{"id":18470,"date":"2024-08-02T16:53:19","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T20:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=18470"},"modified":"2024-08-03T22:10:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-04T02:10:28","slug":"northern-italy-and-the-dolomites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2024\/08\/02\/northern-italy-and-the-dolomites\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Italy and the Dolomites"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 46\u00b038’54.1″N 11\u00b036’09.2″E<\/a><\/h6>\n

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Careening down a mountain road in our rental car, we reflected on the charming oddities of Italy. You see, our car was on top of a flatbed tow truck and held in place by a couple of ratchet straps. Because there wasn\u2019t room in his cab, the tow truck driver had indicated we should sit in the car. Dubiously we clambered up, sat down, and strapped ourselves in.<\/p>\n

Wearing a seat belt seemed prudent as we swayed around the corners. If the car flipped off the rig and rolled 300 metres down the mountainside, at least we\u2019d stay put. Lurching around each bend and swerving to avoid a lorry or two, rolling over didn\u2019t seem that far fetched.<\/p>\n

The very idea you could put two people in a car on top of a truck sounds like it ought to be illegal. It must be in America and England. But in Italy\u2026? Sure, why not? As long as the passengers aren\u2019t playing cards, it\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n

Wait! What was that about playing cards? Surely, playing cards isn\u2019t illegal in Italy? Hah! I say. Hah! It is illegal alright. So is importing playing cards, even if you don\u2019t play with them. We discovered this in a bar in Aprica, a town nestled in Lombardia (the middle part of northern Italy). More on that in a moment.<\/p>\n

Cervinia<\/h6>\n

<\/p>\n

There are two sides to every mountain. High above the tree line, Cervinia sits at the base of Italy’s side of the Matterhorn and caters to serious skiers who don\u2019t want to pay Swiss prices for the privilege. Zermatt owns the mountain’s familiar biscuit tin image on the other side.<\/p>\n

Our stuffy hotel<\/a> room felt like the furnace had been left on by accident. Throwing open the windows invited in the sharp metallic tang of chilly mountain air, along with cigarette smoke wafting up from the doorway below. Stuffy beats ciggy any day, so we wrestled the window shut again and went down for dinner.<\/p>\n

In the cool of the clear morning, we woke early and walked uphill to ogle at the town’s centrepiece before the clouds marched up the valley and obscured the view. You can ski into Switzerland from here via the long, long gondola that lifts you up onto the barren glacier straddling the border.<\/p>\n

Heading downhill we were surprised at the bustle of activity in town. The fire department was out in force and hunky men wore muddy, knee-high boots. At the river, large pumps moved huge volumes of cloudy water around, attempting to clear the mud and debris from a flash flood the week before. Climate change, the news said.<\/p>\n

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