place for a family outing. Glad you had such a good time. Hope your running will be back to normal soon.

Christina said...

I love the picture of the owl.

I'm sorry your not running and have added weight. I have too.

Julie said...

Oh Giorgio, what a perfect way to spend a day! It sounds like you had a lovely time relaxing eating yummy food and having wonderful conversation with friends and family! I hope you are doing well! Enjoy the rest of your weekend:)

Char said...

Such a lovely way to spend a weekend. The forest is beautiful.

Sometimes life gets in the way of running. Don't be too hard on yourself. When the time's right you'll feel like getting back into it. But in the meanwhile - don't put on too much weight :)

strewth said...

Oh how beautiful that countryside looks and what a lovely day. I hope your mojo soon returns but in the meantime enjoy that red wine and beautiful Italian food :)

Amy said...

Sounds like you all had a fabulous day!

I am sure you will get your running mojo back soon - everything has its ups and downs and sometimes it is good to have a little break. Then when you get back to it, you will enjoy it even more!

Black Knight said...

Veramente un bel posto per una scampagnata!
Ora datti da fare e riprendi a correre alla grande. Qui siamo tutti in disarmo, dobbiamo mostrare al popolo e soprattutto ai servitori (ancelle, scudieri ecc) la nostra intramontabile potenza!!!!

Sherri said...

That is a gorgeous place! I can't imagine you not running! Lost motivation happens to me all the time....glad to know I'm not alone!

Black Knight said...

Thanks for the comment. I would like to join the group but i prefer to take a day off because the race was tough and I was not trained at all. A modest 23'57". 32° C!!!!!!