I do a lot of walking (and eating) when I travel, so I try to stay in peak travelling condition by being very physically active when I am in Kingston. Hockey lasts all year, while soccer has just started and curling will end this week. I supplement these sports with brisk walks in and around the city.
Today’s post contains some photos from my local wanderings. A favourite local destination is Lemoine Point, which is also home to an increasing number of wild animals.
Lemoine Point, Kingston (March 2014)
We used to see deer from time to time but they are now almost an everyday occurrence. All of the deer in this post were spotted on the same trail, at approximately the same time of day.
Lemoine Point, Kingston (February 2014)
When Lemoine Point is too wet or muddy, there is a (mostly paved) waterfront trail between Lake Ontario Park and Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. It is a good place to cool off, as the wind really keeps the temperature down.
Near Lake Ontario Park – Kingston, Ontario (April 2014)
Running north from the built-up part of the city is the K&P Trail. The most interesting part of this former railway is the long climb between Jackson Mills Road and Cordukes Road. We walked the entire trail between Kingston and Harrowsmith last fall and are walking north of Harrowsmith this spring.
Next Tuesday, I’ll be leaving on a lengthy (almost three weeks) overseas trip . As always, I won’t specifically identify my destinations in advance on this blog. One interesting aspect will be the use of two different alphabets, as well as at least four different languages (in name, if not necessarily in substance). While there, I hope to see some professional soccer, as two of the countries I’ll be visiting will be participating in this year’s World Cup and two others narrowly missed qualifying. However, the most important thing will be experiencing a beautiful region with a tragic recent past.
I’ve been back in Kingston for a few days now but wanted to share some more photos and stories from Washington D.C.
After visiting the Pentagon on my last full day in Washington, I went on an Ethiopian lunch quest. I have been a huge fan of Ethiopian food ever since my friends Keith and Erika introduced me to it in Toronto in the early 1990s. My favourite Ethiopian food so far has been in Winnipeg, of all places.
Many of you will know this, but just in case…Ethiopian dining generally consists of a series of somewhat curry-like, and often spicy, “sauces” served on a very large crepe/pancake called injera. Injera tastes a little bit like sourdough bread. You eat with your hands; tearing off pieces of the injera and scooping up the sauce with it. You get extra injera on the side but the idea is to also eat the injera that held the sauces.
The Old Post Office (Washington, D.C.) – I went to the top for a view of the city.
I read that Washington D.C. has the second-largest Ethiopian population of any city in the world…including cities in Ethiopia! Ethiopian restaurants were allegedly ubiquitous; one D.C. company even offers an Ethiopian food tour! Surely, I would have no trouble finding one for lunch. I decided to travel to the Adams-Morgan neighbourhood – it promised an eclectic mix of ethnic eateries, record stores and artsy shops. It sounded somewhat like Queen Street West in Toronto (before the national chains moved in).
My record shopping was successful. Alas, I was getting very hungry and I could only find 2 Ethiopian restaurants after a long search. One looked very appealing but was closed for another four hours. The other claimed to be open but I couldn’t see any customers inside. Disregarding one of the cardinal rules of travel dining (“avoid if nobody else is eating there”), I took a quick peek inside. It was dark – I think most of the light was usually generated by the wall of (dark) TVs near the bar. A friendly server confirmed that they were in fact serving lunch and that I could have a seat in the “dining room”.
Well, the dining room had definitely seen better days. It featured a “rustic” 1970s wood-panel/abandoned sports bar look that had nothing to do with Ethiopia. Not even a faded travel poster! Only one customer (drinking tea but not eating food) was there, but he left as soon as I sat down. I tried not to look too closely at the place; thankfully, the absence of light made close inspection difficult.
I didn’t have the heart to leave, and I was really really hungry, but was eating here really a smart thing to do? I considered the consequences – the most harm would likely come from dodgy meat. I decided on the vegetarian lunch platter – a series of lentil- and spinach-based sauces on injera. My anxiety increased somewhat as the server spent a very long time on the phone discussing the secretive delivery of a package to an apartment building. I couldn’t help hearing the extensive conversation about Apartment 105, as there was still nobody else in the restaurant.
I needn’t have worried – while it wasn’t the very best Ethiopian food I’ve ever had (the injera was somewhat powdery and two of the sauces could have used some warming), it was good enough and I cleaned up everything on my very large plate. One of the lentil/berbere sauces was especially red, spicy and delicious.
Soviet and American nuclear missiles – National Air & Space Museum (Washington, D.C.)
