Italy Vacation

After a long year filled with several track days, photo shoots, events, meetings, and deliveries it is time for a vacation! I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time, but it’s finally here. We flew into Venice yesterday afternoon and had a 3 hour bus ride to get to our hotel in Dobiacco, our home base for the next 2 weeks for our hiking adventure. My 83 year old Grandfather…yes…83…is leading the trip, brand new knee’s and all!He grew up in the mountains so seeing him in his element was something very special, if I can be in half the shape he is at his age I’ll be happy. Today marked our first hike, 16km through the amazing Italian mountains with the group. I haven’t been as active as I would have liked this summer, but this trip is quickly making up for it! I’ll be updating my photos over the next few weeks with more of the great hikes we have planned. Enjoy the photos!

Monday – Today was hike #2 and the toughest of the trip. We took a bus to Mount Durrenstein and began our trek up to 10,000ft. This was hands down the most physically demanding thing I have ever done, the trails were a series of loose rock incline switchbacks that winded their way up the side of the mountain and eventually to the summit. To reach the second peak we had to hold onto a chain and walk across a small path with a sheer drop on each side…pretty intense. All that being said, the view at the top was absolutely incredible. I have never seen anything more stunning in my entire life, every way I looked I was completely surrounded by mountains. The decent down was much easier but still very demanding on the legs, we celebrated once we reached the bottom with a cold beer and a delicious plate of ravioli’s! Overall it was another great day, at least the rest of the hikes will feel like a breeze compared to this one. Heading down for another great dinner at our hotel, we’ll see what tomorrow brings! Enjoy the photos.

Tuesday – Day 3 and hike #3 kicked off with a wild Jeep ride up the side of a mountain to get to the starting point. After a very intense hike the day before we were all feeling a little worse for wear, but we headed out under the leadership of a professional guide. The hike started off with a 1 hour incline which was taxing, but opened up into a beautiful afternoon with flat trails and the odd rocky climb. We rewarded ourselves again with a nice beer and pasta before we headed down the steep decline. We got back to the hotel a bit earlier so I took a walk around Dobiacco with my mom, what a great little town. We stopped at the local church and I was blown away! The interior was stunning, murals, stained glass, and large mouldings all came together to give it the wow factor when you walked in. Another successful day here in the north of Italy!

Wednesday – After 3 hikes in 3 days we finally have a day off! The weather was cold and rainy so we decided to take the train to Bolsano, Italy to take a look around. The city has a rich history and made for some great photos. The sky opened up after our Pizza lunch so we put on our rain coats and headed  back to our hotel. My legs are enjoying the time off! The weather looks great for the rest of the week, especially for our long bike ride tomorrow. Enjoy the photos!

Thursday – Today was our first bike ride of the trip! We started off in San Candito, Italy and took a beautiful trail 50km to Lienz, Austria. There were several interesting land marks along the way including an old castle as well as farm lands and rivers. We ate lunch in the vibrant town square then came back to the hotel for some R&R. I was a great way to see the countryside and a nice change from the long hikes!

Friday – The next hike on the itinerary was “Drie Zennin”, these three peaks were waiting for us at the top of a windy mountain road north of Dobiacco. We arrived to see that we were above a line of clouds which made for some great photos. The trail started off fairly flat but my Grandpa set out along a narrow trail carved into the side of the mountain which you can see in the photos. After climbing sets of rocks and navigating the narrow trail we finally arrived at the Hut for my double plate pasta lunch! The highlight of the hike for me was seeing the old army bunker carved into the side of the mountain, so much history in this area. Enjoy the photos!

Saturday – Another “free day” here in North Italy, no hikes planned today so I took the bus to San Candito to take a walk around. There were some great places in this small city including a very interesting cemetery with a metal book of soldiers lost in the war. After my city tour (and amazing pizza) I jumped on the bus and toured around the mountain roads. A great relaxing day!

Sunday – After mostly sunny skies during our trip so far we had an overcast and rainy day. The colds held back just long enough for us to take a small leisurely hike to Sesto, a nice change of pace to the demanding hikes we are used to! The rain hit as soon as we got back to the hotel so the rest of the day consisted of watching movies on my laptop and organizing my folders. I could get used to this whole relaxing thing!

Monday – Today we had another overcast and rainy day, but that didn’t stop us from more hiking. Rain gear in tow we headed out to “Monte Piano” which was a very historical location in the first world war. Our guide took us on a tour of the amazing series of trenches and bunkers along the Italian front lines of the mountains. I couldn’t imagine the soldiers being up there in the dead of winter fighting the Austrians across the mountain. It was a great experience to see such a historically significant location!

Tuesday – Last night at dinner my grandpa told me that he had signed me up for a “Via Ferrata” experience in the Dolomites, which roughly translates to secured climbing. Not knowing what to expect I was picked up by the guide and we headed to one of the many mountain ranges in the area. It was a small group, only me and a couple from Australia which was nice. I wasn’t able to bring my D3s so I slipped my parents Canon point and shoot camera into my pocket to make sure I captured some photos of the experience. Our adventure started off with a 2 hour hike up to the base of the mountain, where the guide pointed to the top and said “that’s where we’re going!”. We all secured our harness’ and set up the almost vertical face of the mountain…what an incredible experience! We were secured with caribeeners on a series of metal cables and ladders drilled into the rocks. It was foggy during our climb, but once we were at the summit the clouds cleared and rewarded us with a fantastic view of the area. The decent was difficult but we all managed to make it back in one piece! We are heading to Venice tomorrow so this Via Ferrata was a fantastic way to end my time in this beautiful part of Italy. My grandpa grew up on the mountains so he was very proud to see my up there hanging on for dear life! This trip has been filled with so many great memories! Enjoy the photos.

So here they are, the last photos of my trip! Over the last 3 days we traveled around Venice and Verona, absolutely gorgeous cities. This trip has been an amazing experience. We had some great hikes and I really got to see my Grandpa in his element. Lots of memories (and food) I will never forget. We head home tomorrow afternoon and land in Toronto tomorrow evening. A big thank you to everyone for all your comments and support, it’s been nice to share my vacation with all of you! Enjoy the photos: