As said in my last post I couldn’t just write about where I have just returned from in a single paragraph. It wouldn’t be right because it was too beautiful. Around a year and a half ago my Mum and Dad returned from their holiday in Portugal, already having made up their mind as to where they wanted to go next. It was Italy and I wasn’t going to argue with that as it was somewhere I had always wanted to go.
So the usual process that my father takes to find accommodation commenced. List were drawn of regions, cities, towns and then down to apartments and villas. Sat down with Dad I took a look at what he had found to help whittle down the list to the finalists. It was the Olympics for Italian housing. And then we found it. The Torre del Falco . It looked beautiful on the holiday rental website. Outside a bright, vibrant garden in full bloom, a crystal blue salt water pool, cast iron benches with plump cushions and resplendent sun loungers perfect for taking a break from the world with a incredible view to boot.
Inside the rooms were full of antique furniture, ornate tiles, plush bedrooms with beautiful bedspreads and pretty pictures on the wall. If I wasn’t sold enough I then read a previous guests review and found a bit of information that concreted the fact that this is where I would be spending summer 2012.
Dad looked at me.
“Oh gosh” and hung his head in a way which suggested there was no turning back now. Not that he minded at all of course.
“Twelve cats and a miniature pony Dad. TWELVE CATS AND A MINIATURE PONY!” The next day the holiday was booked and Dad’s more in depth research of Spoleto began.
What gems it bought back to us as it turned out whilst we were there the towns annual cultural festival was taking place with performances from Mikhail Barishnikov, Lou Reed, the Wiener Straatsballet and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Gosh it was just too exciting. By the time the holiday was just two weeks away I don’t think I slept for more than four hours a night!
On the night we left England’s drizzly shores I woke up from snoozing and turned on the TV as I prepared a pre-travelling midnight snack. The Gods must have been looking down on me because Wayne’s World was on and thus the holiday began with a “Schwing”! Sorry I just couldn’t resist.
Gatwick went like a breeze, the flight was wonderful, Rome airport is a memory I wish to forget and we were on our way, once we had figured out which way we were going. Two hours later we arrived in Spoleto and drove up the extremely large steep hill to our place of residence.
Standing at the top of the driveway and looking over the garden and property was breathtaking. All that could be heard was the rattling cicadas and the gentle shuffling and neighing of horses. Absolute bliss.
Torre del Falco as a residence consists of three beautiful adjoining properties that promise a relaxing time for all. The Tower with six bedrooms and two kitchens sleeps twelve and is the oldest and original part of the property. The Falconer is a the apartment to the left of the tower, it sleeps four and has its own private garden area with sun loungers and a BBQ. Lastly there is The Nest, a romantic hideaway for two with a canopied bed and little jasmine scented cordoned off area outside, perfect for an aperitif before heading down to the town. For our stay we were in The Falconer. 
All four of us were over awed with how beautiful it all was, inside everything was decorated to the most beautiful of taste and with the greatest care that I have never seen anywhere else before. In my room, painted a beautiful pale blue, the walls were filled with delicate paintings of birds, a theme which ran throughout the rest of the property. We were informed by Beatrice the owner that it was really very secure, so that we shouldn’t worry about locking the doors and windows at night. The shutters can be left open and we should feel perfectly safe. Perhaps our British scepticism came in here but after one night of sleeping with the doors shut we of course realised she was right and slept peacefully for the whole two weeks, doors wide open waking up to the most wonderful of views. 
Soon after we arrived we were introduced to one of the house’s most important residents Lalla the cat. Who loved to sleep outside our door under the grape vines (until she met Sully, then wherever he was, she was too!) Over the course of the two weeks came Remolo & Romolo, Signora Leena (or Flumpflump as I like to call her) Mafalia & Maffina, Popoff, Scappo, Ettore, Assutina, Ercole and a little kitten Angelino, who unfortunately passed away whilst we were there because of an illness he had caught. He was a beautiful, caring little darling thing and we had fallen in love with him that everyone was devastated when he was lost. But for the short space of time we all knew him he was very much loved. 
Of course there was also the beautiful pony Matilde with her luscious black and white locks she looked like an equestrian rock goddess as she cantered about her paddock. In the time between our booking the holiday and our arrival she had been joined by the truly gorgeous Marguerite, who we found out was pregnant whilst we were there! 
The town of Spoleto itself again is incredible, but I think I will assign this to my next post because I really want to devote this to Torre Del Falco. So stay tuned!
But perhaps the best part of all about this place is Beatrice because meeting her was like meeting someone we had known our whole life. She truly is a beautiful person inside and out and I would urge you to go here just to meet her. Mum and I were truly devastated at the prospect of leaving and I cried like Penelope nearly all the way to the airport. Perhaps pathetic, but I can assure you that if you go, you’ll be crying at the prospect of England as well!
And to top it all off….we’re all going again next year!
sleepingonmybooks 
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