Val di Zoldo at dusk

This photo fits the two from my previous post perfectly. It was taken from the same spot as the previous two, I just pointed my camera to the east this time. As it is evident from the two post titles the valley has a few similar names: Val di Zoldo, Val Zoldana or simply Valzoldana.

We could enjoy colors like these almost every evening during our stay in the Dolomites just after the sunset. On one of the mornings colors were even more spectacular with surrounding mountains glowing in red. Unfortunately I didn't get to capture the moment on time. Waiting for it to happen again on next few mornings did not help a bit. I should have learned this lesson until now...

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Wordless Wednesday: Val Zoldana by Day and by Night

So, which version of this beautiful Italian mountain valley view do you like better (click on them to admire them in larger resolution)? I just could not choose between the two and decided to post both of them...

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Charming mountain huts on ski slopes

I can hardly imagine snowy white slopes without those charming mountain huts scattered around. I am not the kind to go "skiing" and then spend the whole day sunbathing in a deck chair - quite the opposite actually. I am whooshing around on skis all day usually taking up to three short stops per day to catch my breath and get a snack and something to drink. Nonetheless I would miss those few breaks if did not take them - even more so on cold, windy days.

A mountain hut is simply called rifugio in Italian, but these are often a mix between a ristorante and a rifugio. This does usually not effect their genuine look. Mostly they are made of wood - roof tiles and gutters included, and fit into the surroundings perfectly. In some cases you can actually ski directly up to a bar and order something to warm you up.
In some you can find many local delicacies usually home-made by the staff.

The always cozy atmosphere inside those mountain huts and breathtaking views of the Dolomites can make you quickly forget the cold and simply enjoy every moment of the experience.

On these photos there are of just some of many rifugios scattered around the Civetta ski resort. I did not make it to visit all of them in my all too short week there. Have to save some for another time I guess.

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The end of ski season...

...or is it really?

It has been some time now since we have returned from our skiing week in the Italian Dolomites and I expected for all this snow to give way to spring by now. Winter however has something different in mind since we had some heavy snowfall the other day here in Slovenia. This also means the start of mountaineering higher in the Alps will probably be delayed a bit this year - I guess it might take a while for all this snow to melt.

I believe there is a similar situation in the Dolomites. Even when we were there a month ago, there was lots of snow and now there is well over 2 meters of it at higher altitudes. More then enough for the skiing season to last for a while I guess.

Like every year until now we had a great time in Civetta skiing resort. If you are interested in my previous skiing trips to the region you should look for the Dolomites label.

Weather was great and there was even some fresh snow for us to enjoy. It fell during the night which was pretty convenient. You can hardly beat a right amount of fresh powder in the morning.

I included a few photos taken this year and I think they nicely represent the beauty of the area. There is Mount Pelmo visible on all of them - just like on the one I published last Wednesday (you can check it out here). I hope you like them all.

If you feel a need for skiing after reading this post, you might still get to enjoy some great skiing conditions this season if you hurry up. Enjoy it where ever you might go!

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Wordless Wednesday: Magnificent Monte Pelmo

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Wordless Wednesday: Streets of Urbino

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Two days in Urbino, Italy

After leaving Gubbio (you can read about our short visit in the previous post) quite a bit earlier that we would have liked, we soon entered the region of Marche and at the same time left Umbria behind.
By this time we were already heading back northeast - in the direction of Slovenia.

We were hoping for a bit of sunshine but the ride from Gubbio to Urbino was obviously not long enough for a change of weather. Not minding the weather too much, we parked our car relatively close to the city gate at the north-eastern part of the town walls.

The thing with these old fortified towns is that you can not always choose your point of entrance. Thick stone walls usually do not have all that many entrances. This is an obvious consequence of a defensive strategy that was vital in medieval times when most of these fortifications were built.

The obvious lack of space inside the old town is not the most convenient thing for a modern tourist, who would love to drive at least to the apartment door. Here we all had to park outside the walls and walk the narrow cobbled streets in rain. In my opinion this is a small price to pay for keeping the old charm alive.

After a slow, rainy stroll around the town we decided not to move on until the next day - that is if we found a suitable accommodation for the night. We were aiming towards some budget options and surprisingly a nice lady at the information office in the old town center provided a couple of options. Since we learned we could find accommodation for 60 Euros (that's for both of us), we decided to stay in Urbino. We opted for Albergo Ristorante San Giovanni. It is a small two star hotel where we got a nice double room with a bathroom for the mentioned price. It was nothing special but definitely clean, cosy and affordable. They also offer cheaper rooms but I guess those don't come with a private bathroom.

Spending the night in Urbino meant we could really relax that evening and even have a walk through the streets the following morning. We treated ourselves with a nice dinner. It was a bit on the expensive side but very tasty.

