We are staying at Ortisei in the Val Gardena region of the Dolomites. Jan showed us spectacular photos when she and Col visited... and that was recommendation enough to have us book a week's stay. Jan's photos included villages close by... and we plan to check them all. Driving up from Verona this morning, we were concerned that the haze (euphemism for pollution) would spoil the scenery. As we climbed higher and were closer to the mountains... visibly seemed to improve... and this evening we have excellent views. We are 150 metres up from the valley... Joye was at risk of losing 'screen time' because of the effort required to get to-and-from the coffee shop. However, the landlord pointed to a 3-story escalator located next door that solved the problem... Joye then claimed extra 'screen time'.
It is difficult to believe that Sicily and the Dolomites belong to the same nation. This village is packed with German tourists... and the shopkeepers look more German than Italian. Road etiquettes are poles apart... drivers wait patiently for gaps in the traffic... parking fits within the square... bicycles outnumber motorbikes... shops are full of people buying stuff... green and clean abound. Now, we loved Sicily... and expect it to be a highlight of our trip... but Ortisei is entirely different. The place is new... it seems to be designed and built for tourists... for us!
The string of 35° days looks like breaking... there is a chance of showers in the next two days... the accuracy of weathermen leaves us optimistic that our fantastic run of good weather will continue.
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