Friday, October 16, 2015

Day 16 ~ Bolzano & the Dolomites

Today our group was  transported to the beautiful Dolomites which form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps. A tourist mecca, the Dolomites are famous for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing, hiking, cycling, and base jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding, in summer and late spring/early autumn.

Our first stop was in the picturesque village of Ortisei.  Its streets were lined with Gasthofs (small hotels), displays of wood carvings in store windows, sport shops, and pastry shops to name a few.  We were treated to fall colors, a dust of snow on the mountains tops, ski lodges and gondolas as shown in the photo below.

a-16-ski

As we climbed the mountains, we saw villages in the valleys below.

a-16-village

Finally we reached the majestic Dolomites.

a-16-mountain

We were fortunate to get these views.  After lunch, the snow began falling obscuring any view of the mountains.

a-16-mountain2

Thanks to our bus driver, Rudy, who navigated the many hairpin curves to get us back to our hotel, safe and sound. 

No comments:

Post a Comment