Last week over 1 meter of snow fell up in the Italian Apennine mountains, and you know what that means right?!

Yeah you guessed it.  Fresh, deep, crunchy, powdery white stuff!

Luckily (although it didn’t feel that way at 06.15 on Sunday morning when the alarm clock went off!) I had my third cross-country ski lesson at the Boscoreale Ski Centre so I got the opportunity to enjoy the beauty!

Boscoreale is a paradise for cross-country skiing, immersed in the middle of a stunning forest it becomes a winter wonderland postcard when it snows, and with more than 50km of tracks suitable for all levels from beginner to expert it is challenging too and never gets dull to explore.

The centre also runs snowshoeing (ciaspolata) and much much more.  You can check out more details at their facebook page (in Italian only).

First time trying cross-country “off-piste”, felt so soft and fluffy I even thought it would be a good idea to fall over once or twice (lets be honest, I face planted the white stuff a record breaking seven times this weekend!!)

“When snow falls, nature listens” Antoinette van Kleef