I spent most of the afternoon wandering “Embassy Row” and Georgetown. There are nearly 200 embassies here, in addition to various international organizations such as the Organization of American States. Even the smallest nation has an impressive embassy building, while some of the larger ones have massive office blocks.
Canada’s embassy is downtown rather than on Embassy Row. It is functional rather than visually appealing, although Canada (like most of the larger countries) also has a separate home for its ambassador near Embassy Row. These generally are designed to impress, even though an increasing amount of international diplomacy and negotiation is now carried out by private lobbying firms on behalf of nations. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures of diplomatic buildings – there was a very heavy security presence. The Russian and Syrian ones felt especially tense.
Canadian Embassy – Washington, D.C.
I ate dinner at a tiny Japanese/Korean place in Crystal City, Virginia. I properly researched it beforehand and knew that I had nothing to worry about!
I’ll be back in a few days to share some nice Kingston-area photos and drop a few hints about my next trip. It’s the longest one yet (almost 3 weeks) and, from a linguistic perspective, will be the most challenging one so far too.
A couple of months ago, I applied to take a tour of the Pentagon. You need to apply at least 6 weeks (preferably more) in advance…and then you wait. You are screened for security reasons and, if approved, only receive notification of that approval 1-2 days before your requested tour date.
It was by no means a sure thing. After all, the Pentagon is the command centre of the U.S. military and is a highly sensitive facility. Not being an American citizen, I didn’t expect my visit to be a priority for the Pentagon. However, shortly after arriving in Washington, I found out that my application had been approved and that I would be able to take the tour. After passing through an airport-style security check, I was in the Pentagon and about to begin my tour with a group of students from Georgia (the state) and a family from the U.K.
The tour is not for the feeble. You walk almost constantly for just under an hour. You cannot stop, not even for a drink of water. The leader walks backward throughout the tour to keep an eye on the group, with a second “leader” following at the rear to ensure that the group keeps moving and remains intact.
The Pentagon is huge. 23,000 people work there, consisting of 7,000 officers, 4,000 enlisted personnel and 12,000 civilians. At one point, we were walking down a hallway that was more than 3 football fields long. The Pentagon is essentially a self-sustaining city; once inside, it almost feels like you are in a suburban mall…except that almost every customer is in uniform and is striding with an unusually strong sense of purpose.
Much of the commentary consisted of general information about the various branches of the U.S. military. We did not visit many specific sites within the complex, although we did see the internal memorial to the 184 victims of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. It is located at the point of the plane’s impact. To get there, we walked down a hallway (now completely rebuilt) that was wiped out by the plane after it first struck the building. At one point, we even saw some scorch marks on a wall that were left by the burning aircraft once it came to a halt. We also learned that the death toll would have been much higher (perhaps several thousand more), but the area hit by the aircraft was being renovated at the time and most of the personnel from that area had been relocated.
For obvious reasons, photography is prohibited inside the Pentagon except in the tightly-controlled visitor centre (see photo at the top of this post). Outside, photography is not allowed either, except at the 9/11 Memorial.
Entrance to the 9/11 Memorial, just outside the Pentagon
The external 9/11 Memorial does not require pre-approval; anybody can visit it without making advance arrangements. The Memorial consists of one “bench” for every victim (one of whom was only 3 years old) of the attack. The angle of each “bench” is 43 degrees, being the plane’s angle at the moment of impact. As each victim’s name and year of birth is part of the Memorial, the tragedy is personalized. I saw that 5 of the victims were my age; each one was a member of the military and would have been working at the Pentagon when the plane struck.
9/11 Memorial just outside the Pentagon
After visiting the site of one of the 9/11 attacks, any discussion of the remainder of my day can’t help but seem rather inconsequential. Among many other things, the Pentagon visit reminded me how much the world changed on that day in 2001 and what a profound and continuing effect it has had on our American neighbours in particular.
I went a little crazy today on Washington’s National Mall.
First up was a tour of the U.S. Capitol building (pictured above). This is similar to Canada’s Parliament buildings, with a lot more marble. I had to apply for this in advance and, given all of the security and complicated logistics, the tour itself was somewhat underwhelming. It’s a remarkable building but, after a 15 minute video, the tour itself was barely 30 minutes long and was extremely crowded. The tour nonetheless reinforced how Canada and the U.S.A. arose from very different circumstances and how those differences continue to shape our respective countries today.
