Hotel Posta Al Cervo Selva Di Val Gardena

2 planes - 1 bus - 3 trains - 1 taxi later and we arrive in Bressanone. About 40 hrs of transit was well worth it... this place is adorable - its like walking around in a postcard. Have been snowboarding the past 3 days which was lots of fun - bussed up the mountain to Plose ski fields area... have added some pictures and will caption the pictures if we can.

... communicating my room problems with them. I would recommend getting rosetta stone a few months ahead and at least learning the basics of german or italian, because not being able to communicate is brutal. Also, buy a surge protecter before you come! I haven't been able to find one here, although maybe that's just the language barrier again.


There was an orientation the day I arrived. This was very useful, not just for info but because it is a good opportunity to ...

At 2:48pm the train arrived in Bolzano/Bozen as indicated. Northern Italy is quite hilly with some great landscape for one's viewing enjoyment. I was quite surprised by the city of Bolzano. The very first thing I did was purchase a SuperEnalotto ticket! 146.9 million euros, who could say no? My next train was not until 4:32pm, I went out to have a look at this city. This city is close to Germany and has a huge German influence. That is ...

... returning to Cortina, Cindy slept off an upset stomach while the kids relaxed and I did a 10-mile run exploring south of Cortina. We all went on a stroll (hike is a bad word now) afterwards to enjoy the first extended period of sunshine since we arrived in Europe a week ago.

... were gone, Cindy and Alycia walked around town some and went to a market next to the hotel. They grabbed pizza at a new restaurant, which all of us returned to that night for a nice dinner. Trey and I ate several meals apiece in a single sitting to make up for the energy expended during the day. We have a newfound appreciation for the bikers competing daily in the Tour de France this month.

... nice views off of the trails of Rio de Fanes and we then returnied to Alycia, who happened to be right next to the falls we were looking for. It was a 3 hour hike covering about 7 miles going up to 1500 meters or more.

Trey was feeling better late in the day, so the family walked around town a while tonight before eating dinner and calling it a night. Tomorrow will be much more strenuous as Trey and I are planning an all-day bike ride.

... 1980m) . This was a lovely spot surrounded by some high alpine pasture and a beautiful little chapel which was constructed by a loving father to fulfill a vow in gratitude that both his sons had returned from World War 2 battlefields.

The next day we dropped down 500 meters, regained another 900, lost 300 and gained another 700 in a tedious albeit beautiful 9 hour, 20 km climb up to Rifugio Lagazuoi (2800m). After a hard slog up and down rock and ...

... who finally get me down after 18 yards and a first down. Tack on an unsportsmanlike like penalty on Bergamo and we just gained 33 yards. The next play we get in gun and I fake a sweep left to Reggie and run right but Bergamo’s penetration killed the play. I went laterally five yards to the right, got corralled, changed direction, shook a defender then loop back left to the middle of the field and cut up into space. #6 was their waiting for me, but ...

... with no shirt on, wearing long white basketball shorts, a backwards Marlins hat, and carrying my backpack. I’ve pretty much assimilated seamlessly.

We walked up to a park near the center along the river to play ping pong. Ciba has two old paddles, his is covered with stickers from the Bolzano Giants, Bolzano Jets, and various other football teams. I started out hot and once again proved America’s ping-pong dominance over Italy. It was hot so ...

... ground with little regard for anything but securing the catch. Even Mario and Marco will routinely lay out or go to the ground to catch an erratic pass. Watching 38 and 40 year old guys flopping around to catch a route on air was pretty odd for me. Especially after college, when guys where chastised for leaving their feet, and putting themselves at risk of injury. I even got blamed on occasion for players hurting themselves if they did ...