This is a magical place and one of the highlights of our trip.
We went to Saturnia- which is a thermal water spa town. Raniero, Our lovely friend and host in Rome, two of his friends named Simone and Rachwan, Chris and me ( Jim) packed into a car and drove into a pastoral countryside in Grosetta province, about 150 kms north of Rome to an idyllic location. It was a location which was 100% natural, and was a local secret. No tourist signs, no special facilities, as the people hung their clothes, towels on branches, and hid them among the rocks and places near the stream. There was a big cascade in the river which one could sit in and, with the right positioning of your body, you could enjoy the warm waters massage your body. If you sat up or were in a certain position, the force of the water would make your body rock and roll!
It was fun for us guys to bond together with the elements of warm water, rushing water currents knocking us around as we sat near each other. It felt like we had our own boys' section of the river!
Being a place for locals, there were only a few people relaxing in the water, and if you waited for a while, you could jostle for a coveted space as someone either left or moved to another part of the waterfall, cascade.
Resting in the water, our view was of a tranquil green pasture, and surrounding the river were tall reeds which gave a wild ambiance, and steam emanating from the warm water gave an eerie and mysterious feel to the place!
A slow rain prompted us to end our moments of pampering as it was wetting our hair, and also wetting our clothes just hanging around by the rocks. Crawling out from the water into the cold , rainy air heading out made the thought of dry clothes to warm up in, expedited our efforts to move quicker.
All was not lost due to the rain as we drove further into the village and have a very lovely lunch consisting or hand made ravioli, wonderful local wine, special olive oil, home made bread, and free sampling of locally produced "apperitivo" liqueurs from the Chef's private collection, all for us to try.
We all felt really good going back home to Rome!
We went to Saturnia- which is a thermal water spa town. Raniero, Our lovely friend and host in Rome, two of his friends named Simone and Rachwan, Chris and me ( Jim) packed into a car and drove into a pastoral countryside in Grosetta province, about 150 kms north of Rome to an idyllic location. It was a location which was 100% natural, and was a local secret. No tourist signs, no special facilities, as the people hung their clothes, towels on branches, and hid them among the rocks and places near the stream. There was a big cascade in the river which one could sit in and, with the right positioning of your body, you could enjoy the warm waters massage your body. If you sat up or were in a certain position, the force of the water would make your body rock and roll!
It was fun for us guys to bond together with the elements of warm water, rushing water currents knocking us around as we sat near each other. It felt like we had our own boys' section of the river!
Being a place for locals, there were only a few people relaxing in the water, and if you waited for a while, you could jostle for a coveted space as someone either left or moved to another part of the waterfall, cascade.
Resting in the water, our view was of a tranquil green pasture, and surrounding the river were tall reeds which gave a wild ambiance, and steam emanating from the warm water gave an eerie and mysterious feel to the place!
A slow rain prompted us to end our moments of pampering as it was wetting our hair, and also wetting our clothes just hanging around by the rocks. Crawling out from the water into the cold , rainy air heading out made the thought of dry clothes to warm up in, expedited our efforts to move quicker.
All was not lost due to the rain as we drove further into the village and have a very lovely lunch consisting or hand made ravioli, wonderful local wine, special olive oil, home made bread, and free sampling of locally produced "apperitivo" liqueurs from the Chef's private collection, all for us to try.
We all felt really good going back home to Rome!
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