Last weekend, the Athletics crew and some of our Gladiators traveled to beautiful Majella in Abruzzo for a hiking weekend trip!

Our Gladiators left from Tiber campus by bus on Saturday morning for a 2 hour ride and arrived in Majella at the Hotel Panorama.  The staff were very friendly, welcoming and the chef was incredible!

The first day, we visited San Valentino in Abruzzo, a small village that is called the ‘small Piazza di Spagna’ because the architecture is very similar. Our tour guide took us to Valle Dell’Ofento and as we walked, the temperature drastically changed depending on the altitude!

The second day, the crew went hiking at Rifugio Bruno Pomilo, walking all the way to Fontana Acquaviva passing through the Tavola dei Briganti, where it became very windy. We attempted to make it even further up the mountain and to the top, but the rain and snow forced us to turn around. We ate an absolutely amazing lunch of ‘Pallotte cacio e uova’ (cheese and egg balls) – an iconic dish from the Abruzzo region, made by Alessandra from the Hotel Panorama.

Overall, this was a fantastic trip and all of the hiking really paid off as we had some of the most breathtaking views in beautiful Majella.