We also bought some local bread (it is called Focaccia Umbra) and goat cheese. This made for a perfect travel snack the next day. We also tasted a few different local cured meats. Simple but delicious!

Among the things worth visiting when in Urbino are definitely the Palace of the Dukes of Montefeltro (Palazzo Ducale) and the town's Duomo. They can be found next to each other in the main square. A walk to the top of the hill to Fortezza Albornoz is also worth the effort. It's position offers a great view of the town and surrounding hills.
On Via Raffaello, there is also the birthplace of town's most famous person - Raphael. The Casa Natale di Raffaello doesn't have much to offer - only one of his works is on display but you can see where Raphael and his father mixed their pigments.
If you are a plant enthusiast, there is also a small botanical garden nearby (Orto Botanico). It is full of rare plants.

Apart from the mentioned sights, we found Urbino a great place to wander around, drink a cup of a good coffee and take some time per guardare la gente che passa.

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Gubbio - Not destined for this trip

When we left Assisi (you can read about it here) sun was still shining and it was pretty warm. After a few kilometers on the road dark clouds started gathering above us. It was not long till it started raining. As the road gradually climbed higher into hills, weather got worse. At one time it was even snowing!
Even though snowflakes melted the moment they hit the ground, we were still surprised. We were definitely not expecting to see snow in central Italy in May.

When we got to Gubbio, it was cold and wet. We started a tour around the town despite the rain. We were hoping for the sun to break through those dark clouds. Unfortunately we had no such luck. After a half an hour of walking the streets of this otherwise charming old town, we were pretty wet and cold. Strong wind wasn't helping the atmosphere either.

After a quick debate we decided to give weather the last chance before moving on and headed for a drink into a local winery. The atmosphere was nice and we took it slow. The wine selection here was really awesome - unfortunately most of the bottles were way over our budget.
Another half an hour and a couple of glasses of moderately priced, but still good local wine later we were sick of waiting and decided to move on.

I suspect we would have liked this old town - perhaps even above others we visited on this trip. Sadly we didn't have enough time to wait for the weather to clear. We had a long way ahead of us and also had to find a place where we could spend the night.
Since I tried to look at the whole situation from a positive perspective, I could see this as a relatively good thing. An afternoon of bad weather drove us to a conclusion that we will definitely have to return to Gubbio when the first chance arises. Hopefully next time we will not be in such a hurry and the weather will treat us at least a bit better.

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Wordless Wednesday: A view of Assisi

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Assisi - the Town of Saints

Assisi is an old hill town just 19 km (i.e. 12 miles) east of Perugia. It is best known as the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi - founder of the Franciscan order of monks in 1208. St. Assisi is also the patron saint of Italy.
Another famous saint is connected to this area - St. Clare, upon learning of St. Francis, left her affluent home and entered into monastic life. She established an order of nuns still in existence today -they are the Order of the Poor Clares.

The town itself is perched on a 400 meters high hill and looks charming even from the distance. When you enter through one of the gates built into an impressive wall, you can see a huge cathedral, impressive basilicas and there is even a convent. Basilica di San Francesco is filled with spectacular frescoes by Giotto and well worth a visit.

The thing I disliked about this town the most was how crowded it was. This is no wonder since 4-5 million visitors come hear every year. For many of them Assisi is a pilgrimage destination. Since the town is not very large (it only has around 3.000 inhabitants) it is definitely quite a challenge to make them all feel welcome.
I guess it is no surprise, the whole town looked like a one big souvenir shop to me.

Don't get me wrong - it is well worth a visit and one can definitely find some less frequented streets but I simply didn't feel it. The lack of time (only half of a day) could also be one of the reasons for not getting overwhelmed by this old town.

We would have probably liked the several less frequented sites outside of the city walls, but we never got to them (I guess that is why they are less frequented). We had the afternoon of the day reserved for another old town in the neighborhood - Gubbio. More about that in one of my next posts...

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Wordless Wednesday: Assisi main square

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Chocolate making class in Perugina

Even though Perugia is not the most impressive of the old towns in the region of Umbria it has something that is probably worth a trip on its own.
WARNING! All of you chocolate junkies out there, that might be on a diet at the moment, should be warned not to continue reading. Further reading might put your past achievements at a serious risk! You have been warned.

A visit to Perugina Chocolate factory (they make the famous Bacci chocolates) was on our travel list for quite some time. Who am I kidding here... this obviously was an item on M's list - I was just tagging along this time.

Let's start at the beginning... For quite some time M. was looking at various travel agencies that include a visit to this chocolate factory in their itineraries. Apart of this being a rather expensive way of doing it, those agencies usually also include things we don't fancy so much. If you have been following this blog you have probably noticed we are not the sheep type of tourists who enjoy the comfort of a large herd and love tagging along their trusty tour guide. We prefer tailoring our trips to our own needs and love the freedom of changing our itinerary on the go.
This was enough to decide we want to do this trip on our own.

