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Click any picture for a closer look
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The
Dolomites
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From
Venice we headed North into the high country of the Dolomite mountains.
The culture of the Dolomites is unlike anything in the rest of Italy. Part
Italian, part Swiss, part German, it's a unique environment that seems
worlds away from the canals of Venice or the rolling hills of Tuscany.
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In
our trusty Punta we rode, up yet another windy mountain road far from the
beaten path. At first we came across towns and countryside wrapped in
green and blossoming flowers, with the snow capped peaks far off in the
distance.
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But
as we made our way toward the high mountain village of Cortina D'Ampezzo,
the road got windier and the snowy peaks got closer...
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... until we
finally reached Passo di Giau (Giau pass) at 7336 feet. At the top the
snow drifts were well over our heads and we were actually looking down
on many of the peaks we had seen from the villages below. |
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This
was definitely one of the more spectacular areas we visited. |
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Lake
& Mt. Towns |
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We began our journey
westward with a stop at Verona. Verona contains one of the largest Roman
amphitheaters in the world... |
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...along
with a nice town square...
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...
and something for everyone, be they angels or ne'er do wells.
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Then
on to Sirmione on Lago di Garda (lake Garda) where a partially flooded
medieval castle sits at the tip of a penisula overlooking the lake.
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Next
stop, the city of Brescia, not very touristy, but very beautiful. It's
here we had one of the best meals of our entire trip.
(The
meal wasn't actually at the place pictured here, this place just looked
cool).
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And
finally, we rest for the night in Selvino, which we accessed by the
absolute windiest and steepest and scariest road of our entire trip. But
worth it.
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Our
breakfast table
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The next day
we head back down the crazy mountain road and west toward Bellagio. But
first, a little delay. You see, the roads aren't really big enough for one
car, let alone 2 cars passing. And they definitely don't fit a truck and a
bus passing. So while we sat for 20, 30, 40 minutes the bus driver and
truck driver took turns walking to the end of the line of cars that were
backed up behind them and asking everyone to back up so the truck could
inch it's way into a wide spot and allow the bus to pass. There's that
crazy efficient Italian transportation for you again. We thought for a
minute they might just ram each other till one of them went careening off
the cliff. |
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But
eventually we made it to Bellagio, another gorgeous little village stuck
in the middle of Lago di Como.
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And that,
sadly, brought us to our last day in Italy. We spent our final day in
Bergamo and then a quick visit to Milan. |
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Bergamo
is another stunning walled city with beautiful views, medieval
architecture and amazing cathedrals.
And
a cute little cable car called a finiculare. (We'd been trying to ride one
of those the whole trip, but kept finding them closed for repairs and
such.)
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Of
course, Scott occasionally made a pig of himself. C'est la vie. |
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Milan |
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We
didn't have much time in Milan, but we got to see this giganormously huge
and ornate cathedral. Quite the last site on fantastic trip to the big
boot. |
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And
that's it! A pretty much truthful account of our trip to Italy.
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Really. I'm not lyin'. |
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