From Petacciato to the Mountains: A Week of Goodbyes, Hellos, and Hot Engines
Leaving Petacciato felt… strange. On one hand, we knew it was time to head out and see new places. On the other, we really loved living with Connie & Angelo. They gave us so much space to create, learn, and try new things — the kind of trust and openness you don’t often find. We’re so grateful for those weeks we shared with them and their dogs, the meals, and the laughter.
Just before our departure, I took a quick detour: a weekend trip to Germany for a festival near Frankfurt with my friends. I was buzzing with excitement to see them again — and the weekend didn’t disappoint — but I didn’t expect to start missing little Ciro just two hours into the trip. The journey there was long… almost 12 hours of car, train, and plane. Kind of funny when you think about it — from Switzerland, 12 hours could get you to the East Coast of the US.
After returning “home” to Petacciato and reuniting with Ciro, we set off for our first stop: Wild Lake Soncino near Cremona. A private fishing complex surrounded by wild nature, it was a beautiful place to spend a few days. The heat was intense and the lake was full of weeds, making fishing tricky, but I still managed to catch a few carp. Like most anglers, I was hoping for more action — but you can’t have it all.
From there, we aimed for France to meet up with Dario and his girlfriend on August 16th. The trip over was… eventful. The heat was brutal, and just before entering Milan’s highway network we got stuck in a 40-minute queue at a massive toll station. In that time, my engine overheated, the transmission overheated, and the A/C stopped running entirely. Ciro was not impressed with the 33°C inside the car. And, of course, half the people in line only started searching for their loose change when it was their turn to pay.
Once we finally got moving, the car cooled down, but the adventure wasn’t over yet. Our route took us through one of those impossibly steep, narrow Côte d’Azur coastal villages. Beautiful, yes. Brake-friendly, not so much. Long story short — our brakes are now in desperate need of replacing, and we’re waiting for a local repair shop to get back to us. Explaining car issues in French is a whole new challenge, even if I’m more comfortable speaking it than Italian. Always a learning curve.
Now we’re near Sospel, tucked between the mountains. We took Ciro on his first proper long hike — and he absolutely loved it. Charging up the mountain, nose to the ground, tail in the air, he looked like he’d found his new calling. We’re definitely going to make hiking part of our routine from now on (good for him and for our fitness). For now, though, we’re staying put until those brakes are sorted. Steep roads are one thing — steep roads with bad brakes? No thanks.
