the dolomites

(here we go, the rest of the posts about our northern Italy trip back in March ... I need to get better at  organizing these posts in a timely manner)

Our first trip to the Dolomites didn't go very well. That was in 2004, during our first time in Italy, when after visiting Venice we decided to drive up to Cortina d'Ampezzo, and take the great Dolomites Road. It was very cloudy and foggy most of the day, so we didn't see a thing the whole time. Not even a tiny glimpse of the Sella Ronda ...

So this time round we decided to go back and hope for better weather. After we left Bolzano in the morning we spent the day driving all around the Dolomites. We didn't go all the way to Cortina, but drove through the Fassa and Pordoi passes and stopped briefly in Canazei and other countless times along the road. The scenery was breathtaking...

A friend of mine who skied in this area before told me it was the most beautiful place he had ever skied in, and I think I have to agree. We found several ski resorts along the way, and although the snow was clearly not in the best of conditions, the views were nothing short of spectacular.

We had lunch in Selva Gardena, and during the afternoon drove around the Sella Ronda till we finally arrived in Ortisei where we spent the night and most of next morning in the beautiful and charming Hotel Uhrerhof (which was so nice it deserves a post of its own).

And, as you can see, we did have better luck with the weather this time ...