The Dolomites Do Not Disappoint

 Our next two days in Castelrotto were spent exploring the Alpe di Siusi area of the Dolomites.  To say that this is one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful spots I've ever seen is no exaggeration.  We were really pleased to find out from the manager of our hotel that they supply us with passes that we could just use on the local bus to the gondola station. It was a short drive of only about 15 minutes to the station, and even though it is July, there was no long line and we boarded right away.  Surprisingly for me I didn't even freak out on the gondola.  I enjoyed watching everything as we ascended the mountain, as the ride was smooth and stable.  Once we got up to the top and looked out we could see what amazing vistas were in store for us. We looked at a board that had information on some of the refugi up in the hills where you can go after you hike for a bit; you can stop and have a bite to eat.  We chose one that seemed to be a pretty short walk and we thought, "okay. this won't be too bad. It's only a 2.2km walk."  What we didn't realize was that it was all uphill. I thought more than once that I wanted to just lay down in the meadow and give up. In the end, we kept pushing and we actually made it up there and rewarded ourselves with a piece of amazing apple strudel.  It was truly a remarkable day, with extraordinary beauty in every direction, and  is something everyone should see.  

The following day we took the bus over to the neighboring city of Ortisei.  It is very cute and we had a good time exploring it, and we went up to the Alpe di Siusi again, as they also have a gondola system that takes you to a different section of it.  So two days that were just stunning.  In the evening, we found ourselves seated at a communal table, and seated next to a couple from Copenhagen who had just that day gone to the Lago di Braies and gotten engaged.  It was fun sharing travel stories with them.