Saturday, May 17 - Cortina and the Dolomites

Happy Birthday Chloe! Breakfast here had the same energy as Après Ski at Blue Mountain. The hotel seems to cater to hikers, cyclists and skiers as well as tour groups. We had a leisurely departure and rolled out onto the steep, narrow, twisty roads on our grand tour of

the Dolomites with our local guide, Monica. She explained the nature and history of the area, which was part of Austria until World War One, when it became part of Italy. The indigenous people here are the Ladino and are still a large part of the population of the area. We stopped at the site of a long (29-month, 1915-1917) stand-off between

the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies, where they were cold, hungry and in constant danger. There were explosions, avalanches, rockfalls and fighting. Eventually, the Italians were overcome and retreated, which begs the question of how they gained possession of the area. We took a break for apple strudel and hot drinks at a mountain hostel/restaurant that has been in the same family for generations. Larry and I missed the museum visit,

 because we needed to go to a pharmacy that was closing soon, so we were dropped nearby by Enzo and Annelies guided us and translated for us. We certainly appreciate the kind care we are receiving. We walked back through the town centre to our meeting point, stopping at the large town cooperative store. Soon after we arrived, there was an announcement we didn’t understand and everyone started leaving. It was closing, so we left too, and went to the meeting place. Soon the bus arrived with everyone else. Larry stayed on board and I joined the walking tour.

We heard about the various buildings, including the hotel where Hemingway stayed and his favourite café – I’ll bet it wasn’t coffee he was drinking there, though. After another thrilling, beautiful drive, we came to

Lago di Misurina, where we had a late lunch and a walk along the shore. As we drove back to the hotel, it began to snow, through it did not stay on the ground. After a bit of a break, the whole group met in the bar for drinks and snacks before going our separate ways for the evening.

 All Photos of the day