Picnic - Treja Valley Natural Park, May 19, 2012

Click here to print the presentation
 
An unusual and long-awaited event for the members of the Lazio Regional Center: an old-fashioned English-style picnic on a splendid spring day, with clear skies, sunshine, and temperatures that are only dreamed of in the height of summer.
Finally, the detractors of the "Big Meals" at restaurants that traditionally conclude our day trips have been satisfied! No more wasted hours with our feet under the table, but a whole day spent outdoors, immersed in nature and keeping an eye on our figure, especially as we prepare for the beach season. But... did that really happen?

{gallery}rallies/picnik-9346{/gallery}

We'll proceed step by step: staggered departures, depending on the area of origin, with meeting points located along the route. Given the relatively short distances involved, the final rendezvous for all participants is at the "Casale sul fiume Treja," a beautiful farmhouse located a short distance from the Monte Gelato waterfalls. Most people meet for coffee at the Selva Candida Interna service area, on the GRA ring road, between the Aurelia and Cassia junctions. Our intention was to witness the Mille Miglia crews pass along the Cassia bis, exiting the timed trial scheduled at the Vallelunga racetrack. However, an unexpected delay in the race's official schedule and the endemic lateness with which Romans usually wake up on Saturday mornings, hoping to recover from a week of hard work through a good night's sleep, coupled with the delays caused by the inevitable mechanical problems at the start, quickly made us realize that the undertaking would be in vain. And yet, this time we had organized ourselves thoroughly, having sent two scout crews ahead to secure the best positions from the very early hours of the day. We had also brought along the Club's banner, intending to hang it on an overpass overlooking the Cassia Veientana, where we would carefully arrange the Mille Miglia cars in single file to greet the passage of the competitors who had just departed for Brescia.
As Vittorio's MGA exits the service area, a majestic white smoke indicates a probable valve failure or stuck piston ring. The engine issue, which isn't immediately resolved, requires him to be taken to a nearby repair shop (the prognosis, still confidential at the time of writing, will only be released on Monday morning; everyone hopes for a speedy recovery and rapid convalescence that will get the car back in tip-top shape for the upcoming Settecolli Trophy).
Leaving the Cassia bis at the Mazzano Romano crossroads and after a few hundred meters, the landscape changes suddenly: we find ourselves immersed, as if by magic, among lush vegetation, in an unimaginable environment given the proximity to a major and busy road and just over 30 km from the city. But this is only the beginning of a short and beautiful excursion which, in just over five kilometers of road surrounded by a thousand shades of green, will lead us to our final destination, in the heart of the Treja Valley natural park.
Once we have crossed the wooden gate of the farmhouse, we park the cars on a large lawn surrounded by pigs and chickens that are scratching around peacefully in the grass and, having unloaded the provisions from the cars, we head at a good pace into the woods, a few dozen metres away, where our table is set up with an adjoining barbecue, around which some of the crews who have preceded us on the spot are already bustling about.
It's amazing to see how much goodness appears, as if by magic, from the most hidden corners of our MGs, mostly Model A, many of which boast enormous wicker picnic baskets on their rear racks, large enough to accommodate at least 6-8 people despite the fact that these sports cars notoriously only accommodate two passengers. In fact, in addition to Carlo's Mini Traveler, the original initiator of this excursion and a profound connoisseur of the area, a couple of sedans in tow ensured the transport of supplies, including wood for the fire on which bruschetta and sausages will later be roasted.
Having taken possession of the site and deposited the supplies, after posting the Club banner on a fence to mark the off-limits area and leaving a small group of volunteers to guard the pack animals, the main group heads down a path that, after an initial stretch of clearing, disappears under a thick blanket of vegetation and follows the course of the Treja River, with sometimes difficult passages. After a few minutes' walk along the riverbed, we finally reach the waterfalls. They aren't very high, but they are truly spectacular, immersed in an enchanting setting, rich in vegetation and tall trees, offering evocative views that change with every step. From here, still passing through the woods and along the river, we arrive near an old 16th-century mill and once again at the entrance to the farmhouse "Il casale sul fiume Treja."
The walk, though not particularly long or strenuous, partly because it was mostly done in the cool of the vegetation that protected us from the rays of the sun, now almost at the peak of its celestial orbit, nevertheless succeeded in whetting the appetites of the MGists, who soon found themselves seated around the long wooden table covered with colorful tablecloths and soon overflowing with delicacies of all kinds that emerged from baskets and hampers and were generously distributed to be shared and savored by all participants. Indeed, there are 30 adults sitting on the benches surrounding the table (plus Piero and Carlo's three very friendly and lively grandchildren), and judging by the incredible quantity and variety of foods lining the table, it seems as if each crew member has cooked for everyone else: bruschetta, pizza, rigatoni, rice salads, pies, rustic tarts, courgette dressing, grilled vegetables, the inevitable breaded slices, omelettes filled with everything, cheeses, and countless desserts of every type and shape, among which a highly original cake packaged in the shape of an authentic picnic basket complete with a tartan plaid underneath, not to mention the bottles of prosecco and red wine that constantly wash down all the dishes. Equally beautiful and original are the numerous wicker picnic baskets complete with accessories, many dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, complete with methacrylate resin plates and glasses, metal thermoses and lunch boxes, and many now unusual details, such as egg cups, salt and pepper shakers, oil and vinegar cruets, and steel cutlery with resin handles. Plastic plates, glasses, and cutlery are absolutely prohibited. Paolo's basket, an original example of English manufacture, with a British racing green interior, silver-plated cutlery, and crystal glasses, is highly admired.
In conclusion, for once, not the usual "Big Mangiata" but a "Gandiosa Mangiata" that forces most people to unroll their multi-colored tartan plaids on the lawn on which to stretch out for a healthy post-lunch nap, essential to aid an ever-long and laborious digestion while someone else improvises a hotly contested game of tressette.
The farewell greetings and thanks for the organization were very warm, as was the promise of a future repeat, as the season of large gatherings is already approaching.

Claudio Nacca