Day 2: Ferrovia dei Parchi Sulmona–Carovilli

Jun 11, 20224 min read

Sorry the blog is late y'all the WiFi is not cooperating.

Morning in Pettorano

We woke up and got breakfast at the cafe/bar in the town square. The options were plain roissants or with Nutella or cheese. I got the cheese one, which was delicious, but I might have to come back for a Nutella one another day...

Ferrovia dei Parchi (tourist train) from Sulmona

We then took the vans back to Sulmona to catch the tourist train to Carovilli-Roccasicura, stopping in Capo Di Giove. The train usually goes to Iscernia but only went to Carovilli today due to construction.

Campo Di Giove

Walk around town

We started out in the town square, which had a little cafe and, most importantly, a bathroom, and then went for a walk around town. Campo Di Giove was even smaller than Pettorano, with many narrow, winding paths and several seemingly abandoned buildings. The first image below is a memorial statue to local victims of the world wars (not sure if it's just one or both). There are similar memorials in all the towns we have visited so far.

Mini hike

We walked up a small hill to get a better view of the nearby mountains and to stretch our legs after the long train ride.

Carovilli-Roccasicura

The never-ending pizza lunch

We headed to a local pizza shop for a "quick lunch" so we could head into town for a hike. Two hours and several large "personal" pizzas later, it was time for a hike.

Hike

After our very long, large lunch, we went for a hike up the hill in town. Although it was less than an hour, it was steep and we really felt it in the heat after lunch. Hopefully it's good prep for hike on Monday :).

Besides for the scenic views of town from the top of the hike, we made two new friends. They belonged to an old man who was hiking the trail with an axe to clear all the leaves and grass.

Natasha attempts nature photography

Flower photo from both of today's hikes.

Rate This Train! Pt. 3

Efficiency: Pretty slow, but that's kind of the point. It took us about 2 hours to get to Roccaraso, a trip that takes about half an hour by car.
Comfort, cleanliness, and aesthetics: Overhead storage for bags. We had our own car, which was super nice. There was a toilet, but it was just a hole onto the tracks. No charger or WiFi, but that's also kind of the point. The windows were clean and the views were incredible, just like yesterday. The benches were surprisingly comfortable to sleep on, which most of us did on the way back. However, they were really close together, which was not especially comfortable for folks like Nicholas with long legs. They had adjustable heaters, which was a cool feature we didn't get to try out for obvious reasons.
Bonus factors: Friends. The windows also opened so we could lean out to see more views and enjoy the breeze.

Overall rating: 7/10?

Getting on the train in Sulmona. Check out the cool retro coaches.
View from the train. Everything was incredibly green and we were surrounded by hills from the Apennine Mountains.
Views, but leaning out the window!
I think Ipshita is having a great time.
Nicholas, enjoying trying to sit with very long legs.
Adjustable thermostat on the train.
Musicians employed by the trainline playing at the train station. They were super talented and played mainly songs in the traditional regional style, which was very fun dance music focusing on the accordion, beat, and singing.
Musicians playing on the train. It was very loud but we were impressed by their balance as the train wound around the mountains.
Train-themed magnets being sold in Campo Di Giove.

Back Home

We made it back to Sulmona around 8pm and headed to the grocery store before driving back to Pettorano.

Dinner

Most of us were too full from our massive pizza lunch to eat an entire dinner but we still cooked some pasta with tomato sauce, tuna, and peas for those of us who wanted some food. We had plenty of leftovers for a light dinner tomorrow. Family-style dinner was super cute. Hopefully we'll do it again in the next few days.

Soccer Match

We went back to the library in the main plaza after dinner and say a large group of people (read: almost entirely middle-aged men) hanging out and watching Italy play England in the Nations League match. Luckily they tied 0-0 so I didn't have to reveal that I promised my dad I'd cheer for England.

We continue to struggle with locking the door when there is only 1 key for all 9 of us but don't worry Jesus will protect us. There are biblical images and crosses everywhere.