Upper lobby at the Library of Congress
Already growing weary of the security measures at every site, I took advantage of the fact that I could take a shortcut tunnel to the Library of Congress and not go through another metal detection process. The Library of Congress is another opulent structure with a couple of special items…including an original Gutenberg bible. Oh yes, it also contains basically every book, recording and document ever published.
Reading Room at the Library of Congress
Growing hungry, I remembered that the nearby National Museum of the American Indian had a very highly regarded cafeteria. I decided to eat food from the Northern Woodlands; my main course was maple-brined turkey with cherry marmalade and it was very good. I’m really glad that I decided to see the museum after lunch, as it had extensive displays from not only the U.S. but also from indigenous peoples throughout North and South America.
There were some common themes in the exhibits – in particular, a number of different groups had philosophies based on the four points of the compass. In fact, the Anishinaabe of Manitoba have a legend about a man who travels extensively in each of the four directions in order to bring wisdom back to a tribe that has lost its way. I have come across the theme of travel as a valuable means of learning quite a bit recently.
Next up was a visit to the top of the Old Post Office building. With the Washington Monument closed, this was a good alternative way to see the National Mall from above.
National Archives (Washington, D.C.)
From there, I dashed over to the National Archives. The chief attractions there were a trio of original American documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution) and an original Magna Carta from the 13th century. While it was great to see these “star attractions”, there were also many other worthwhile items. I particularly enjoyed the exhibit on “signatures” – it turns out even celebrities like to get autographs from other celebrities!
I was getting quite tired by this point, but nonetheless proceeded to the National Air & Space Museum as it was open late. It was sobering to see the nuclear missiles (both Soviet and American) as well as the spacecraft from the Apollo/Soyuz joint mission of the mid-1970s. Other notable exhibits included an actual lunar landing module and a series of photographs from Mars.
Lunar landing module (National Museum of Air and Space)
Objectively, this was probably too much sightseeing for one day. However, all of the above sights are free and are located within easy walking distance of one another. I am treating this as a “first cut” at Washington: Louise and I will undoubtedly return before long, so I now have some ideas about what deserves a closer second look and what is of relatively lesser interest.
I’m very excited about tomorrow. I’ll be exploring a new (museum-free) neighbourhood…and finally seeing something special that I began setting up two months ago!
From the capital of the ancient Roman Empire…to the capital of the modern American Empire!
Many other commentators have drawn analogies between ancient Rome and modern America, so I won’t rehash them here. However, it is fascinating to see so many glorious monuments to America and wonder if they will suffer the same fate as the glorious monuments of Rome.
I started my tour with a visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The Smithsonian is not just one museum…it is a collection of many huge museums that cannot possibly be seen in one trip to Washington. I chose this one to start, as I thought it would be interesting to see how Americans see themselves and what they consider to be important in their history.
There were extensive displays on food, transportation, the Civil War, and the office of the President, to name a few. Having just watched a movie called “The Butler” that incorporated a number of key civil rights events, it was fascinating to see a Woolworths lunch counter from Greensboro, N.C. In the early 1960s, this counter (and others like it throughout the South) was the location of nasty confrontations between civil rights advocates and segregationists. Taken out of that context, the lunch counter looks very mundane but it also illustrates how pervasive segregation really was.
Segregated seating from Greensboro NC Woolworths
Moving forward a few years, a single display included Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, Bob Dylan’s leather jacket and Archie Bunker’s chair!
With the thermometer pushing 20’C, I spent the rest of the afternoon outside. I saw the White House and took the top photo but it was (understandably) difficult to get too close. Similarly, the towering Washington Monument was understandably closed as the damage from the 2011 earthquake has not yet been completely repaired. It should be open again later this year. I really wasn’t expecting an earthquake to impact my DC sightseeing.
Washington Monument, as seen from the Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
I was able to get very close to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. At first glance, it is underwhelming…a black marble V cut into a small slope. However, its power derives from the fact that every single American fatality in Vietnam is listed on the monument. It is relentless. Seeing the individual names reinforces the sheer scale of the conflict and personalizes the losses in a way that mere numbers cannot.
Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Finally, I stopped by the Lincoln Memorial. It is a much more traditional monument and it is very popular with visitors. It was also the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech; the speech location is clearly marked on the monument steps.
Inside the Lincoln Memorial
After dinner at a Pakistani restaurant in the unusually-named neighbourhood of Foggy Bottom, I returned to my hotel and updated my plans for the next couple of days. I’ve just received some very good news about Thursday and need to adjust my schedule as a result.
