Spending the day in Lake Martignano

Last weekend, Cart and I spent the afternoon together with some friends over at Martignano. There is an agriturismo here which is in the area of Bracciano which where Cart and I visited some while back.

To get here, we had to pass a rather out of place, steep, hilly area which reminds me so much of a dustier version of Cameron Highlands.

Anyway, agriturismo is a farmstay where it is basically a type of operation that brings visitors to a farm where you could do activities such as picking fruit, feeding animals and buying handmade produce.

We stopped by a bottega which sells food stuff like handmade cheese and fresh produce.

Here Cart bought for himself some freshly made ricotta cheese (good for making lasagna) as well as a type of square sheep milk cheese. Both directly made from the farm’s milk.

I  took this picture of basil which was sitting on the produce shelf because it looked really fresh.

We also saw a couple of fruit trees along the way, like this pear tree.

Luckily it wasn’t ripe enough or it’ll be already plucked and eaten before I could snap a picture! We also saw this amarena tree.

Amarena is a type of cherry and the tree happened to be full of fruits. Cart’s friend Fabrizio started to pull the branch to grab at the fruits and then not too long after, two little boys started to climb up the tree to get to the fruits.

Suddenly I remembered the days when my family would go Alexandra Hospital. There used to be a cherry tree along the entrance road and loads of people (including us) would pick at the fruits. It was so funny to see. But sadly, the tree has been chopped down since the last time I’ve been there.

Anyway, back to the amarena, the fruits were so ripe that my hands look bloodied when I accidentally bursted one.

And the colour really stained my hands. Strong natural dye, this amarena. Hm, and the colour reminds me a lot of something little vulgar at the same time.

ANYWAY, for me, I’ve always had this dream of milking a goat or a cow. I think that it will be quite an experience. But unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do it. So, hopefully, the next time round

But in any case, the main reason why we were here was to spend time at the lake.

The water here is quite clear as precipitation is accumulated in a crater. And unlike the sea, there is no such thing as a high or low tide. (which made me question why there was a jetty at least two meters higher than the water being made in the vicinity)

Nevertheless, the water was very cooling and it was a perfect weather to get away from the crazy hot summer that we’ve been having.

Fabrizio tells me that for people who wants to cool down during the summer comes here in Castel di Martignano if they did not want to deal with the crowds at the beach. One needs to pay 7 euro per head though, which might be a little on the pricey side, but the place was really tranquil and comfortable with the green grass and relatively gentle winds.

Check out Cart (before he got sunburnt) and Fabrizio playing with a remote control boat. Alessandra and her friend in the background (covered by these men) are lying in the grass, suntanning.

The way people were lying down looked comfortable. It was so comfortable that I even saw a woman suntanning topless, hehehe …

What was interesting for me was that people with dogs had their own special area to be at, so even dogs could dip and cool down during the summer.

But apart from swimming, you could also go kayaking, paddle boats and catamaran here – basically any boats without an engine to protect the water from being polluted here.

So I did kayaking! It’s been a while since I did it and naturally I was very excited to give it a try again.

I almost didn’t get a chance to as I didn’t pack my swimming gear. Luckily for me, Alessandra lent me her t-shirt and I was off!

Kayaking is a skill that one doesn’t forget. Like bicycling! And I paddled and paddled to close to the other side of the lake, curious to see what the strange creatures are, by the edge. Was it horses? Was it sheep?

Nope, it was moo moo cows! At least 30 of them! There is hope for me to milk a cow yet! And I went back inland before the afternoon winds got too strong for me to paddle back.

After spending time at Martignano, we then drove to Trevignano which was located on the side of the big lake. It was such a charming small town. And in a way, had quite a different feel from the area that we visited the other time.

Cart tells me that this was the regular uniform that Italian soldiers used to wear.

It’s a little like Lake Como but a little more rustic. Everything about this town was so charming and pretty and well taken cared of, with all the pots of flowers and plants around it.

I have to say that anyone who are living in this area are very lucky to be able to wake up to such a beautiful sight every morning.

And while walking in one of the lanes in the town, we stumbled upon a lot of interesting and lovely things.

One of them were this art gallery/shop. And here is the hensem owner posing with his hammer.

Check out some of his pieces! I’d love to own one of his artwork. But I’m afraid to ask because something tells me that I cannot afford it yet

And we then took a stroll by the jetty. But even as beautiful and tranquil as it looked, I had a small phobia of looking at large open water like this. It always makes me realise how small I am and how easily it can cover and envelope me.

Anyway, while we were walking, it happened that there was a boat which stopped by. I think it would be nice to take a boat ride the next time and just chill out. And speaking of which, I’m really looking forward to our trip to Capri for Alessandra and Fabrizio’s wedding next weekend!

Do check out the logo on the boat …

NLB = National Library Board! HEHEHE! I didn’t know the Singapore Library had a boat?! *nerd giggle*

We then stopped by a bar to get some drinks and I had this :

This is a caffe granita with panna. It’s kind of like a coffee slushie with cream. And it’s wonderful and perks you right up on a hot day. Speaking of which, I could do with a caffe freddo at this point of writing. It’s so very hot in Rome right now.

And we went out of the bar to see some swans which were conglomerating outside.

When you think of swans, you’d think elegance and gentleness. And then you go closer to feed these elegant creatures with some bread.

But these geese are ferocious! A lot of them will bite each other and pull the other’s feathers so that they wont get to the food!

Scary animals!

And that was how we spent our day, in lovely Bracciano. It was definitely worth to spend some time here. It was such a lovely day

And to end this post, I’ll put up a picture of me!

This is a perilous shot since it was windy and I was hoping that I don’t get an upskirt action going on. But I’m quite proud of my legs and how they look like now, after a couple of months of jogging

Hopefully I’ll go down to my pre-wedding weight in a few.