We had a few days rest after our Bologna trip, resting the knees and the liver….well more the knees! If you remember our “note to self” , on Sunday we did not venture to the mountains so decided to do lunch instead. We thought we would support our local village , and we went to the Osteria del Forno.

 

We had a great lunch , and luckily the young waitress spoke a little English , as there was no menu. Our antipasto was a yummy vegetable flan, almost like a soufflé and swimming in a cheese sauce. It was delicious.

 

Mains were bigoli in duck ragu (again for Rhonda) and for Greg, ravioli stuffed with herbs and covered in a tomato , basil and pesto sauce. Both were yum! Of course there was panacotta! At least this time Greg did not have a “conversation” with the chef ! It was nice , but not up with the top 3 ! Still searching!

Then it was back up to the mountains , so sorry people , more photos! We will put in a “small selection” of the 70 photos Greg took on the day! It was day of the Mountain Passes! We drove to Cortina d’Aprezzo (which incidentally has just been awarded the 2026 Winter Olympics)

Our first pass was Passo Falzarego at 2165 metres. We stopped at the village of Arabba and bought ourselves a panini with ham and cheese and an apple strudel to have a picnic lunch , and what a great idea it was!

The next pass was Passo Pordoi at 2242 metres , and what a drive it was. There were 33 hairpin bends on the road up to the top. We enjoyed a great picnic lunch with a view!  On the way down , we only had to negotiate 27 hair pin  bends.

 

The next pass was Passo Sella at 2220 metres and the scenery was spectacular.

 

Greg was doing a fantastic job with Luigi , dodging bicycles and motor bikes.

 

Then another pass, Passo Gardena at 2121 metres. Every time you turned , there was another great mountain view with Gondolas and chairlifts everywhere. It was just stunning.

Of course by this stage Greg needed some extra energy from all the driving so refreshments were called for.

 

 

After a drink….or 2 …he was able to negotiate more hairpin bends , more bicycles and of course more motor bikes!

 

 

 

 

 

The last pass of the day was Passo Campolonga , a mere baby at 1875 metres. It was a fantastic day and the Dolomites are certainly worth exploring!

On Wednesday, the day had finally come that Greg had been waiting for, the reason that we had come to the Dolomites, to see the Tre Cime de Lavaredo.

We knew that the Toll Road was open so off we went. We made an early start , not only to beat the crowds but also to beat the heat! As you may have heard Europe is in the middle of a heat wave! We paid our 30 euro toll to travel 5 kilometres to the car park to begin our walk!

Tre Cime ( three peaks) is “the best known” mountain group in the Dolomites. Our plan WAS to complete the circuit of about 3 1/2 hours. Along the track you come across Rifugios , translation…..a mountain hut accessible by foot to provide shelter and food (booze)!

We began walking at about 9am. It was a pleasant stroll to the first Refugio, Auronzo,(it was in the car park!) It was around a 45 minute walk to the next one, Rifugio Lavaredo, but still no glimpse of Tre Cime!

We pushed on , without a stop, UP  UP   UP the path !

Then we got our first glimpse of the “Three Peaks”. Because it was only a side view we needed to push on!

So onto the next Refugio we went which gave us a “front on” view….fingers crossed!

All Greg could think about on the final climb up was sitting with a cold beer at Rifugio Locatelli and admiring the view. The view was stunning BUT….oh, shit ,NO , the rifugio was closed! Not a happy Gregory!

So alas , he sat admiring the view with a bottle of water!!!!!!!

 

We knew that if we continued to do the circuit , there were no more rifugios , so guess what, we headed back the way we came and stopped at Rifugio Lavaredo for a well earned beer!

The temperature was now around 30 degrees and were at 2344 metres and the “tourists” were now 4 deep along the path! Time for us to continue back to the car. We arrived back at Rifugio Auronzo an decided another beer and lunch was appropriate.

 

 

We shared a plate of pasta to re fuel and Greg spotted this dessert, a rather cute little cake in the shape of Tre Cime.

 

 

 

 

Even though it was very hot walking, it was wonderful to see and it ticked our “last box ” of what we wanted to see and do in the Dolomites.

It is off to Germany tomorrow , beer , pretzels, and sauerkraut ! The adventure continues!

We can hear you all saying…..thank God no more photos of the Dolomites!

It’s that time again

Ciao ciao for the last time from Italy!

Greg and Rhonda.