Its a rainy old day here in Dublin… and that makes it even nicer to get an update from some Beasties abroad! I’m sure many of you will remember Antonello and Tiziana Beastie and their cat Beas-Tris from previous monster adventures… But if you’re new here, why not take a second to catch up with their first trip to their local Irish pub and their (B)Easter weekend away in Perugia?
Today, they’re on the road again – this time, they’re visiting the Abruzzo region in central Italy, home to the country’s oldest National Park. The park’s headquarters are located in the picturesque town of Pescasseroli, a place with plenty to keep two curious little Beasties entertained!
First stop was the beautiful church of St Peter and St Paul, which dates back to the 14th century. Never satisfied with the view from the ground, our adventurous friends climbed a nearby tree to get a better look!
The church also has this colourful floral wall on its left side… Spot the Beasties!
But being surrounded by all this natural greenery had an unexpected effect on Beas-Tris – could it be that she felt the call of the wild?
And no sooner had her Beastie minders managed to extract her from her hiding place in the herbaceous border, she was off again – this time, scaling the elaborate metal vine sculpture that was entwined around this staircase!
It’s lucky that Antonello Beastie and Tiziana Beastie are both excellent climbers… And generous pet owners. Figuring that Beas-Tris was in need of some four-legged company, they decided to spend the rest of the day in the park’s zoo. Here, sick and injured animals from the park are taken in and cared for until they’re ready to be released back into the wild. The local wildlife certainly makes for some interesting viewing – did you know that this part of Italy is still home to wild boar, lynx, deer and bears?
Yes, bears!
The Beasties met this one, who is currently feeling a little under the weather. Hopefully he’ll soon be well enough to be left back in the woods where he was found. As you can see, Beas-Tris decided to stay close to her parents here!
And now, time for one more group photo before we head back home!
Thanks to Antonello and Tiziana Beastie (and their human counterparts) for sending us these photos! They’ve certainly brought a bit of sunshine to my day.
Has anyone else encountered some interesting wildlife recently? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to drop back in on Tuesday, when I hope to have some new Beasties for you all to meet…
Yes, I think we’re definitely in the right place!
So, what will we have? Well, it probably has to be…
… A pint of the black stuff, of course!