In the research and preparation stage of this trip M. tried to reserve a spot in one of the available classes. Finding the contact on their homepage was not the most straightforward thing to do but that was nothing compared to communicating the whole thing with them in Italian. Luckily we do speak a little bit of Italian.
If you are also looking for a direct contact with them you can find the application form here. If Italian is not your thing, try translating it in Google Translate.

When M. tried to reserve her space behind a cooking stove, they informed her everything was already full. Since our plans were already set and some reservations confirmed by that time, we decided to go to Perugia anyway and try to fix things on the way.

We stayed at a nice and affordable hostel (Perugia Farmhouse) on the outskirts of Perugia. As the name suggests - it really still is a farmhouse. Soon after arrival we talked to the owner and he agreed to check out the situation at the chocolate factory in the morning. We weren't expecting much to come out of this, but we thought it couldn't hurt to try. We were thinking of going at least on a tour of the factory which also wasn't looking too good - it was low season at that time and not much was happening along the chocolate production lines. Things really weren't looking too good...

A phone call in the morning changed the whole thing - they told the guy from the hostel there is just one free space left in the first class that morning. As luck would have it - this was the one class M. preferred of the whole bunch. It was starting in a half an hour so we had to hurry. Luckily the Perugina factory is located relatively close to the hostel.

When we entered the factory we were led into a "classroom" designed especially for such chocolate making classes. Since M. has taken the last available spot we first confirmed our reservation directly with Maestro Alberto. He also agreed for me to go along as a photographer for free. How cool is that?

The class itself included everything from a bit of theory, chopping large chunks of chocolate, melting it, pouring it into plastic molds and filling them. Two kinds of filled chocolates were followed by chocolate truffles.

There was also a load of really useful practical advice given during the course. For instance: did you know temperature is essential when tempering chocolate? Only tempered chocolate will produce a finished product with a professional sheen, snap and taste - and your creations will not bloom when kept at the proper temperatures. When melting it, dark chocolate should reach 45°C (i.e. 113 F). Cooling it down to 31°C (i.e. 88 F) ensures forming of proper type crystals inside chocolate.

Before making a reservation you should take into account classes are only held in Italian (at least according to what I was told).
We would have managed to get a great deal out of this even in Italian, but got lucky again. Just next to us there was this US couple with their own interpreter. He agreed to help us out on a few technical terms and details. All in all - the whole thing worked out just great!

The class took over 3 and a half hours and we could take with us everything that was made. We could also keep all chocolate leftovers which were perfect for a chocolate fondue back home.

I think for 60 euro it was definitely a good value class. And that is only an opinion of an innocent bystander/photographer - M. was more then thrilled with the outcome.
She is still raving about it every time the topic pops up.

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Wordless Wednesday: Perugia in the distance

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Why visit Perugia?

On our trip around Italian region of Umbria started with a stop in the town of Perugia. It is interesting enough just as it is - one can wonder the narrow cobbled streets of this old Italian hill town for hours.

There is even a Mini Metro that will take you into the town center. You can for instance park your car at the city stadium for free and take the Mini Metro into the old town for just a few euros.

The charm of the old town inside the Etruscan walls is just one piece of its charm. Usually people can make the difference between a good and an excellent travel destination. It is no different in this case.

Perugia is the location where many world class events and festivals take place every year. It is well worth planning a trip with these in mind:

• Saint Ercolano's festival
• Saint Costanzo's festival
• Umbria Jazz Festival (this year also featuring Sting!)
• Umbria's Musical Festival
• Euro Chocolate Festival
• Fiera dei Morti (Fair of the Dead)
• ...and many more.

A visitor can get lots of useful information from the main tourist website dedicated not only to the town of Perugia itself, but also to many other nearby attractions worth the attention. If you are looking for exact dates of events mentioned above, PerugiaOnline.com is the information source of choice.
Besides these events the town has many other attractions (mostly historical) worth checking out.

However the main reason of our visit was a bit different. As you might already know Perugia is also the location of Perugina chocolate factory M. wanted to visit for quite some time.

You can expect a detailed report about a very interesting chocolate making class in one of the next posts.

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Wordless Wednesday: Chocolate moments in Perugia

For information about a Chocolate making class in Perugina, you can check out a related post on the link.

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Hill towns of Umbria and Marche

We have just returned from a short trip (4 days really is short) around Italian regions of Umbria and Marche. I am glad to say that despite the changing weather it was a great trip and definitely a place worth returning to.
These two regions are a little bit less known compared to the neighboring Tuscany. Fortunately this also means they tend to get a little less crowded.

