Collaboration by the two of us!

The Dolomites (also known as the Italian Alps) have been on our bucket list for a long time, in fact, one of the reasons we chose to stay in northern Italy for five weeks was to visit and hike in the Dolomites. Last weekend we escaped from the heat of our little apartment in Dolo and went on a road trip in ‘Panda Panda’ (our tiny Fiat rental car) and drove to Castlerotto, stopping in the impressive town of Verona on the way.

There seems to be two driving options between major cities in Italy, regular highways or the Autostrada. The Autostrada is similar to the German Autobahn which means fast and furious. Left lane is for passing and for the more powerful cars. Little Panda-Panda was no match for these cars but managed to hold her own in the ‘slow’ lane at 130kph which is about 70mph.

The Dolomites have a long history going back to a time when the Germans dominated the area. All the menus are in German and Italian. We’d really never thought of a German / Italian cuisine. It’s a very interesting mesh, taking the best of both with meat and potatoes and pasta and cheese!

Thanks to incredibly beautiful weather we were able to hike around the bottom of the ski lift for a while and then ride the ski lift up to about 4000 feet and hike around. When we got off the lift we were welcomed by large groups of Germans and Italians frolicking around the lake and enjoying a day in the mountains. We hiked around for a while and visited the friendly goats and then decided to descend the mountain and hike to where we would have a little bite to eat. As we hiked down we came across a restaurant that was a little odd because it was so noisy (Michael and I both agree that we love the European way of eating in relative quiet and hushed voices without load music pulsating through the sound system.) As we made our way onto the terrace we realized it was overlooking a tennis court and soccer fields and buzzing with families celebrating a summer camp win — coaches and parents drinking beer and wine at lunchtime!

After a 7+ mile hike we got back into town where we thought we’d walk around. However, once again, in the Italian tradition it was riposa (resting time) so we came back to a very beautifully appointed room (see pics of the bed and out our balcony) over looking the picturesque dolomites. We fell into the local tradition and reclined into our own riposa.

Then we geared up and went out to walk around the town and visit shops and have a lovely Italian /German dinner. After two days in Castelrotto we drove to the eastern side of the Dolomites to the Fanes-Senes-Braies Natural Park. Upon arrival at the gate to the park we were greeted by a park employee asking us if we had a ticket? “No, of course not.” We were turned around to the on-line lot to order one and buy a parking pass and get back in line. It was worth it as we were able to visit the beautiful Lago di Braies or ‘the emerald of the Dolomites’ where we did the 4 mile loop around the lake. We considered renting a boat, but so did everyone else so, we settled for taking pictures of other people that had rented boats.

We spent two nights in just south of Cortina (the bigger city on the east side of the Dolomites) in Vado di Cadore where we had a small apartment. This was the second time in our travels that our accommodations were right next to the piazza and the Church where the bell tower loomed over us. Now we understand why there are literally no clocks in hotels or B & B’s. Italians use the bell towers to tell time on the hour and half hour and sometimes even more when mass will begin in 10 minutes!

Arrivederci

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