As I have chosen to write this blog in “real time”, some interesting topics and photos inevitably get overlooked because they weren’t at the top of my mind when I was writing my blog posts. Before heading out to my next destination, here are some of those overlooked items from Italy.
This was my first visit to the enormously popular cities of Rome and Venice. Even in March, the mid-day tourist crush in these cities could be quite daunting. The best sightseeing moments were early and late in the day, when the group tours had left and quiet contemplation was possible. This is probably true for all major tourist sights, but it becomes critical during the warmer months when crowds and confusion are much more uncomfortable.
Swiss Guards at St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City)
As they have been for hundreds of years, the Swiss Guards are entrusted with the protection of the Pope and the Vatican. They really are Swiss and there is a competitive selection process for young Swiss who wish to fulfil this role.
The Pantheon is probably the best-preserved building from the glory days of the Roman Empire. Below is a temple built in the Forum nearly 2,000 years ago for a Roman power couple; it remains more or less intact despite many attempts to pillage it over the centuries.
Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, The Forum (Rome)
Cortina d’Ampezzo has a reputation as a haven for the Italian glitterati but we were fortunate to find very affordable accommodation right on the main pedestrian boulevard. The Hotel Montana (see photo at top of this post) was family run; in fact, the manager represented Italy several times in curling world championships…so he had a special affinity for Canada and Canadian curlers!
Even better, the hotel was right across from the bell tower that could be seen from anywhere in the surrounding mountains. This really helped in orienting ourselves, as the Alps are notorious for distorting your perception of time and distance.
Basking in the sun, just below the Lagazuoi summit (Passo Falzarego)
The weather in Cortina remained warm throughout the week. While I prefer skiing in deep powder, I also enjoy skiing in slushy snow and being able to ditch the jacket (albeit briefly) was a fun little indulgence. We encountered almost none of the ice that often plagues skiing in Eastern Canada. As you can see, there also were very few skiers on the slopes!
And just because it’s such a unique city, I think it is entirely appropriate to include another photo from the back “streets” of Venice.
Venice
I’m taking a break from the blog for a few days but will be posting again once I arrive at my next destination. It’s actually not that far from Kingston but for some reason I (and many other Kingstonians) have never visited it. Stay tuned for the details!
After leaving Cortina d’Ampezzo, I still had one day in Venice before returning to Canada. One of my ski friends suggested that we visit the Palazzo Ducale (known in English as the Doge’s Palace), so we managed to squeeze that in before the palace closed for the day.
I hadn’t researched the Palazzo Ducale much, as I didn’t think I would have a chance to visit it…but I’m really glad that we did. The palace was the headquarters of the Venetian Republic, which had influence and lands far beyond present-day Venice. I had no idea that the Republic had so much wealth.
The palace tour started slowly, with some small but nice rooms in the Doge’s Apartment. After viewing a few increasingly ornate rooms, we began to laugh as we entered each new one. How could they possibly top the previous one? But they did, in a dazzling spiral of opulence. From the Apartment to the administrative “rooms”, the paintings, ceilings and carvings just kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally, the largest hall was approximately the size of a hockey arena. Looking from the street, we had no idea that such a space was inside the palace. Sadly, photos are not permitted within the palace itself, so you’ll just have to take my word on this. In addition to the building, there are some remarkable collections of maps, globes and antique weaponry. I saw an old mural showing eastern North America; what is now Southern Ontario was described then simply as Iroquois lands.
Inside the Bridge of Sighs (Palazzo Ducale, Venice)
Near the end of the tour, we also got to see the Venetian prison located adjacent to the palace and across a canal. Leading from the palace courts to the dungeon-like prison was an enclosed arched bridge known as the Bridge of Sighs. It was given this name because it is said that this was a prisoner’s final view of the splendours of Venice…which would cause the prisoner to sigh.
View from the Bridge of Sighs (Palazzo Ducale, Venice)
For our final dinner, we went to an enoteca (wine bar) in the Dorsoduro neighbourhood. Dorsoduro is slightly less touristy than the neighbourhoods around the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco; there were even a number of Venetians out and about. The enoteca was very atmospheric and the menu is rewritten by hand every day, depending on what is in season and what inspires the chef.
