The Villa in Prato

If holidays were like books, films or military campaigns and had names, this one would be called "The Holiday of the Hill."

Our house in Romania has a hill in the back which is one of the first things the boys want to climb when we arrive. We climb up to get a view of the village, to see how much bigger certain trees are, to see what has flourished, what has died, to stretch our legs after the hours of travel and to give the dogs a chance to rebond with us.
It's something we do to make us feel at home again.

I don't recall ever feeling the need to have this experience while we were out traveling. Yet during this holiday we seemed totally unable to avoid hiking hills.

It started in Budapest with the swanky apartment which was located near the citadel. If you all had traveled there as I suggested, you would know that the hike to the citadel is not for the faint of heart. (Really, if you have cardiopulmonary issues you should not do it). And there we were, hiking it several times a day.

On to Lake Garda, the inclines of which I have already described.

On to Monterosso where our apartment was set in the hill above the town. It was a short walk, yes, but a steep one.

Then we arrive in Prato and are driving around to find the house and marveling to ourselves at how wide and flat the streets are (by this I mean a car and a bicycle can both fit with only minimal chance of death and dismemberment) at which point we are told by our trusty online map to make a turn and lo and behold, we begin to go up a hill.

Incline issues aside, what was really lovely about this house was how secluded it felt and yet how near to the city center it was. About a seven minute walk to the train station, a few more minutes to get inside the wall of the old city.

We were met by Angelica and Enrico and while they helped us get settled in Angelica told us how she grew up in the house and raised her children there. Five generations of her family lived there until a few years ago when they began renting it out for holiday visitors. They were extremely generous with the food they provided (I'm talking eggs, bread, jams, wine) and really made us feel welcome.

Once again we were provided with excellent recommendations for restaurants, bars, gelato and sights to see. Enrico was as spot on as Novella and Daniella were. Plus, as Mircea pointed out, he was just a "cool dude." He and his wife, Giulia, met us in the city one day for a gelato and a stroll. A stroll on flat streets, mind you, the hill hike they generously left for us to do alone. After all, they did not sign up for "The Holiday of the Hill." Neither did we, as I recall, but there you have it.