Vactationing with our Umbragroup Colleagues!
We are fortunate that the company we work for, Umbragroup, has a very active social organization called CRAL. Several times a year, they organize group trips which are always fun and interesting. The first of these trips the Tandem Spirits went on was to Southern Italy right ahead of the pandemic in 2019. On that trip, we visited Naples, Salerno and Pompeii. It was a great trip.
Italians go on “white weeks” in the winter to go skiing and do winter sports. A green week is designed for those who want to spend a vacation in the mountains without the cold and snow. To give you an idea of how popular this get-a-way was, there 123 of us! Two and a half buses, two hotels and lots of planning!
Day 1 - June 24th
The group met near the factory and we departed Foligno at 7:00 AM. During the drive we stopped for a couple of breaks. The last hour of the drive is up some slow, difficult mountain roads, but we arrived at 4:00 PM. We were able to unpack, head to the small village center for a quick look and then had dinner at the hotel.
Pictures Along the Way
Our hotel "The Pearl" and a view from our balcony!
Day 2 - June 25th
The cool thing about this trip is that it was organized so that every other day we had a free day to ourselves . Today, the main event was a visit to Lake Tovel. We were able to walk around the lake at our leisure. Most people brought a sack lunch and enjoyed time relaxing along the shore. We had a lot of fun mingling with our colleagues.
Castel Belfort & the Bee Master Gualtiero Marcolla
On our way back from Lake Tovel, we stopped at Castel Belfort. The Trentino tourist bureau writes: The castle was built in 1311, when Count Heinrich of Tyrol gave the permission to build a tower with potential adjoining buildings. Today the castle is in ruinous condition, nevertheless it is still quite impressive and well-recognizable.
The real treat was a presentation by Bee Master Gualtiero Marcolla who captured everyone’s attention by showing us bees “up close and personal”. After his presenation many of us purchased honey products at the shop next to the Castel.
Oh, Did We Mention the Food?
Our next day was a free day! Stay tuned for the next episode!!!
