[Update 2016: The entire trail was open when I hiked it many years ago, but closures do happen so be sure to check conditions before you go.] If you have time to only do one thing in the Cinque Terre, Italy, I’d highly recommend it be this: hike the path that connects the 5 towns. […]
Flowers of the Cinque Terre, Italy
A huge part of traveling is seeing things you wouldn’t normally see wherever it is you live. I’m a big sucker for flowers & exotic-looking plants, so my eyes – and camera lens – tend to gravitate towards the ground in search of interesting-looking things. When we were hiking along the well-known path connecting the […]
Indulging in some Pesto in its Birthplace – the Ligurian Coast of Italy
Mmm, pesto. I’d eaten pesto before, as many of us have, but I’d never given it a second thought as to where pesto’s origins might lie. I’ve only ever had it in Italian dishes, so I suppose I assumed it was Italian. And it is. Born in the Ligurian region of Italy – along with […]
A Room With a View at La Mala in Vernazza – Cinque Terre, Italy
After we visited peaceful Lake Como & the beautiful Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy, we headed south to the coast. Our destination: the Cinque Terre. As the name discloses, there are 5 towns along this stretch of the Ligurian Italian coast & we chose to stay in Vernazza at a small bed & breakfast called […]
A Pretty Walk in the Dolomites – Siusi, Italy
After finishing up one of my favorite hikes of all time in the Alpe di Siusi region, Tristan & I headed back to our hotel Residence Vroni to drop off some stuff before heading out again to grab a bite to eat. We had a car, but our hotel was within walking distance of Siusi, […]
Hiking at Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm) in the Italian Dolomites – One of my Favorites
What I’m looking for in the perfect hike is pretty simple: Good exercise Great views Something along these lines: Of course, I’ll also take anything in between – flat & easy, so-so scenery, etc. – because part of why I love to hike is just being outside. It can be very invigorating. But when everything […]
A Visit to the Posh Mountain town of Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites, Italy
Before visiting the Dolomite region of Italy, I knew very little about it. I had, however, heard about Cortina d’Ampezzo, a small mountain town that I think is a bit like Italy’s equivalent to Aspen, Colorado. The residents & visitors strut around in their trendy threads, the resorts are high-end and the shops are upscale. […]
Photos of the Sheer Mountains of Gardena Pass – Dolomites, Italy
In case you missed it, this post is a continuation of a circular drive we took while we were in the Dolomites of Italy. On our route, we went over Sella Pass & Pordoi Pass, and are now finishing up with Gardena Pass. So the final of the 3 mountain passes we drove over was […]
Cable Car & Hiking on Sass Pordoi – Dolomites, Italy
After driving over Sella Pass, we came to Pordoi Pass. This pass is almost as pretty but the best part about it is you can take a cable car up to the top of the mountain and do a little hiking (for those more actively inclined, you can hike up instead). Because we usually prefer […]
Photos of Sella Pass – Dolomite Mountains, Italy
I thought it might be helpful to post more photos of each of the 3 mountain passes we drove over in the Dolomites. We start with Sella Pass and then we’ll move on to Pordoi Pass & Gardena in the days to come. We were staying in Castelrotto, so getting to Sella Pass was easy […]