Mucho gratsi to you Italy!
This was a week filled with incredible highs (literal and metaphorical) and patience testing lows. Here's my attempt at recapping our journey from the countries North-East to its North-West..
After waking up beneath the Nordic Ski Fields in West Slovenia, it took just ten minutes until road signs began welcoming us into 'Italia'. From that point on our jaws would continue to drop at a rapid pace, as we made the journey toward the Dolomites Mountain Range.
I'm not sure Rosanna was as impressed as we were. The 180km ride from Kranjska Gora to Cortina d'Ampezzo ended up taking roughly 5 hours, but we were happy taking our time during this leg. After trying our luck at a few spots on top of nearby hills, we thought it'd be wiser to park up in a lot where two other homes were already settled in. Tonight was a no power night, which worked out perfectly as the only thing either of us had on our mind was pizza & vino.
Surrounded by beautiful rock-capped mountains, Cortina d'Ampezzo draws its crowds during the snow season and this meant another ghost town outing. We went small bar hunting and managed to find a couple of entrée vino's, before stumbling across a cosy looking restaurant where our dinner wishes came true.
The following day we pencilled in a campsite night and headed up to Lake Misurina first thing to try and hook into power - only to reach another campsite closed due to low season. Dangerously late on Rosanna's porridge service, we pulled up beside the lake and dusted off the trusty trestle. Comfortably the number one brekky service thus far..
With a pristine looking day ahead, but no wi-fi, we went in search of hiking information at the local stores. A local guide also happened to work behind the counter of a mountain gear shop and advised us that with a vehicle, our best bet was the 'Tre-Cine' Loop. Unfortunately the mountain road requires a 35 euro entry fee, which was the equivalent to a substantial grocery shop for us.
Plan B - Well, the parking lot next to the entrance was also the starting point for several lower routes.. Making it an easy decision to wing it. Fast forward two hours and we couldn't have been more pleased with this choice, or in awe of the view from up high. The four hour return trip is proof that one doesn't need a hike planned in this region.
Now late afternoon, our attention swung toward finding a campsite, and it looked like Cortina d'Ampezzo was our best bet. After a scare concerned with Rosanna's break pads, we checked into Camping Cortina and celebrated a day that provided one of the highlights of the trip thus far - just as the sky began to cloud over.
The following day, we left later than we'd hoped due to uploading duties - toward Soproni. The rain was now heavy, making driving sketchy, toll fee's confusing and free parking more difficult than we would have preferred. But hey - we got ordered through the toll without charge and put Rosanna to bed in between a vineyard and river.. So things could've been a lot worse.
Without much knowledge of our surrounds and no internet, we decided to head straight for Soproni and spent most of the day on the road. Passing through the town around 3pm, we realised it was far more industrial than we'd hoped, at which point it became a bypass to Lake Como. We'd had a great run of lakeside stops to date and Lake Como was no different.
Although we were unable to find a campsite in season, we managed to park up adjacent to the main road that runs along the lake. Feeling like we'd earned a drink, we wandered to a nearby wine bar where we were accidentally given a free round that included 'Happy Hour Tapas'. It's the little things.
After a morning by the lake, we were forced to drive North to the only campsite open; Campeggio Ai Colli Fioriti. The distance/time ratio getting here was easily the slowest of our trip thus far, thanks to winding one way roads. Fortunately, the views over the lake made it worth the hassle and after checking in, we wandered to the nearest town - San Fedele Intelvi.
This is where we stumbled across Birramondo, a small craft beer bar nestled down a cobblestone laneway. As soon as we opened the door, Jake and I knew we'd be sampling more than one of their taps. Not only did the owner (Dominik) greet us with a few tasters, but he also gave us a tour of the place. We knew the weather was meant to turn and it so happened that the rain began to fall as we ordered our second round - a perfect excuse to stay for 3 or 4 more. The rain failed to let up and we arrived back into Rosanna drenched, at which point we noticed a leaking roof. Good luck, followed by bad luck. This seemed to be the new trend.
I was wrong. The following day it went from bad to worse when I managed to steer Rosanna into the softest spot of grass in the campsite. Unable to reverse her out myself, we had no choice but to seek the help of the manager and his tractor. Two hours and two hundred gear changes later, we managed to squeeze out of what now looked like a small crater.
Patience levels were running dry as the wet weather persisted. What could cheer us up? How about paying one last visit to our favourite craft beer bar of the trip. We had mentioned to Dominik that we were interested in filming some footage of the bar in action, and he was quick to give us his blessing.
We'd love to pursue filming more promotional material for bars and breweries once back on home turf and it was a great way to distract ourselves from the events that had unfolded earlier. You can also check out our time in Italy by watching the latest Motorhomies below.
The following day we would be heading up toward Switzerland, where (of course) there were more challenges waiting. 4 300km down. Thanks for reading!