Apartment/ flat - Bomba

The location of the house is very nice, overlooking the olive trees/fig trees and mountains, but the area is desolated. On arrival the house was very well cleaned. The owners are very kind and and do their utmost, but communication isn’t easy. They speak very little English. The house is big enough for 3 persons, but to small for 5 (as advertised) Lake Bomba has failed as a tourist area and the lake is deserted. There is no camping/restaurant/bar/pool /boat rental or any other activity in the area. Abruzzo is not very welcoming to foreign tourist. It is very hard to get information and even in the tourist office in the larger towns nobody speaks English /French/German.

We only stayed one night do to our travels but would have liked to stay longer. Cozy and Roomy. Beautiful stone farm house with great views of mountains.

We had the most amazing experience. The owners met us upon arrival, showed us around, gave us some pamphlets about the local area AND told us about their niece (Valentina) who owns a restaurant in Roccascalegna (Civico 20)...more on that later. Before leaving us, they picked a fresh pomegranate from there land and gave it to us. I'm telling you, this was an experience that dreams are made of. On the second day, they stopped by to give us a bottle of the local wine. Unfortunately, we were not there but I can tell you the local wine in wonderful. Since we were not there, they came by later that day, and thankfully so. They showed us where the washing machine was and how to use it. Furthermore, they put me on the phone with their niece, Valentina. Not only did she personally invite us to eat at her restaurant, she promised that the chef, Rafael would come out and meet us and cook up something wonderful for us. And boy was it wonderful! October is truffle season, so we went with Casarecce Pasta (truffle paste & sautéed mushrooms) and Arrosticini (local lamb dish). Both were out of this world. The experience didn't stop there. Roccascalegna is know for a beautiful castle that is precariously perched on the spur of a mountain. Unfortunately, we were visiting during the off-season and the castle was closed. I use the term unfortunately loosely...Valentina called a few people and had the castle opened for us. We were free to roam around as long as we wanted. It was an amazing experience. I'd like to tell you that that's the end of this amazing experience ended but it's not. The next day Valentina came by the villa so that we could follow her to the local co-op to buy some of the local wine. I asked if she could recommend a local bakery for bread, she went above and beyond and called the bread truck to come by the villa before we set out on the remainder of our journey through Abruzzo. The bread and pizza was amazing, the best we had in all of Italy. This place is magical! I hope to go back and visit often. I still think of the amazing food and how welcome they all made us feel. I HIGHLY recommend this villa! It is conveniently located off a main highway (SS 652) and Lake Bomba (pronounced BOOM-BA). A special thank you to the whole family for making this an experience we will never forget. I have told everyone I know since returning to the states. I've even given your information to a few people. Ciao!