A Walk in the Alpe di Siusi

 

We only had 1 day left in the Dolomites and the forecast was for a storm that afternoon. We wanted to get to the Alpe di Siusi. These are meadows and are part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage.

We were not sure what to expect and didn’t have high hopes but, again, the walk was just beautiful. The meadow extends nearly as far as one can see. Dolomites surround with their jagged peaks, there are little farms, cows, and paths all over.

Dale and I chose to start walking and then finally came to a fork in the road. We decided to go to the right and turned out to do a large loop.

We stopped for coffee but noted that the storm clouds were moving in closer, so we hurried our coffee break and went on our way, taking a chair lift to the top of the hill.

The next morning, we had a rail ticket for a non-stop train to Rome from Bolzano, and knew we had to catch the 10am bus so we packed up and then went to dinner.

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and of course it was pouring rain. Here we are with our bags and leaky rain jackets. Fortunately, we thought, the bus stop was right across from our hotel, so we didn’t have to walk far.

We waited in the hotel lobby at first but then moved outside just before 10. By then there were many people waiting as well so we were not sure that we’d get on the bus. The buses that did arrive were jam packed with people and not for Bolzano. This was not a good sign.

Our bus did not arrive, but more and more people were coming to catch a bus. Finally, it was close to 11am and our train was due to depart at 1pm. Bolzano was a good ½ hour away. We decided that I should find a taxi.

I asked some drivers in cars pulling up to the taxi line, but no they couldn’t take us. By then a guy came up and asked if we were trying to get a taxi to Bolzano. I said yes. He asked if he and his wife could join us and spit the fare as they also had a train at 1pm. Yes, it was fine.

We found a taxi; I think probably a private guy who just does this for extra money. But no matter, it was a ride to the train station and at ½ the price.

We made our train with time to get an espresso beforehand. All was well!

Next Stop Ortisei

Our next stop was going to be Ortisei. Now that we knew how to get around, after breakfast we asked the hotel to call us a taxi, no more messing around with buses. And as a point of info, for anyone going to the Dolomites, taxis are plentiful and will get you where you want to go. They of course are more expensive, but my-oh-my, are they a more efficient use of time.

Our taxi driver quoted us a price to get us to Ortisei. We packed in our bags, and we were off. He was so great, he even offered to stop if I needed to take a photo at no extra charge.

We got to Ortisei and found that we’d left our down sweaters back in Cortina. We could have them brought to us by taxi but that would cost over $400. We decided that we’d brave the cold with the clothes we had and buy new when we got home. Alas!

The taxi dropped us off at hotel in Ortisei, we dropped our bags and took off for Seceda. The gondola was close to our hotel and an easy walk. I carried my big camera and tripod for this. WOW, this was so amazing to see in real life!! I couldn’t get enough photos!

To get up to Seceda one must take 2 separate gondolas, but they are easy to access, changing from one to another part  way up the mountain. There is a trail up to the top, but we didn’t have time for that.

At the top of the gondola there is a walk to the top for views that are seen in many travel photos. Then there are walks around the area.

We didn’t think that we’d walk to 1 spot or another, but we ended up walking all over, somewhere over 10,600 steps before we were done.

We’d love to go back.

Getting into the Dolomites

 From Verona we wanted to walk in the Dolomites but had to take a bus. There is a bus system called the Flexbus that has buses that connect Verona to lots of cities. There is no station for the bus, only a small, covered stop by the side of the road. This was a real adventure!

We thought that the bus would go from the station located in front of the train station. We hurried down to the station, about a ½ hour walk. We were trying to beat the rain. We had several hours before our bus would arrive and thought that we could sit inside and keep warm.

We got to the bus station and went into the café when we realized we were not where the Flexbus stopped. We needed to walk another 10 minutes. In the meantime, it started pouring rain and, of course, we had leaky rain jackets. We caught a cab this time.

The cab left us at a gas station across the street from the bus stop, so that we could stand under the roof over the pumps. We joined a line of people standing between the gas pumps trying to stay out of the way of the cars getting gas. Standing between the gas pumps for 4 hours was not what we’d had in mind.

We saw a couple of flex buses arrive and many people left the little covered stop so we hurried over and were able to get a seat. The little waiting area was soon packed with people again.

