Posts Tagged ‘mountains’
Skiing in a winter wonderland: Italy’s Dolomites
My week skiing in northern Italy last month was a hard thing to leave. After all, we enjoyed seven days of sunshine and snow on the 1200 kilometers of trails that took us all over Italy’s Dolomite Mountains, exploring new valleys and slopes each day. The Dolomiti, the Dolomites, are a mountain range of the…
Read MoreArt deco (Jugendstil) architecture in Bad Gastein, Austria
I used to live in Vienna and neighboring Prague, and this is an architectural style I adore. Jugenstil, art deco, art nouveau, Secessionsstil — it goes by many names. The Alpine spa town and watering hole of Bad Gastein, in Austria’s Salzburg province has some fine examples. I’ve already written about the historic Hotel de…
Read MoreMountain biking & fall foliage in Abruzzo
I often find myself missing home when the autumn months roll around. As much as I love Rome, there is no transition between the seasons in the Eternal City, no colorful fall foliage. This is why I enjoy visiting nearby Abruzzo during these months, to enjoy the sights, smells and climate of the autumns I miss.…
Read MoreTennis & more in Abruzzo’s Campo di Giove
My oldest son went to tennis camp in Campo di Giove during the summer, and he loved playing tennis in the cooler mountain air and enjoying walks around the little town of Campo di Giove. Campo di Giove is a small mountain town in the Abruzzo region, with just over 800 inhabitants. It is situated…
Read MoreSwimming in the Badesee in Bad Gastein, Austria
I’ve already spoken about how much I love it in the Gasteiner Valley of Austria’s Salzburg region. I stayed her many years ago as a child and then visited recently with my own family and fell in love with it all over again. It’s a great place to go for outdoor activities in the fresh,…
Read MoreMountain biking in Abruzzo
The region of Abruzzo has become my favored retreat from the hectic pace of city life in Rome. This mountainous region just east of Rome has plenty of fresh air and pretty countryside. One of the things I love doing when I am out here is mountain biking with my family. My children and I…
Read MoreMedieval skylines & dramatic mountain views in Pacentro, Abruzzo
I was out in Abruzzo’s Majella National Park last weekend picking my older son up from his tennis camp – an idyllic, cooler environment to enjoy a week of tennis. On our drive back, we decided to stop off and explore the medieval town of Pacentro. I must admit, it’s the first time I’d ever…
Read MoreTime for writing reflection on the slopes
I often manage a week-long skiing escape with my kids in February. This year, I couldn’t manage a whole week, but we did squeeze in a long weekend on the slopes near Rome. This hasn’t been a great snow winter, and our long weekend included some wet days and lots of poor visibility… where we could…
Read MoreHiking the Graukogel in Badgastein, Austria
I posted last week about my summer holidays in Mitteleuropa. The first place we stopped on our travels is the picture-perfect Alpine village of Badgastein, located in the Gasteiner valley in the Salzburg province. There are kilometers and kilometers of beautiful hiking trails in this pretty Alpine perch. The first day there, we decided to…
Read MoreAlpine Tuscany: Monte Amiata
I’ve already written about my ‘find’ this summer when my son, an aspiring Usain Bolt, went to a track and field camp in the pretty Tuscan town of Abbadia di San Salvatore. The town is on the foothills of Monte Amiata, a volcanic cone that is 1730 meters from sea level. Luckily, this volcano has been dormant for…
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