Blogs from Mareo, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy, Europe

On our final full day together, we again started with a lovely breakfast before the skiers headed out. My dad and I relaxed for a little while, before heading into town to take a few pictures. I hate to use the word “cute” to describe the town, but it really is - there is much of the chalet type architecture you would expect (similar to some of those beautiful towns you see on travel programs in Switzerland and Austria). After getting the shots I wanted, we figured it was time to head up to our lunch destination for the afternoon, La Para. Our hostess had told us that it wasn’t too high ("only" halfway up the mountain), so I wasn’t too worried. But as we started to ascend, I knew I was in trouble. Big, big ... read more

This morning dawned way too early again, but with ski departure of nine thirty planned (for the others, not me, don’t get your hopes up!), we needed an early start. First, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, thanks to one latecomer, and then the skiers were off. My dad and I packed up some of our things in anticipation of tomorrow’s departure, and then rested downstairs, reading and napping. We were to meet the skiers at one-thirty for lunch at Furcia Pass, a point along the mountain that turned out to be much higher than I initially believed. The restaurant was Gran Foda, so we got directions from Joanna's brother, Giulio, and set off. We initially got a little bit lost, thanks to the terrible GPS system in the car, which constantly wants us to make unnecessary ... read more

Alors, je suis arrivée, finalement! I know, I know, I’m not traveling to any French-speaking countries on this trip, but I’m practicing for my upcoming French class. And the arrival of our French lawyer later tonight. But anyway, let’s begin at the beginning. I left New Jersey on Tuesday evening, just about making it to the airport in the allotted time, since my car’s driver felt the need to test out almost every highway in NJ. The flight was Lufthansa, which I had high hopes for, since they usually have more comfortable seats. However, this was a newer plane, with a lot less room and a lot more people, and since it was full, we were packed in like sardines. That, combined with two crying babies and a guy behind me loudly reciting some sort of ... read more