Richard
New Member
HeLP WANTEd, suggestions please.
Here’s the story — short version is that i think we’re looking for an English speaking local guide or tour that would be able to add color in May to an all day experience at the Fenestrelle Fortress located just under 50 miles east’ish from Turin near the France/Italy border.
The longer version.
My wife and I (front-side of 60s) are late arriving at the slow travel way of visiting but we do get it and are slowly trying to adapt. Outdoor stuff gives us joy... so does pickleball but that’s another tangent.
Museums, churches and art exhibits are fabulous but thresholds of sensory fulfillment turning to overload are reached fairly quickly. It’s all good.
Late arriving. She (love her dearly) has been to Italy thrice and I twice - together last year and the year before.
We have a trip slated for late April & May and have places secured to day-base from in Genoa (4days), Rapallo (7days), Turin (4 days) and Paris (4days). Still need to secure a couple of nights at the beginning with location accessible to Gatwick. Am thinking London Bridge area but that’s another detail.
When researching Liguria/Piemonte we chanced on a random article from 2009 in the Smithsonian detailing the Fenestrelle Fortress.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/endangered-site-fenestrelle-fortress-italy-51548396/
The site including all the steps sounded intriguing and we flagged it as something we’d like to visit. Neither of us are fluent with Italian so the thought is that a local english speaking guide or tour would probably be preferred way to do a fort visit. I know we’re likely adding more restrictions but we’re also hoping our trip can all be done with public transportation....
Here’s the question - does anyone have any contacts or suggestions at how best to try and find a local guide for what we’re trying to do?
I’ve searched Slow Europe archives and the only mention of Fenestrelle that appears is from an aussie couple (terrific trip reports) who noted the site was closed but looked interesting on a drive-by a few years ago.
We will be staying for 4 nights in Turin at a b&b in the central Quadrilatero Romano area. I have reached out to the contact where I received the b&b referral and that cast hasn’t yet been exhausted.
I also made contact with a very responsive fellow from https://www.letsvisitnetwhttps://www.letsvisitnetwork.it/ork.it/ and to date the outcome hasn’t totally dead-ended but if anything gets identified i’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, I did track down the individual mentioned in the Smithsonian article
linked above but I think the Fenestrelle belvedere b&b is permanently closed and he now seems to be a guide for some of Intrepid’s Iceland itineraries. Casts via facebook, twitter and instagram for local suggestions are so far being met with silence. Not an issue. Almost sounds like a stalker, yuck!
Any other suggestions or rabbit holes that may be worth exploring?
Truly appreciate all the incredible useful information being shared on these forums. Only recently ‘discovered’ the SlowEurope site. Thank you to all who share!
Here’s the story — short version is that i think we’re looking for an English speaking local guide or tour that would be able to add color in May to an all day experience at the Fenestrelle Fortress located just under 50 miles east’ish from Turin near the France/Italy border.
The longer version.
My wife and I (front-side of 60s) are late arriving at the slow travel way of visiting but we do get it and are slowly trying to adapt. Outdoor stuff gives us joy... so does pickleball but that’s another tangent.
Museums, churches and art exhibits are fabulous but thresholds of sensory fulfillment turning to overload are reached fairly quickly. It’s all good.
Late arriving. She (love her dearly) has been to Italy thrice and I twice - together last year and the year before.
We have a trip slated for late April & May and have places secured to day-base from in Genoa (4days), Rapallo (7days), Turin (4 days) and Paris (4days). Still need to secure a couple of nights at the beginning with location accessible to Gatwick. Am thinking London Bridge area but that’s another detail.
When researching Liguria/Piemonte we chanced on a random article from 2009 in the Smithsonian detailing the Fenestrelle Fortress.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/endangered-site-fenestrelle-fortress-italy-51548396/
The site including all the steps sounded intriguing and we flagged it as something we’d like to visit. Neither of us are fluent with Italian so the thought is that a local english speaking guide or tour would probably be preferred way to do a fort visit. I know we’re likely adding more restrictions but we’re also hoping our trip can all be done with public transportation....
Here’s the question - does anyone have any contacts or suggestions at how best to try and find a local guide for what we’re trying to do?
I’ve searched Slow Europe archives and the only mention of Fenestrelle that appears is from an aussie couple (terrific trip reports) who noted the site was closed but looked interesting on a drive-by a few years ago.
We will be staying for 4 nights in Turin at a b&b in the central Quadrilatero Romano area. I have reached out to the contact where I received the b&b referral and that cast hasn’t yet been exhausted.
I also made contact with a very responsive fellow from https://www.letsvisitnetwhttps://www.letsvisitnetwork.it/ork.it/ and to date the outcome hasn’t totally dead-ended but if anything gets identified i’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, I did track down the individual mentioned in the Smithsonian article
linked above but I think the Fenestrelle belvedere b&b is permanently closed and he now seems to be a guide for some of Intrepid’s Iceland itineraries. Casts via facebook, twitter and instagram for local suggestions are so far being met with silence. Not an issue. Almost sounds like a stalker, yuck!
Any other suggestions or rabbit holes that may be worth exploring?
Truly appreciate all the incredible useful information being shared on these forums. Only recently ‘discovered’ the SlowEurope site. Thank you to all who share!