A bus arrived close to the time ours was to arrive, so I went to ask about it. A woman translated for me, but it was not the bus. In the meantime, she looked up our bus and found that our tickets had been cancelled and the stop changed. It was pouring rain so I’m getting soaked, and it looked like we had to walk back to the train station.

After many discussions a different woman verified that the stations had been changed but changed to the covered stop so we were at the right place. I decided that we were just going to get on the bus, canceled tickets or not.

As it turns out, out tickets were fine, we got on, and off we went on a Mr. Toads Wild Ride up to the Dolomites.

We walked to our hotel, wet clothes and all, happy to find a warm room.

Our hotel was interesting. Over 100 years old, lots of beautiful wood trim, and features that are not in the new hotels. The night person said that the hotel had recently been sold so it is uncertain what will become of it. I hope they refurbish it and not tear it down.

As many trips go there are just times that one needs to change plans and go with the flow. This was one of them.

I’d wanted to go to Tre Cime di Laveredo but when I looked for hotels, I wasn’t sure about actually getting to the hotels. The hotels are not anywhere near a town, at least that is what it looks like on the map, however, there appear to be lots of bus stops. But where the buses originate from and the schedule was impossible to find. Not having good bus information, I didn’t have a clear notion of how everything would work. Hence, we went on the FlexBus to Cortina. I knew that we would at least be in the Dolomites and from we could figure the rest out. Additionally, bad weather was to set in soon after our day in Cortina, so we had to work around that.

The morning after arriving in Cortina, we went to the tourist office. There we found our info on getting to Tre Cime, we could take a cab, but unfortunately, we were running out of time to see the sites we wanted. 

Instead, we walked to the nearby gondola and went up to the local mountain where we had a stunning 360® view of peaks. The views were after a hike up a fairly steep hill, walking on an uneven path, but it was worth the effort. After our walk we treated ourselves to a bowl of steaming hot Goulash in the lodge restaurant.

On to Verona for the Operas

Moving on to Verona, it was about a 2-hour drive. As I’ve written before, I’m not crazy about Airbnb’s but hotels are hard to find near the plazas. So, we got an Airbnb overlooking the Plaza Erbe. This is a fun plaza; we have walked on it often during our trips to Verona.

We’ve been to the opera in Verona several times now. The opera is held in the Verona Arena, built about the same time as the colosseum in Rome. The operas are fun and spectacular.

The 1^st opera to see was The Barber of Sevilla. We saw this opera in Prague and knew that it would likely be fun. It didn’t disappoint!

We’d been moved from the seats we’d purchased; the opera had informed us that due to the G-7 our seats were upgraded. We suspected that the G-7 members would be at the opera, and we were not wrong. We looked for Trudeau but did not see him. We probably didn’t look close enough anyway as it wasn’t that important.

Dieter and Inge left us to return home so we were on our own after the 1^st day. We walked around the plaza, got food, coffee, and a few things we’d been on the lookout for. We left early for the Plaza Bra where the arena is located so we could have dinner and wine.

The 2^nd opera was Carmen. Carmen was good but it didn’t hold our interest. A guy in front of us kept checking his WhatsApp and taking photos. One singer was difficult to hear so we missed all of that. The opera was also filled with dancing when the acts were changing, which was fine, but we grew tired of it. But we’d wanted to see Carmen for years so now we have seen it.

It was time to move on.

 

Relaxing in the Rain At Lake Como

With Dale’s birthday over we had 2 days to spend before attending the opera in Verona. I’d found that Lake Como was not far from Maranello and Verona and found a hotel near the city center and the lake.

Our friend Dieter wanted to drive all of us, so we packed our bags into his car, we squeezed in and off we went to the lake. It was raining but the rain let up enough for us to go into the old part of town. We walked along the lake before finding dinner.

We found a little restaurant that had good options and opted to eat outside. Wouldn’t you know, while we were eating and visiting, a thunderstorm hit with winds. Rain was pouring down and blowing on us. We opted quickly to move our dinner inside. It was cozy warm and easy to watch the storm carrying on from our 2^nd floor perch.

The following day, Dieter and Inge wanted to do some other things, and we were unsure of what we wanted to do, so we went our separate ways until dinner. We got our rain jackets on and went out walking when the rain started again. Ducking into a little café we ate a sweet and had coffee, hoping that the rain would let up.

We found that our 30+ years old rain jackets were not rain jackets any longer, rather leaky jackets. Fortunately, they are Patagonia so we will send them back for new ones.