The Rialto Bridge (Venice)
This was when the rain started. I can’t complain, as I was in Italy for 2 full weeks before there was any inclement weather. Even so, it was nice to experience rain in Venice because of the city’s constant battle with water. Thinking back to an earlier comment about the smell of the Sistine Chapel, I now know what Venice smells like in the rain. It’s not a great smell by any means; it’s rather pungent and boggy. But at least it is a real smell. Venice may be inching closer to Disneyland status every year, as Venetians migrate away from the inconveniences of the island city and hotels fill the former homes, but Disneyland would never carry the whiff of a re-emerging swamp.
Another thing about Venice that really struck me as we wandered off the beaten path: the absence of the sounds of motor vehicles. No cars are allowed in Venice itself. We’re so used to cars and trucks in cities that Venice sounded almost medieval as a result. There are some motorized boats on the Grand Canal, but even these dwindle markedly after 5:00 p.m. when most of the tourists leave. Other old cities in Europe (Prague, for example) look the part, but I’d have to say that only Venice still sounds old. Italy is indeed a feast for the senses.
Our final two days of skiing are now complete. Yesterday, as promised, there was no strike and we were able to take the bus to Passo Falzarego and then ski to the Alta Badia ski region. This is no ordinary transfer. You begin by skiing many kilometres down the “Hidden Valley” to Armentarola. I’m running out of words to describe our reactions to the scenery around here; how about “gobsmacked”?
The horses who “lifted” us to Armentarola
We eventually ended up on an almost flat plain just outside Armentarola. This normally means some tough skate-skiing, but in this case there was another option. We could get pulled the final few minutes to Armentarola by a team of horses! Together with about 20 of our similarly astonished ski brethren, we each grabbed the ropes trailing the horses and held on (while still on our skis). I’ve never seen anything like it. I had some apprehension due to a fairly serious horse allergy, but I was far enough behind the horses that this was not really an issue.
Summit station at Lagazuoi (Passo Falzarego)
We spent the rest of the day skiing in Alta Badia. This area is very famous in Europe for the fierce battles that were fought in World War I. There are tours (including ski tours) where you can visit the front lines and installations of the Austrian and Italian armies. As a result of Italy’s victory in this region, the Austrian province of Sud-Tirol became part of Italy and was renamed Alto Adige. There has obviously been some “Italianization”, but German remains the primary language in much of Alto Adige. In fact, a third language (Ladin) is also spoken around here. Ladin is closely related to Rumantsch, a language spoken in the remote southeast corner of Switzerland. To my ears, Ladin and Rumantsch are like Italian spoken with German sounds. As the name suggests, Ladin is directly descended from Latin. Considerable efforts are now being made to preserve this ancient language.
I mention this because we were essentially on the linguistic border for lunch. I could order my pasta in German rather than my enthusiastic but almost non-existent Italian. The servers carried the huge wallets that are so characteristic of the German-speaking countries, there was no coperto, many of the dishes had Ladin names, and Skiwasser appeared on the menu. I remain fascinated by crossing borders like this, even though we were in Italy at all times.
For our last day of skiing, we revisited the “greatest hits” of the Tofana area. The last day of skiing is often a little sad, as we realize that we are having our last mountain lunch, our last lift and eventually our final run. I always feel very alive skiing in the Alps, as if I am reconnecting with a more natural way of life. While it is always hard to see a ski week end, I am also always highly motivated to begin planning the next mountain adventure. It’s now time to return to Venice.
When we first looked at the piste map for the Passo Falzarego ski area, we didn’t have very high expectations for our third day on the slopes. We knew that the view from the top of Lagazuoi was highly regarded, but otherwise the ski area looked a little lightweight. There weren’t many lifts, nor were there a lot of pistes. On the plus side, it looked like the weather would once again be sunny and warm.
Cinque Torri (5 Towers), near Cortina d’Ampezzo
We needn’t have worried. It was another wonderful day on the slopes. We went on some pistes more than once but that allowed us to ski them properly after taking photographs the first time down.
Unfortunately, the hockey game didn’t take place that evening. It was supposed to be a playoff game between Cortina d’Ampezzo and Fassa…but Cortina had already eliminated Fassa and therefore the scheduled game didn’t need to be played. We still wandered around the 1956 Olympic Arena and looked at the various Olympic-related exhibits inside.
Our 4th day of skiing was supposed to be in the Alta Badia region to the west of Cortina. To get there, you need to take a bus to Passo Falzarego and then ski down the mysterious and isolated “Hidden Valley”. We were a few minutes early for the scheduled 8:45 a.m. bus departure, along with a number of other skiers. The minutes crept by until it was after 9:00 a.m., when somebody decided to ask the staff member at the bus station when the bus might arrive.
