Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Alpine Dreams

Tim and I in the Dolomites, Italy
Bryan, Steve, Jen, me and Tim

Davos, Switzerland

Davos

Tim asks for very little in life. Indian food once in a while. A to-go-cup-a-joe in the mornin’. A little football on the telly. (He does get a touch high-maintenance if he steps in water with his socks on.) But truly, his only major request whilst we live here in Europeland is this: Ski in every country that has Alps. I am happy to report, we can check this one off the list.

Last year we skied in Austria with Maarten and Heidi, France with B.Lo and Ewan, and Germany at the Zugspitze. A couple weeks ago we took Bryan and Kristi to Davos, Switzerland (two days before the World Economic Forum—no wonder it was hard to find a room.) And then this weekend, we rounded out our quest with amazing Italy. And oh my goodness, was it a grand finale.

These mountains were like nothing I’d ever seen. They’re called the Dolomites, which somehow refers (maybe in French??) to the carbonate rock that makes up these majestic and severe looking mountains. When the sun came out and the snow stopped pelting you in the face (free microderm-abrasion anyone?) it made for some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve ever seen.

Of course the trip didn’t quite go off without a hitch. Securing a room was a touch challenging, seeing as how we had 6 adults, a two year old, and a dog. (We took Steve & Jennifer with little Ella, Bryan, Kristi and Kristi’s dog Jax.) But Thursday morning, after at least 40 e-mails, a hotel with a vacation apartment came through, so we could all stay together. I will say, hotels in Europe are not anything like American ones. Furniture definitely from the 70s, twin beds pushed together like my Grandparents had, and towels that you and I would probably designate for the garage. But, it was clean and big enough for everybody to have their own space, and perfect for our needs.

So...my husband is a very happy camper...err..skier, and we had a truly amazing time. That was, until I nearly killed myself and Steve. (Read on.)

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