During this time of year we were able to find budget accommodations for 45 EUR per night (for a double room with breakfast). You can easily find a decent double room in a two star hotel for 60 EUR per night but if you are on a tighter budget, you should do some research before the start of your trip.

Like Tuscany, Umbria is also a place where those green rolling hills seem to just go on forever in all directions. In my opinion charming little medieval towns sitting on tops of those hills are a highlight of the region.

It doesn't really matter if you are a history buff, outdoor enthusiast or you simply love good food and wine... you can definitely find all of those in these parts of Italy.
During this recent trip we tried to taste a little bit of everything. We even took part in a hands-on chocolate making course.

These are Umbrian towns we had on our list and you should definitely try to fit them into your schedule when visiting the region: Assisi, Perugia, Montefalco, Spoleto, Todi, Gubbio and Narni.
Since we suspected we were not going to make it to all of those, we only added Urbino and a small town on the Conero coast from the region of Marche. At the northern end of Marche region there is also a whole another country worth visiting - it is San Marino.

Sadly we did not make it to all of the charming hill towns on the above list. Since we did not want to jump between them in a hurry, we figured we would rather come back at some other time and devote each of them the attention they deserve.
I suggest you do the same and try to relax and really feel the energy flowing through those narrow cobblestone streets.

I will post some useful details from the places we actually got to visit in future posts. Stay tuned to Travel Photo Blogging!

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Wordless Wednesday: Monte Pelmo in White

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Skiing vacation in Italy

I am back from Italy again! A week in the Italian Dolomites shot by way too fast again (like every time before). This year we had a little bit of sunshine, a bit of snowfall and lots of cold - freezing cold actually.


All week long we were listening to almost apocalyptic news on Italian TV programs. It was all about the Costa Concordia disaster and weather problems throughout the country. Titles like "Italia blocata" were all too common. Actually we got quite lucky with the weather. Dolomites were a part of Italy with surprisingly the nicest weather for all week long.

Also those reports were usually quite exaggerated. By my standards anyway... Italians seem to do this a lot. For instance there was about 2 centimeters (1 inch) of snow in Rome and reports of total chaos were aired on the evening news.
I agree any snowfall is quite unusual in those parts and it can lead to substantial traffic problems, but a couple centimeters of snow during the night is no end of the world in my book. Me being from a place where snow is quite an usual sight every winter also didn't help me understand the "catastrophic proportions" of events.


All of that did not influence our skiing enthusiasm. Despite of a couple of days of snowing and being pretty cold all the time, everything was fine. Mostly it was around -10°C (that is 14°F) or colder.
A few days were really beautiful and sunny but cold nonetheless. Mostly we were skiing in the Civetta ski area. Only for one day we decided to try out some new slopes and drove to Kronplatz, which is supposedly the most modern of the Dolomiti ski areas. That is probably true - almost all of the lifts are new cabins - some even with heated seats. All that is unfortunately a strong magnet for the crowds. Kronplatz gets pretty crowded throughout the whole season.

I did about 50 kilometers (31 miles) of skiing per day - for six days in a row. I must admit there were quite a few warming-up stops every day in many of those charming mountain huts placed just next to the slopes. Mostly they are made of wood - roof tiles and gutters included, and fit into the surroundings perfectly. In some cases you could actually ski directly up to a bar and order something to help you warm up.


All that together with the breathtaking views of the Dolomites can make you quickly forget the cold and simply enjoy every moment of the experience.

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Venetian pizza in Italian Dolomites

Once you see some places they are simply impossible to forget. Venice is definitely one of them.

It is strange how a small thing can trigger memories of such places. The last time this happened to me was just a few weeks ago in a skiing resort deep in Italian Dolomites.
In my case it was a "Tronchetto Pizza" listed in a menu at a cute local trattoria/pizzeria. For those of you who don't know Venice all that well - Tronchetto is an artificial island in the Venetian lagoon and often a starting point for visitors to the city.


The pizza was actually shaped like a gondola and as delicious as it should be. Unfortunately I am not sure this is evident from the above photo. I guess you will just have to take my word for it.

The pizza brought back a lot of memories also because now is the most popular time to visit the city of Venice. It is Carnival time!
It actually officially started just a few days ago. This year (2012) it is scheduled to last from 11th to 21st of February so you can still make it if you hurry up.


I have published some useful advice for first time visitors on this blog before. If you are not interested in a good advice there are also some great photos (like the one above) worth checking out.
You can take a look at When to visit Venice, a post about Traditional Venetian masks, tips on how to do a cheap photo trip to Venice or simply click on the Venice label in the right column to check out everything I posted on this topic before.

Comments are more then welcome!

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Wordless Wednesday: Old-School Fireplace

The photo was taken at a charming traditional inn in Italian Dolomites (Trattoria Mezzo Canale Da Ninetta). Post-processing was done using an Android mobile application. I hope you like it!

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