In Britain walking is considered by many a pleasant pastime and enjoyable, people go out of their way to walk for pleasure. In fact many local beauty spots in Britain have become crowded with walkers at the week end. In Italy it is the opposite.

Even when shopping for groceries your typical Abruzzo person will park right outside or as close as possible to the shop etc. There will be many un “ugly word” if there are no parking spaces available and they have to walk to their destination. The same is true of all destinations. Shops, ski slopes, etc.

But here is the surprising thing. Even places that are designated for walking are avoided. Sure enough Italians go to the Abruzzo countryside, but they go to enjoy a picnic with their family.

My husband and I enjoy walking and we have found 2 amazing walks in Abruzzo so far, one is a gorge walk in Serramonacesa (Abruzzo) which is full of waterfalls and the other in Guardiagrele, (Abruzzo) is also a gorge walk with stunning views.

After a while of taking these walks we noticed several things. The picnic tables are always really close to the entrance, they are normally packed with families enjoying their lunch. After the immediate entrance there are no more picnic tables. The further you go along your walk the less Abruzzo people you will see! In fact if you walk any real distance, the only other people you will see is the occasional very rare tourist. You can walk for miles completely alone. There is absolutely no worries of Italian walking paths becoming worn out by constant use. Abruzzo people don’t see the point in walking!