gollygoshgumgoonz: The Dolomites

Barry used to always say the weather in Napier was hot and sunny and only rained at night. It wasn't entirely true, but here in the Dolomites it seems this is the case. Every morning we have been waking up to spectacular vistas of clear mountain peaks, blue sky, and sunshine. As the day progressed, the clouds would creep in and then in the evening the clouds turned back and there would be an impressive lightening and thunderstorm, torrential rain, and even hail, then it would all clear up and the sun would shine hot and bright again! I had never heard about the Italian Alps and the Dolomites as a destination but wow, it is an overwhelmingly beautiful place. It is a Mecca for snow sport enthusiasts in the winter and for hikers, bikers (push, electric, and motor), rock climbers, and even hand gliders in the summer. In the valleys between each mountain are gorgeous Christmas card villages made up of Austrian/Swiss like Chalets with vibrant flowers spilling over balcony and window box gardens. There is at least one tall steepled Church, and a range of cute cafes, ristorante, pizzerias, gelaterias, and shops. There is a huge range of sport clothing, accessories, and equipment that you can buy in these towns. Jeremy was primarily interested in the hiking (and via Ferrara - low key rock climbing) and biking. Barry was keen on the biking, chilling out in town at a cafe, and the odd shop. I was keen on the hiking, biking, cafes, shops, and wandering the streets. So we didn't all go together on every excursion but we all had fun and all of us had our cameras out most of the time (ok, maybe me a little more so).

So today we leave Italy and go by train, to Austria.

We are in Innsbruck for two nights, then we go to Nuremberg where Susan will meet us. After Nuremberg we will head to Heidelberg, then Annecy, Chamonix, and then our final destination as a group, in Lake Como.

Meanwhile, here are a selection of the photos from the Dolomites!