Breakfast was out on the the terrace again. We would love to duplicate this kind of space at home, but there is way too much to create to develop this atmosphere!
We stopped by the front desk to check out and say good-bye to Romani and Denise. The were insistent on having Dominic go get our car and bags (grateful as it was a steep hill). They then spent about 15 minutes with us advising us how to get to Cogne. Denise said it is a truly beautiful part of the Alps region, but it is not so easy to get to (and she warned that GPS picks all the bad roads). She got out a map and written directions that guided us the whole way, including where to stop for gas, as this is not such a simple task in Italy!
Finally, Dominic was nice enough to windex all our windows! There had been a lot of wind and a quick shower the night before and the car was a mess.
Ciao to Sinio.......a great adventure, and hello to Val d'Aosta!
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| getting gas on the autostrada |
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| grumpy bar waiter at our stop on the autostrada to get gas and our fuel......expresso! He actually turned out to be nice. |
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| the further north we went beyond Torino, the more tunnels and mountains we 'engaged' |
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| nice that after some clouds along the way, the sun started to take control |
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| getting more and more into the mountains, we found some amazing streams and waterfalls along the route |
ARRIVING IN COGNE
We will have to write more later about the location of Cogne and its relationship to the rest of the Italian, French and Swiss alps. It is in a much more dramatic and remote location than we had understood.
One warning to anyone other than us reading this. The scenery here is beyond description, so we may not be writing as much. There will, however, be more pictures that probably anyone can digest. In particular, the town and the hotel is located in meadow of 'I Prati di Sant'Orso', which is one of the largest alpine meadows in europe. As a result, it is one of the hiking and cross-country ski capitals of the alps. June is particularly beautiful due to the wild flowers which create the most amazing tapestry of textures and colors.
Back to our arrival. We had a crazy drive from Aosta down into the Val d'Aosta.......which makes sense. The irony is that we really did not experience the valley! It was mostly a trip (for the last hour or so) of negotiating winding roads to get to Sant'Orso. This area is located in the 'Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso' which was the first, and still one of the largest national parks in Italy.
Our resting spot for a few days is the Hotel Belvedere. It has a great location right on the edge of the meadow, looking south to the snow-covered mountains of the Gran Paradiso. We had asked them when we made our reservation for a room with a view.......and they certainly did their best. The best thing about the room is the large balcony. The weather has been great and the balcony has been perfect to lounge on.
Sorry, but the following pictures are a bit our of order........but not sure that matters!
WALK IN THE MEADOW
After an amazing lunch on the terrace of the hotel, we headed out to explore the meadow. As we arrived on a Saturday, there was a lot of activity (relatively speaking!) with many families out to enjoy the nice weather. As we found out over the next two days, these people have a different appreciation of nature and exercise. The level of commitment and enjoyment association with hiking is beyond description. This is clearly a lifestyle, a joy of the outdoors that made us feel sadly deficient. It is both commendable and wonderful as a way of life.
A couple of other interesting things along the way. While we were on our first hike in the meadow we got quite a ways out when the sky suddenly turned very dark. We should have known something like this might have happened as the staff had pulled all the cushions off the chaises just before we launched our walk. It was so sunny and beautiful! Anyway, we decided to turn around and head back. The photo below does not do justice to how dark the sky got.......and then the thunder started. It took us about 15 minutes to get back at a fast pace......the last five minutes of which it had started to rain lightly. Actually it was sort of fun. The strong winds and rain held off until we were back in the room! 30 minutes later it had all stopped and an hour later the sun was shining.
The second really weird thing (and we mean weird).....PLEASE READ THIS!......was that just before we were getting ready for dinner, Fiske happened to lean over the balcony railing and was startled to see a cantilevered bath tub hanging off the balcony below us. We could not believe this......truly a hanging bath tub on a motorized rail contraption that was floating off the side of the building.
Fiske got a picture, which does not show the full details (this was all a bit awkward to even be looking!). It was hilarious in that some of the bubbles from the bath had blown away and the birds were chasing them thinking they were some kind of food. Never have we ever seen anything like this!
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| dark clouds coming |
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| you can see the rain exiting on the right of the picture |
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| a better shot of the rain leaving |
After a long day, we had dinner at the local Brasserie (owned by the hotel) a short walk away into the village. This day has been a bit tough to fully absorb yet......wonderfully surprising!
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