11 to 18 July, 2018 - Livorno, Cortina d'Ampezzo, and numerous excursions - (Italy)
We're in Italy. On the ferry, I ordered some drinks at the bar. They rang it up on the register and then indicated they don't take credit cards. I went to the table and just as I came back, a waiter behind the counter knocked the tray of the cash register on to the floor. Money went everywhere and the two staff started yelling at each other in Italian, obviously trying to shift the blame on the other. We're definitely in Italy.
The drive from Livorno to Cortina was quite a big one. We stopped a couple of times for coffee and to stretch, and then
picked up Leanne Rhodes, a friend from Australia currently living in Romania. We found her with little trouble outside Venice, and headed up to our apartment with a view in Cortina.
Here, we had a group of varying members for a week. Leanne stayed the whole time. We know her from Bridge Church, and have stayed close in spite of her moving to Romania as part of setting up a charity called Abolishion. Andrea, Herman, and Linda are 3 members of the Ruchti 4 (Stefan could not make it). This is meeting number 7 with them. They are our most consistent meet up Europeans, driving down from Germany to be with us in Cortina. Anna Smith is from London, but came to Melbourne to study the Masters program that Jo completed last year. They became close, and she came in and out via Venice. Finally, Peter Iagnocco arrived last and stayed till the end. He was a colleague of Jo's some years ago, and we stayed with him in Italy, too, 5 years ago in Barga.
Seven nights, and six full days; with four of us, or all eight. Every day we hiked. Once it was short - a bit under 8 km. A couple of times we nearly made 15 km. And the others were in between. Our jaws dropped, time and time again. It is hard to believe just how beautiful the area is. Breathtaking vista after astounding view. Not a single disappointment. What's more, despite threatening to open up, we never got caught in the rain. We had some near misses with short downpours minutes after completing a walk, and one which came and went while we had coffee and beer at a rifugio. However, time and time again we were blessed with magnificent scenes and awe inspiring outlooks.
Here are some pics. It was super hard to reduce the number of photos I would include!
Reflection in Lago d'Antorno
Tis the Season for Young
View from a Random Walk
We parked at Passo Tre Croci, chose a random trail that went up. Soon we were rewarded with beautiful views.
Looking over the Town of Cortina d'Ampezzo
Our apartment is somewhere on the opposite slope, just above the town.
One of the Towers - Cinque Torri
View from a Trench near Cinque Torri
Just near the peak, a number of World War I sites have been restored and can be visited as an "open air museum" of sorts. This shot is taken from one of the trenches.
Panorama from Cinque Torri
Up Close and Personal with the Five Towers
Walking at Cinque Torri.
View over Rifugio Cinque Torri
Along a Trail
Making Pasta
Leanne directed the ravioli making. Not sure what she and Andrea are talking about in the background. Jo and Anna are rolling out with makeshift pins. The ravioli was stuffed with ricotta, lemon, and parmesan. We enjoyed it with a light sauce of zucchini and pancetta.
Us with 3/4 of the Ruchtis
In front of Lago di Sorapis. Herman, Andrea, Linda, and then myself and Jo, of course.
The Group at Lago di Sorapis
Magnificent Panorama, Lago di Sorapis
Peak and Lake
Lago di Sorapis.
Flower, Lake, and Peak
Lago di Sorapis.
The Full Crew
The only photo we have with all of us. Going around the table, Andrea and Herman, Peter, Leanne, Anna, myself and Jo, and Linda.
View from Rifugio Faloria
We took the cable-car up, and walked down.
One Vista on our Way Down
Descending from Faloria
View from Son Pouses
Looking Out, Son Pouses
War Tunnel, Son Pouses
While climbing over Son Pouses, we found the remains of buildings. Behind these, in the rocks, are large man made cavities in the rocks. We began exploring, and soon discovered there were long tunnels connecting them. The four of us spent a long time clambering through. I lost all concept of the depth of how far we went - dozens of metres at least - maybe a hundred or more. Son Pouses was a strategic point in the World War I - but my first researches indicate these placements may have been made by Austrian rather than Italian troops.
Flower Bee
Kind-of Deconstructed Donut
A dough, extruded like some small noodles, fried and served with fresh berry jam and chocolate.
Returning from Rifugio Ra Stua
Panorama near Passo di Giau
Descending behind Rifugio Averau
The Last Bit of this Hike
Peter and I, coming up the last ascent, returning to our starting point near Rifugio Cinque Torri.
Bell Tower
Main street of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Sharing a Starter with Peter and Leanne
Our final dinner in Cortina, shared with two dear friends.
On Sunday, the television was on for the first time - World Cup final. Despite trying a few hundred channels, we could not find a station that was telecasting with a proper commentary, even in Italian. There was one broadcast with no talking, and one with a group of people in a studio talking about the match, while it was on, but not actually describing or getting excited. There were some supporting Croatia, and the others supported France. The ones supporting France wore berets and striped shirts, and waved baguettes about when a goal was scored! During play, the action was punctuated with "boings" and "crash" sound effects when people fell over or ran in to each other. There were crying baby sound effects when a player fell. It was cheesy to the max! The suggestion was that they didn't really care any more, since Italy wasn't playing!
Is there such a thing as a bogan in Italy? I think I found one at a service stop on the way to Trieste. The lady in front of me, in her Crocs, bought a trashy looking magazine, a packet of cigarettes, and some scratchy lottery tickets. It's pretty close to perfect.
Returning the car in Trieste. Stress, stress, stress. We had our bus booked for Ljubljana at 13:00. The car hire office was listed as closing at 12:30. We awoke to find an email telling us the office has just moved, to a location much less convenient. So I dropped Jo with the luggage, and drove to the other end of town. Here I could find no evidence of a rental office, and a building which says it closed at 12:00. I read this at 12:05, and decided to go to the old office. It was definitely closed, with signs saying to call a number in Rome. I drove to Jo, called the number, and they told me they would get someone to the office and for me to go there now. I drove back to the office to find nobody. Ringing again I was instructed to drive to the new office. I returned to that end of town. I picked up the man from the rental company, and traversed town again back to Jo, this time filling in the paperwork as we drove. We got in to the bus station, more or less right on time, but we had a chance to catch our breaths - the bus was 15 minutes late. We did make it, and nobody knew just how fine it was, but sitting on the bus we could not have been more thankful that we were still going to be in Slovenia soon after lunch time.