The sun came out finally and we quickly walked to the funicular. We were able to catch the next one within minutes. At the top of the mountain, we were treated to a wonderful view of the lake and surrounding area. There is a restaurant at the top along the edge with windows along the side where we got a limoncello for me and a beer for Dale while enjoying the view.

The Big Birthday!

80 years young, and what a ride it is, even now!

Dale’s big birthday came, as did our visit to the Ferrari Factory. We were led in a small group thru the processes that the cars go, from frame to finish. Most everything is electronically controlled, with timelines for the workers. The frames of the cars ride on an overhead conveyer belt and the remainder of the parts ride on a track so that everything stays together.

Most of the work is done in the factory with a few processes done in partnership with other local companies. Recycling is done whenever possible. There are green spaces throughout the factory and a finished product is on display so that employees can see the outcome of their efforts.

Our car was built way before the factory was mechanized, but it was still so amazing to see the process. And it was so amazing to just be where our car was built.

Unfortunately, we could not take photos so everything is in our head! Alas.

We’d promised some of the grandkids and a son that we’d pick up a few things, so we made another visit to the Ferrari store. The café was a good place to pick up some lunch with a little wine too.

Dale wanted a little ‘hole in the wall’ type restaurant for his birthday dinner, so we went walking around the town. We wanted to walk anyway. We found our little place, outdoor seating, and mostly Italians eating there. Dale was happy as there was a gelato shop next door to the restaurant so he got his birthday dessert.

The following day we needed to go to Modena to pick up more Balsamic Vinegar. This and a stop at the Maserati store to pick up a water bottle for a grandson who’d lost his thru no fault of his own. I explained to the saleslady at the Maserati store that we’d been there the year before and that we needed to replace his water bottle. The lady at the Maserati store felt sorry for our grandson and packed up a bag of goodies that we will deliver when we get to California. He doesn’t know about the goodie bag yet.

Another Trip to Italy

 

Thinking about this trip started several years ago. I thought it would be fun to tour the Ferrari factory, to see where our car was built. We tried to get passes on several occasions, but the passes were always gone for the times we could go.

In order to get a pass to the Ferrari factory; 1: one must own a Ferrari and 2: a Ferrari dealer must obtain the pass(es). It is difficult to obtain the passes as they go quickly to the larger dealerships.

The dealership we bought our Ferrari from changed to a different dealership long ago, so we had to find another to adopt us. We found one in Oregon near our youngest son’s house and our information was put into the Ferrari system.

Last year I had the idea that we could celebrate Dale’s 80th birthday by touring the Ferrari factory. I told Dale about my idea, but he said he didn’t want to go so I dropped the idea.

In, about, February Dale decided that maybe it would be good to tour the factory. I made the call to the Ferrari dealership who got started on obtaining passes. I asked for 4 passes in the event one or more of our kids could join us.

By April we knew we had obtained the passes and could plan our trip. The trip was iffy, at best, at that time but we went on with our lives.

In August we knew that none of our kids could come along with us. They all have work and kids in school, so getting away in September is difficult at best, but we have other friends who were interested in touring the factory, so we changed our plans to include them.

Earlier, in August, I’d started looking for hotels. I prefer hotels because we can find a hotel that serves breakfast, and we do not need to go thru the cleaning that some Airbnb’s and Vrbo’s require.

I found one hotel in Maranello within walking distance to the Ferrari Museum and the Ferrari factory. Even better, it was free with my Hotels.com points. I reserved a room, non-refundable, for the times we’d be there.

After reserving I found that I’d reserved for the date we were flying into Rome. I’d planned for us to spend the 1^st day in Rome. But now we needed to go directly to Maranello.

As it turned out, going directly to Maranello gave us a day to adjust to the time zone. And even better, it gave us the opportunity to eat at the Cavallino, the restaurant where Enzo would eat lunch. The Cavallino is just across the street from the Ferrari factory.

Italy just won the World Cup and Maranello was celebrating

We met our friends, Dieter and Inge for lunch at the Cavallino. We hadn’t seen them in a year, so it was fun to reconnect. We’d be together for several days.

The Birthday Guy

Dale and I did the wine and meal paring and the restaurant made it special as Dale’s birthday was the following day. We called it his happy birthday week as it is unlucky to say Happy Birthday prior to the actual birthday.