Magical Light in Castelluccio di Norcia, Umbria, Italy - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Castelluccio di Norcia truly is a place "out of this world".  As mentioned in this post, the people here have cultivated lentils for generations.  During the time of our visit, the seeds had been sowed and the rest was left in the hands of nature.  The temperature's not quite there yet and all the lavish colors of yellow, red, purple, etc. that this town is well-known for during summer were not ready to show.  However, lentils were starting to bloom and, day by day,  we were seeing more flowers and colors appearing in the graphic display down in the Piano Grande (the "Great Plain").

This image was made when we went out to explore and the storm was rolling in.  The magic light of this place looks as if a naughty fairy lit up the patches of yellow flowers with a mirror behind the roaring clouds.

Check our Italy gallery often for more images from this amazing land.
 

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We Happened Upon Paradise on Earth - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

It's been known that we love traveling and do travel a lot.  The question that we get the most is where our favorite city/country is.  Our honest answer has been that there is no one favorite.  All those countries and cities that we (personally selected to) travel to bring so much in terms of culture, personal interactions and unique architecture/landscape/sceneries.  We love them all and have considered retiring in more than one country. :-)

As our taste has grown increasingly "wild", our trips have taken us further and further away from the so-called "beaten paths".  Towards the end of our last trip in Italy, the winding road with hairpin turns one after another lead us onto the little village of Castelluccio di Norcia.  Perched at 1,452 meters' altitude, it is the highest settlement in the Apennine Mountains.

The village has roughly 150 residents and given the special geographic condition, the people here have cultivated lentils for generations.  Despite that it was still early for lentil flowers (or most any flowers) to carpet the "Great Plain" (Piano Grande) underneath it, I knew I was in for a treat when my eyes met these painterly mountains and the grazing animals that don't even care whether we were there. :-)

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This Happened to Me The First Time in My Travels - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

It took some investigating at the bus station to make sure we got on the right bus.  After all, the bus ride that goes into the mountainous area takes four hours and we'd prefer getting off at the planned location when it made the final stop. :-)

At a place where we don't speak Spanish and they don't speak (much, if at all) English, it's back to sign language and basic expressions.  People were really nice and tried to help.  At times, we thought they were going to the same place as we were and tried to have us follow suit.  But there was no way to be sure, until we met a duo of sister and brother.  The sister took a look at our tickets and made a clear enough gesture to let us know we can follow them.  

They carried school backpacks and looked like they were going home for the weekend.  Turned out, their seats were right in front of us, which allowed the younger brother to peek back in between the seats from time to time.  Yes, we look very different from what they have seen in their young lives. :-)  

The way we plan our travels made sure all trips provide visual feasts.  However, a weekend spent in this remote town did something I did not realize until the day we left.  When the bus destined for city took off, I felt something wet rolling down my cheeks.  This had never happened before in my travels.  I only had it happen again when leaving a small town on top of a mountain in the Umbria area of Italy recently. 

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