My friend, and fellow blogger, John, and I were talking the other day about the fun of blogging. Being able to share your adventures with friends and family afar. Another benefit is that it becomes a sort of multimedia journal. And there are times I find myself going through old posts, recounting adventures, trip, friends, and all, thankful I took the time to capture them in the orbit of cyberspace. One such post I visited the other day brought back many good memories of friends new and old, amazing roads, scenery, food, and fun! And perhaps it is a post you have seen too, or that is new to you, either way I think you will enjoy it, click on the colorful words to begin. This post is from a couple summers ago and features the Dolomites in all their glory.
Posts Tagged ‘Italy’
Blast from the Past.
Posted in Friends, Family, Fun!, Riding Bike, tagged cycling, Dolomites, Italy on December 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »
12 seconds to laughter
Posted in Friends, Family, Fun!, tagged humor, Italy, Tafazzi, video on February 15, 2010| 4 Comments »
Random, funny, “things” are an important part of life, perhaps one reason why I enjoy teaching middle school students and my humor. The clip above is well worth the 12 seconds, maybe even 24, or 48 , depending on how many times you replay it. The video is a bit of banter between a couple of friends in Italy, If you know Dan P. you’ll laugh even harder. And if you don’t know Dan, have never been to Italy, and don’t know Italian, you will still laugh.
European Dream Show: Stairway to Heaven
Posted in Friends, Family, Fun!, Picture Pages, tagged Dolomites, Italy, Italy Dolomites road cycling, Via Ferrata on August 20, 2009| 2 Comments »
Matt looks up at the start. The Passo Gardena visible in the background. The route was busy today and we saw all sorts. Kind of like rock climbing, kind of like the playground at McDonald's, and totally unlike anything I've ever seen.
A long way down means you've gone a long way up... and there is still a long way to go. Where the footing is poor you'll find steel rods to step on. You can't see the rigging from the road so it makes it less garrish than you might think.
The Dolomites are home to hundreds of kilometers of some of the world’s best cycling. However, believe it or not, summer is the “quiet” time in the Dolomites. Winter ski season is what this place is really about. Lift skiing, backcountry, world famous couloirs, touring skiing, randonee racing, you name, just Google it. However, another fun summer activity is the hut hiking/running. In the Dolomites alone there are over four hundred kilometers of hiking trail, all connecting high alpine mountain huts where you can stay the night and get a five course meal with Prosecco. These huts are serviced and resupplied by ATV or helicopter, so prices vary accordingly. Imagine hiking to the top of the Middle Sister in the Oregon Cascades and having a wonderful al fresco meal ala your favorite fine dining restaurant while you ponder whether to hike further or stay in a bed there that night… Some of these trails feature a system called the Via Ferrata, hefty steel cables, hooks, and ladders that allow you to safely and easily ascend some of the rugged Dolomite cliffs.
The first section tops out on a nice meadow traverse to the base of the next cliff.
Chasms, or is that a chism? Click on this picture with your cursor for an enlarged view,then look at the far end of the chasm between the cliffs, you'll see a small suspension bridge spanning between. The route we climbed took us up the cliff to the left, over the top, and as icing on the cake, across the bridge in the picture!
Matt gets to work, the ladders were fun, usually on really exposed sections of rock.
From the top of the Sella Range the view is amazing, like some sort of geological orthodonture. There was a hut just a ew steps from this picture, hikers were out on the sun deck enjoying a nice meal and this view, others had spent the night there in fine accomodations.
Building Boats 