The Dolomites: My Road Trip

View of the river Boite from my room

Rock wall

As you read in the earlier blog from Gene and Joan, they took a trip East to the Dolomites with Cortina d’Ampezzo as the final destination. So I decided to check it out, to see if Gene’s description was dead on or hyperbole. Well, he was dead on about the scenery. The mountains are spectacular. The drive was so much fun especially because I was driving a stick shift. But I never felt nervous about the actual road. Never had to back up for a truck or bus. There were so many major hairpin turns, they were numbered with the meters marked at each turn One mountain pass had 24 to the top, which was about 7800 feet. SO MANY motorcycles! The hotels along the way had “Welcome Bikers” out. I’m assuming they meant motorcycles even though I saw hundreds of bicyclists pumping uphill. Most were extremely fit looking, though I saw one man who I passed and then saw up close when he arrived at an alpine meadow where I had stopped to take pictures. He was no spring chicken and did not look like the Whippet thin riders I saw most of the time. I thought I should offer him a ride, but guessed he might be insulted. Hope he has finally made it to his destination by now. As I said, the scenery was beyond description; I stopped so many times to take pictures that the trip to Cortina took far longer than eight hours. I finally stopped for the night in Canezei, about 50 K from Cortina. It had been raining for a while and it was getting late, so I pulled in to a pretty hotel called the Bella Vista (unique name!).
Had a wonderful dinner, grilled tuna with herbs, miles from the ocean. The bed was very Austrian, with a duvet, but VERY HARD pillows. I left in the morning for Cortina and it took me about three hours, with several stops along the way. All those alpine towns cater to hikers in the summer. There were hundreds of people hiking, some with cute outfits like lederhosen, stockings, and hiking shoes; and those were just the middle aged men! Most of the young people wore shorts and tee-shirts and backpacks. Most of the hotels had “Wellness Center” signs, with spas etc.
I finally arrived in Cortina around 1pm. I drove all around the town, up into the hills with private homes, and also found the Stadium from the 1956 Winter Olympics. It was the first Olympics to broadcast to a multi nation audience, and the last to have Ice skating as an outdoor event. There wasn’t enough snow for the Alpine events, so the Italian government had to truck in tons of snow from elsewhere. Next I found a bed and breakfast inn “The Nevada” and left my stuff there and went down to the “Centro” of Cortina. I walked all around and even went to the local modern art museum. I also saw some young women who were teaching rock wall climbing. Joan told me they were constructing the wall when they were there earlier in the month. I also had great gelato! Cortina is very lovely, there are hiking and biking trails everywhere. There is a river, the Boite, and my room was right above it, so I could hear it all night. That’s what I need at home! Had another great dinner, this time across the road from the B&B. The people were so friendly, as they came into the restaurant, they’d say buona sera, as they passed my table. One lady stopped to talk to me when she saw my Kindle. She had heard about it and knew Amazon. Maybe she’ll get one now.
I left Cortina in the morning and drove the fast way home. I tell you, the Italian drivers are the best! Very easy driving with no crazies! Finally got back around 4. I’d definitely make that trip again! (Gene only exaggerated the danger!) I'll let his photos tell the story, they're way better than mine; I just included these two.

Your guest blogger,

Kathie