Winkler Sports Hotel San Lorenzo di Sebato

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.

... 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.

... views of the river, surrounding mountains, and the forest.

Alycia was feeling ill about 2 miles into the hike and rested at a picnic area while Cindy and I continued into a very rugged section of the hike. Later, we would discover that we had missed the unmarked turnoff for the falls. I made it out almost all the way to Paso di Limo before realizing the mistake. I backtracked to Cindy and we explored the wilderness some, finding some ...

... at the very start we had a very enjoyable and satisfying 300m vertical ascent and then a leisurely stroll back to the Lagazuio hut for a little celebration...

Day 4 saw us rounding Col de Bos and crossing the Lagazuoi Pass to Rifugio Averau. The day before we'd seen a Chamois mountain goat march straight past a whole army garrison and have a relaxed dump right in front of our noses as good omen for our first climb. Today we saw a family of Marmots ...

... here then I mention the names so you will be sure to put them on your list.
What a breathtaking place .... and I'm from Canada! The mountains are rough slices of rock jutting straight up to heaven. In many ways I am reminded of Patagonia. The light plays on the rock as the day gives way to night. From White to gold to red. Beautiful!!
At the end of our three days we had done a few hikes and taken hundreds of pictures ...

... etc, I got Tom to tell us the exact coordinates of where we were, explained that 112 is the number to call and that there was good phone reception and that we were only 50 metres from a road and 20 K from Dobbiaco, but I think we are relegated to stopping now where there are lots of people!!! I have also made the decision that in Italy if there is an autostrada to use we are going to use it, too much stress on their little roads!!

Here there is a map in Google Maps where you will see the cities that we plan to visit this year. All of them are new for us, although we are old Spain travelers. The planned route is the blue one. The red one is called "Plan B" in case of bad weather or other reasons of changing our plans.

... visiting of the cities. I'm not sure if I am able to do it the way I would like and I'm not even sure if I am able to do it till the end. Maybe some comments of some places will fail. So, the first step is already made. I hope that there will be many steps following this one. Let's take a try.

Gisterenavond zijn we nog een wandeling gaan maken door het dorp dat onder een dik sneeuwtapijt lag. Er was wel 35cm gevallen. Alles ligt bedolven onder een dik pak sneeuw waardoor alles er vredig uitziet en de geluiden veel minder luid klinken. Een voorbijrijdende auto lijkt wel te fluisteren ... Vanmorgen was het alweer aan het sneeuwen. In de late voormiddag leek het er dan even op dat het zou gaan uitklaren maar ...