We then learned that there was no bus: there was a rotating strike and our bus driver was not working. There was no sign and no announcement. We were quite disappointed about this and also began to wonder about the wisdom of having purchased the (more expensive) ski pass that enabled us to also ski in Alta Badia. We quickly decided to ski in the Faloria region again, as one of our group members arrived late on Sunday and hadn’t skied there yet. There was also one piste, high up in the rocks, that went through one of those impossibly rugged mountain-top canyons but was closed on Sunday due to high winds. Maybe it would be open today?
This makeshift day turned out to be the best yet. Faloria was even less crowded than on Sunday and the pistes were in excellent condition despite the continuing warm temperatures. We skied the long black-rated piste from the top of Tondi several times because the conditions were so good and the layout of the piste enabled long, uninterrupted skiing.
We had lunch at the mountain restaurant pictured at the top of my previous Cortina post and then turned our eyes to the nearby Forcella Staunies piste (also pictured in my previous post). It wasn’t open in the morning but now there seemed to be some activity around it.
Yes! It was now open! And then, as we rode the chair lift up to the top of the piste, we fell silent. You cannot help feeling completely awed when sheer cliffs abruptly rise hundreds of metres on either side of you. You feel like an insect, a fragile piece of near-insignificance, fortunate to be there but also well-advised not to linger very long.
Skiers emerging from the Forcella Staunies piste
The rocks are so close to you that no photograph can really capture their immensity, although we tried our best! We returned several times – when would we ever have such an opportunity again?
Shocked and awed at Forcella Staunies
Another travel lesson learned – although the strike was inconvenient, it enabled an alternative that was probably even better than what we missed. We can always go to Alta Badia tomorrow, as we were assured that the striking bus driver would return.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, located in the Dolomite mountains, hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics. It was a very proud moment for post-war Italy and Cortina remains a very fashionable Italian ski resort…although I would say that the majority of guests do not ski. Many are here to relax, see, and be seen. Furs are commonplace.
Normally, I would avoid places like that. However, I’m here in Cortina because I had a very enjoyable ski week last year in Val Gardena, Italy. In fact, on the balance, that was probably my favourite week of skiing ever. The skiing, weather, food, accommodation and scenery were practically perfect. My skiing friends felt the same way, so we decided that we would return to the same general area; moving only from Val Gardena on the western (German and Ladin speaking) edge of the Dolomite Ski Region to Cortina d’Ampezzo on the eastern (Italian speaking) edge for this year.
Forcella Staunies ski lift and piste (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
The Dolomites are like no other ski area. Massive, tooth-shaped rocks crown the mountain ridges. The rocks glow slightly red, especially as the sun goes down in the late afternoon. There are just as many “Kodak Moments” as in Venice. Mountain restaurants are everywhere and the food is excellent.
Cable car ascending to the Ra Valles ski area (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
Happily, the first two days of skiing have lived up to expectations. As it is relatively late in the season and many Cortina guests aren’t skiers anyway, there are practically no lift lines. There is a lot of snow – Cortina being one of the few resorts in the Alps to have substantial snowfall this winter (which has been very mild in Europe). However, the most important factor is the weather. Today, the temperature reached 16’C in the early afternoon. I was skiing in a t-shirt and a jacket; even such minimal layering was too warm. The sun has been shining brilliantly for two straight days and we expect more of the same for at least the next two days.
Our ski group passing through the rocks at Pomedes (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
Yesterday, we concentrated on skiing the Faloria and Forcella Staunies areas. We had Forcella Staunies practically to ourselves. There was one very interesting period of high winds. Although it was perfectly sunny, the wind was strong enough to move me uphill (from a full stop) on my skis.
My lunch at Col Druscie – Insalata di Carciofi (artichoke, reggiano parmigiano, walnuts, pomegranate, etc.)
Today, we spent the day in the Tofana and Pomedes areas. We ate lunch outside, high above Cortina at a place called Col Druscie. Col Druscie hosted the slalom races in the 1956 Olympics; right before lunch, we were able to ski the actual Olympic slalom piste ourselves without any other skiers on the slope.
With three languages and a history of being shuffled around between various countries and empires, this part of Italy is also extremely interesting from a cultural perspective. I hope to comment more on that in a future post. Right now, I need to get some sleep so that I can fully appreciate tomorrow’s skiing in the Lagazuoi/Passo Falzarego area. We also hope to go to a professional Italian hockey game in the evening.
