Castello di S

Castello di S, a photo by Martino - NL on Flickr.

when: january 2011
with: Bart

It's january 2011, the year has just begun and we decided to kick this year off with a great location in Italy; Castello di S.

The airport: same routine as usual, Bart walks straight through customs to get as soon as possible at the car rental service desk to avoid to be waiting in line. I get the luggage and the follow. While i'm waiting for the bag to pass by on the conveyer belt it feels like someone is trying to get my wallet out of the back pocket of my jeans. Irritated i turn around, ready to confront whomever is trying to steel my wallet, and i stare into the shining teeth of a german shepherd. The uniformed police officer holding the leash of the dog is not amused. He barks at me: you have a bag? And answer: yes, it coming right there. He says: get it, and come with me. I do as i'm told and follow.

about 10 minutes after this, i'm standing naked in a little grey room that remind me of those interrogation rooms as shown in those old movies about the nazi's and the gestapo. The officer asks me if a brought any illegal goods. No, off course not. He offers me less trouble if i get it out of the bag myself instead of them. Again: i don't have anything.
I have to turn and after that i can put clothes on again. Then why where you pointed out by the dog? Because i'm from Holland and it's no crime there, i've smoked one yesterday and i git the same jeans on. I sort of try to smile, hoping the officer gets the irony. He does: get your bag and get out of here he says.
My god! What a great start of 2011 and this trip. The car rental was busy and Bart has just pulled up as I come out. I get in the car and tell him what happened; i think he laughed continuously for the next 15 minutes.

Then; time to meet up with X, who drove all the way up to Italy. We have a fun night with drinks, cigarette, inhalers and laughs.

Early morning, hangover. Gotta go, gotta hurry. We leave and park the cars down the hill. It's an hour walking up to the castle. We know this. We've been here before. We just never found a way in. By the intel we have, it's even easier to access now.

The surrounding park is quiet, and it's still dark outside. We sneak into the castle by pushing each other through a small hole in a wall.

Inside we wait for the first light. The lighter it gets, the more amazed I am. This castle is beyond believe, this equally cool as it is sick. The castle has been described as a personal disney-esque alhambra. Which is by far the way to describe this. Moorish architecture redesigned by the man Walt Disney himself on a shitload of acid.

Amaze yourself about the wonderfully detailed design of this castle as you go through the photos. I've put in some 'lesser' photos because of the rooms and details they show. I have had better days, photography wise. I think i need to go back again...

;))))