Road Tripping Northern Italy

I love road trips.  Finally, we had a 3-day weekend as Chuck had the day off from work.  June 2nd is an Italian holiday, Festa della Repubblica, which celebrates the founding of the Republic and thus, Ferrari was closed.  So, we rented a car for the weekend and planned to go to the Dolomites.  The Dolomites are a section of the Alps which stretches north to the Italian-Austrian border.  It's 365 km north of Maranello, about a 4-hour drive.  

Since the weather was supposed to be nice, we wanted to go hiking and camping.  We left all of our camping gear in Seattle, so we went to the shopping mall in Modena to buy a tent, sleeping bags, mats, and two portable chairs.  Nothing reminiscent of our all-seasons gear in Seattle, but it was inexpensive and appropriate for the current weather in the mountains.  It'd get us by until our visit home to bring our gear back to Italy.

Saturday morning, we began our road trip.  Since it was on the way, we decided to take a detour and visit Verona.  So far, it is one of my favorite cities in Italy.  I love Verona for its elegance, history, and lively atmosphere.  And not to mention, shopping...Louis Vuitton, D&G, Prada, Gucci, oh my!  Verona is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site due to its many historical buildings.  There are so many old buildings here that it is mind-boggling, everywhere you look there's an historical site to awe.

Chuck with Piazza Brà as the background and a great place to people watch from one of many sidewalk cafes.  It is a popular place to gather for chitchat, drinks, and shopping. 

The entrance to Piazza Brà.

Chuck and I ate at one of the sidewalk cafes.  To the left is the 1st-century A.D. Roman Arena, the 3rd-largest structure of its kind in existence.  It is often used for city fairs and in the summer, performances of popular Italian operas.  The Arena can hold up to 25,000 people.  

I truly love walking around Italian towns because of its alleys and old buildings.  You'll often find hidden treasures like an old church sandwiched between buildings or a really quaint restaurant off-the-beaten tourist track.  

"Two households, both alike in dignity

(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene)."

- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Verona is the setting of Romeo and Juliet.  Juliet's House is a definite tourist trap and yes, we were swept up by it.  We noticed, 2nd-time around, that it isn't hard to miss (though we did manage to walk by it the 1st time) as there was a huge crowd milling about it in the alley.  The house dates back to 13th-century and tradition has it that this was the home of the Capulets, a family, like the Montagues, that actually existed; though the star-crossed lovers, not so much.  Juliet's House is a museum, though we were satisfied by taking a snapshot of the balcony and not to re-enact the Romeo and Juliet's scene.  

A bronze statue of Juliet stands in front of the house and in the courtyard.  We quickly captured a photo before the queue of others took turns having their photo with her.  

Graffiti (not unlike a lot of Italy) covers the wall of the stone entrance to the courtyard.  Tradition dictates that lovers inscribe their initials on the walls and is said by doing so, you're guaranteed long-lasting love.  

And so we did.  Yes, we did.  A fact new to me is that Verona holds Italy's record for most foreign weddings.  

One of my favorite squares in Italy is Piazza delle Erbe.  This was the place where the Roman Forum stood.  There's an outside market where the aroma of fresh fruits lingers in the air.  There are many interesting, old buildings and sculptures in this square.  Chuck and I enjoyed another lunch (we came back on our way home Monday) at a sidewalk cafe in the Piazza delle Erbe.

We made another detour on our way to the Dolomites at a small town called Trento.  After a stroll through the town and a beer at the local birreria (brewery), both with German influences (yippie, finally a decent beer in Italy!) due to its historical links, we continued our way to the Dolomites.  Unfortunately it was getting pretty late and were at least another hour and a half to our destination, so we decided to find a campsite.  Despite our efforts, we were unable to find a nearby campsite and instead, found a bed and breakfast in Moena.  

After getting settled in the room, we decided to check out the nightlife in Moena.  Known for being a popular ski resort town, not much was happening in June.  As noted in some shopping signs, these towns don't open until July when the summer season begins.  From Trento onwards, there are many accommodations, yet most of them at this time looked and were closed.  But we found a pub open and had a few drinks before calling it a night.

Chuck and I in front of the pub.

The next morning, we head to the Dolomites.  The towns, physically and culturally, in the Dolomites are very Germanic.  The Dolomites were part of Austria, but after World War I, the border was moved to its present position.  Initially, the Italian government tried to eradicate all that was of German culture, but the locals were steadfast in maintaining their heritage.  Now, both Italian and German traditions exist peacefully side-by-side as well as the language.  So, it is common to have sauerkraut, wurst, wiener schnitzel, and German beer on the menu coexisting with pasta and pizza.  

The pass to the Dolomites were incredibly curvy, but the views were absolutely amazing.  Too bad we didn't have the Harley with us as these roads make for a very fun ride.  And there were so many motorcyclists enjoying the zig-zags of the roads, passing us no less!  Then there were the bicyclists struggling up the very steep mountain pass, going painfully slow.  But like the motorcyclists, there were many of them out there on the pavement.  We also noticed the roads being written on as it appeared to be host to the stages of the Giro d'Italia.  

We stopped at Cortina d'Ampezzo for tourist information as well as to fuel up on lunch before hiking.  Cortina d'Ampezzo is an Italian Whistler, a well-known and popular ski resort.  There weren't very many restaurants nor shops open as it was a Sunday and closed for the season (opening up again in July), but we found a birreria for some food and beer as well the tourist information center which was open.  They were really helpful about directing us to the campsites as well as giving us a map of trails. 

So, we finally made it to the Parco Nazionale Dolomiti.  We did a trail called Tri Cime.  From there were spectacular views of the mountains, jagged and sharp-teethed.

Tri Cime.  The trail loops around it.

After our hike, we went searching for a camp site.  Little did we know that you aren't allowed to camp inside the national park.  As far as I can tell, camping in Italy doesn't involve pitching a tent in the middle of the mountains, in a national park, or building a camp fire (even if you go car camping).  It is finding a camp site for both trailers and car campers, more of the former, in town (across from hotels, restaurants, and bars) where showers, toilets, and electricity are available.  The car campers next to us, being Asian, had a rice cooker!  But that's okay as we just walked into town for dinner and washed up in warm running water.  It's nice sometimes having those comforts.  At least we had a view of the mountains!  It was a very nice night out as well, not too cold and we slept comfortably in the tent.  

We woke up the next morning and after an espresso, we headed back home (not before stopping at Verona, of course!).