Luckily we arrived in daylight, as the road up to the Osteria zig-zagged in impossible hairpins up from the valley. It's possible that after dark and unlit we might just have turned around and headed for somewhere flat.
However, if we had done we would have missed a completely unique experience. The hamlet of Anzonico clings to the side of an Alp and there is no vehicle access to the Osteria. Parking is in a lay by about 50 yards further up. Having walked back with our luggage, we were greeted by Claudia, the proprietor, who showed us straight to our room, a snug little space under the main building. It had a lobby and a decent sized bathroom, but not much room around the large comfortable bed.
We booked a table on the terrace for dinner and once the dog had been walked around town, we sat down to enjoy a meal in one of the most spectacular locations ever. Claudia served us delicious spritzes, before the day's special menu of fresh salad, fried cheese and bacon pasta and chicken in a cream sauce, finished off with a torta del pane, a variety of bread and butter pudding. We drank local red wine. As we dined, the darkness crept slowly up the valley.
We slept well and managed to get a table at the edge of the terrace for breakfast (fresh bread, jam, local cheese and coffee) where we were dazzled by the light changing on the mountain opposite. Claudia was again polite, helpful and though not fluent in English, spoke enough for us to easily understand.
A unique experience.
