riding the Falzarego pass in the Dolomites

a cloudy sunday
a couple in need of fresh air and freedom
a vintage lambretta
a pass in the Dolomites, between Agordo and Cortina d'Ampezzo

early autumn alpine weekend in Cortina d'Ampezzo

the pink hues of a Dolomites sunset

we started the new season in our own way, by taking a couple of days by ourselves, to go to the most beautiful town of the Dolomites, our dear Cortina d'Ampezzo. 

in spite of being quite close to our home, less than 90 kilometers, even when we visit for a day or just an afternoon (it happens), the chilly air and the stunning alpine landscape don't fail to make me feel happier, somehow clearer and recharged. it's mountain magic, nature magic. 

we visited some old spots and tried new ones, starting with a lovely glamping experience at the international camping Olympia, where we rented the cosiest wooden tent.

the blue hour  in Cortina, outside our wooden tent at camping Olympia 

Belluno | a little guide

i felt it was about time to write some more practical posts about this little corner of Italy where we live in. i didn't want them to be too dry and schematic, i want them to have the same amount of inspirational stuff and charm that a regular post of this blog has. we asked a friend to be our local guide for one day and we had fun playing the tourists, listening, taking pictures and sketching.

the result is this little guide to Belluno, completely i diari della lambretta style: there are insiders tips, illustrations, film photos and some reasons to fall in love with the town. enjoy!

ponte della vittoria {victory bridge} and a look to the city centre | fujicolor 200

ENI village in Borca di Cadore. October, Saturday 10th

i've been wanting to visit the ENI village for a long time. it opens to the public just on special occasions, and i was thrilled to finally see a guided tour organized by Progetto Borca on a day we could attend. 

we rode to Borca di Cadore {near Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the amazing Dolomites} by lambretta.

given the cold and gloomy day, it was kind of risky, but in the end we were able to make a lambretta field trip out of it. 

we enjoy visiting places like this one, that we consider the most special and interesting, even more when we visit them by scooter.

romantic walk in Mezzano. August, Sunday 11th

another day in Trentino: a lovely sunday spent with my family wandering around the stunning Primiero Valley. anna, giovanni, marco and i took a morning walk surrounded by sunny Dolomites.

then, our afternoon gently passed in the exploration of Mezzano, a tiny village wonderfully still devoted to agriculture and handicraft work rather than tourism. 

Mezzano is quiet, beautiful. its people have experienced joy, love, pain, hard work, loss, hunger, as you can read by the old stone walls. not just metaphorically speaking. there are many stories and facts well narrated on small boards hung on the outer walls of houses. it's as if the village is directly speaking to its guests.

a path called Mezzano romantica {romantic Mezzano} follows the most peculiar and beautiful rural signs to
a deeper understanding of the territory, showing and explaining buildings, old water harvesting system, traditions and daily life.

woodpiles are the most distinctive features of the village.
the long winters have always forced the Dolomiti inhabitants to make copious stock of firewood to heat their homes. so, neat and towering woodpiles are everywhere. in the local language they are called canzèi, and every canzèl is a small masterpiece of care, skill and parsimony, that also colors the streets of a vivid palette of warm shades.

in addition to that,a group of artists has been asked to reinterpret the woodpiles concept to create artworks, so now you can find some beautiful and weird canzèi near to the ordinary ones.

 ,,

p.s. my sister and i are cat people. always been, always will. but we love dogs, too. and now we have a dog! you can take a peek at him in some pictures. his name is oreste.

{nikon f-801 + fujicolor 200}

sunrise in the Dolomites. August, Saturday 10th

Morning is due to all —

To some — the Night —

To an imperial few —

The Auroral light.

{Emily Dickinson}

Malga Preghena di Sotto, Val di Non. h 5.30 AM

i am an earlybird. i love the morning light, the silence, the chill, the expectations, to peacefully plan my day sipping coffee on the couch. but i usually don't get up so early to see the sun rise. i did it in a cold and clear August morning, after a stormy night, and i saw the mountains waking up with me.

our alarm clock rang at five, it was still dark, too dark for pictures, we had a quick sip of coffee and run out to see the cows, who were loudly coming back from the pastures for the morning milking.
where and why did i do that?

we were hosted at Malga Preghena, in Trentino Alto Adige region. cows usually spend the summer in the mountain pastures, from the end of may to the end of september. during these months, the herders live in a mountain hut with a stable and a dairy. this place it's called malga. in the past, a malga's only purpose was to be a place where a family and their cows live, but now most of them are also a good place to eat and buy fresh products.

this summer, some malghe in Trentino offered the possibility to spend the night there, wake up with the family and watch their daily work. a chance to get closer to a lesser known reality. this project was called albe in malga: sunrise in malga.
this was not my first malga experience, but i had the chance to get a better look to the hard work of the family that runs the place.

oh, and the golden light that slowly came from the surrounding mountains to reach us? totally made ​​me forget the ungodly hour at which we woke up. (together with the crazy delicious breakfast we had after the milking!)

Snowy Valentine. February, Sunday 17th

it's still too cold for outdoorsy sundays by lambretta.
so we celebrated the day of lovers hiking in Cadore's mountains.
♥

white path, magical silence, scent of snow.
besides all the lovey dovey details, we walked from Valle di Cadore to the cozy Rifugio Costapiana,which offers tasty homemade meals and a stunning view
{to know what a rifugio is, check out this page}

{olympus om10 + fuji superia 200}

info
Rifugio Costapiana
Località Costa Piana  
32040 Valle di Cadore Belluno
www.rifugiocostapiana.it

desmontegada. September, Sunday 23rd

 

the Desmontegada {the Transhumance Fair} of Primiero Valley is an event that we look forward to see every year. the transhumance is the seasonal movement of the livestock from winter to summer pastures. the fair is aimed to traditionally celebrate the end of the summer mountain pastures, and the cows coming back to the valley, where the herders have their permanent home.

Anna's boyfriend Giovanni has a cozy maso in the Primiero Valley, in Trentino region (where I would like to live happily ever after) and his family got a farm, so they take part in this parade where all the local farms and families show their animals around the town's tiny streets.

it's a wonderful example of Trentino's local folklore, and we love it. (One of Giovanni's cow walked into a cafè, too! That was adorable)
Tosela, beans, luganega, polenta... i'm still dreaming about the food we had in Tonadico. too bad I don't have photos of that (next time, I promise), but you can enjoy all the parade details I loved the most.

 

 
on our way back home we took the Passo Cereda direction instead of the usual road, to enjoy the amazing -but sometimes spooky- panorama of the Val del Mis (I was so frightened by the unlit rock tunnels!).

i know we look overdressed but believe me it was cold on the road.  

i'm not posting any analogue photos lately, my Nikon EM is under repair!