It’s been two months since we got back, and after emptying our DVR I’m finally getting around to sending a final note about our (mostly) Italy trip. I will start this off by saying despite all of the Covid crap, we had a great time. It was nice to get back on the road and start living the life we envisioned upon retiring. I felt that we spent about the right amount of time for the places we visited, with a couple of notable exceptions.
The highlight of the trip for both of us was the Dolomites, where we spent four days. This is a larger region than I had anticipated, mostly because you are dealing with winding narrow roads over extreme mountain passes…and you are sharing that road with RV’s, trucks and busses. I can’t imagine driving a bus on some of these passes, but the local bus runs on a regular basis!
Regarding the Dolomites, they seem to be split into two areas where you should stay. We chose the Valgardena region for 4 days, but I think we could have spent a week or more here. The other region is Cortina d’Ampezzo. This area is close to some of the most famous hikes in the Dolomites, including Tre Cime di Lavaredo…
…and Lago di Braies.
Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to visit these spots, but we will be back in the near future. We could easily spend two weeks in the Dolomites….every year! Wish we lived closer.
The other area we visited briefly was western Slovenia. I think this country deserves more exploration, and it really wasn’t on our radar previously. It was very quiet and laid back, the people are super friendly, and we didn’t see any other tourists. Some of the other places we visited, such as Milan, Sirmione, Verona and the Cinque Terre were very busy, even in the off season, and it would be nice to tour an area that hasn’t been discovered by tourists…yet.
Piemonte also needs about a week to visit, as there are so many small villages and wineries, and it’s one of the most beautiful wine regions we’ve seen. Three days just wasn’t enough.
I can’t remember if I mentioned this previously, but Italians don’t generally refer to themselves as such. Ask an Italian where they are from and they won’t say “Italy”, but will mention the region they are from (Naples, Venice, etc.). A restaurant owner told us this was due to the fact Italy hasn’t been a country for all that long, becoming a Republic in 1946, so most Italians relate more to their region than the country as a whole.
Our next trip is set for July when we are heading to the Champagne region for a friends wedding, and spending some time in Belgium. We will also be spending 5 weeks in Ireland next fall. We are hoping new variants don’t kill travel once again! Thanks for reading!