On the drive from Bologna to our hotel near Sansepolcro, we had time for just one stop before sundown. There were many charming villages along our route that were recommended. In the end, we opted for Bagno di Romagna. Why, you might ask? Gnomes, that’s why!!
Gnomes of Our Very Own
I should take a step back and mention that Doug & I love gnomes; squat, colorful, whimsical creatures that they are. We've had a long love affair with gnomes and have always wanted some of our own. Christmas came early in March 2017 when Hilkka (our gracious host in Austria & good family friend) sent us two from Germany. If it's any indication of how much we value those gnomes, they were some of the few items that made the cut to be placed in storage in my parent's basement :)
Il Sentiero degli Gnomi
In my research I had read about Bagno di Romagna's "Il Sentiero degli Gnomi" - or "Path of the Gnomes". It's a path that weaves through the woods with gnome play spaces and information panels along the way. As we were approaching the town, we told the girls we had a cool surprise activity for them. When they saw what it was, they were less than thrilled. Sadie gave it a big thumbs down and they were complaining before we'd even stepped foot on the magical gnome path. We told them how important it is to keep an open mind and try new things, and questioned how they could "know" it would be awful, when they didn't even know what it was! All that sage parenting advice fell on deaf ears.
Attitude Adjustment
About 5 minutes into the gnome path, the girls both independently said how cool it was and were skipping happily along to find the next gnome station. We were proud of them, that they fessed up to having had a rotten attitude & admitted that this gnome forest trek was actually super fun! In fact, at the end both girls said they loved it & were so glad we did it. We dialed up the teachable moment :) It's important to stay open to new experiences and make saying "yes" the default instead of "no."
Gnomes: Fun Facts
The Path of Gnomes was more than just a few charming gnomes and wooden structures. It had dozens of plaques with information all about gnomes. Like did you know ... ?
Gnomes mate for life
They travel to their honeymoon aboard their friend, the wild goose
Thanks to their small stature, gnomes are agile, snappy & very fast
Their sense of smell is as expert as dogs
They live in close contact with nature & woods
Gnomes can see in the dark (who knew?!)
There is a strict dress attire for male vs female gnomes
Average gnome life span is 400 years
They are about 25 cm high
To keep fit & healthy they bathe in thermal waters (like those of Bagno di Romagna)
When a gnome is born, an oak tree is planted
Not sure if or when this gnome trivia knowledge will come in handy, but we all found it pretty entertaining :)
Snail Mail to the Gnomes
Our favorite part of the Path of the Gnomes was the mail station. You could write a special message to the gnomes and put it in the delivery slot. We had conflicting views on how the mail would actually get in the hands of the gnomes :)
Path of the Gnomes under our belts, we went into the darling center of Bagno di Romagna to explore, buy a gnome souvenir (of course!) and eat dinner. Molte grazie, gnomes!
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