Today we disembarked MSC Splendida and made our way to the Dolomites. We got off the ship at 09:00 and walked to the bus station. We arrived at 09:25 and purchased tickets for the 09:35 bus to the Trieste airport. There we picked up our rental car and began our 5 hour drive Northwest through the Dolomites. Addison navigated us to an old fortress about 30 minutes from the airport which as an UNESCO site. It is called Palmenova, and it is a star shaped fortress. We drove in through the gates and drove around the outer streets until we found parking. Then we got out to explore and made our way to the center, where they had a huge market set up. Ayva and I went dress shopping in the local market while the boys explored the UNESCO site. Addison also bought a canvas print of the fortress. After 30 minutes of exploring, we started again on our way.
About 15 minutes away was the Pighin Winery. We arrived at 12:45 but it was closed for lunch until 13:30. We found a cafe down the road to enjoy lunch and went back to the winery after it opened. By 13:45, we set on our way for the 4 hour journey ahead of us as we navigated to Bressanone through the Dolomites.
The views were stunning and the roads were like nothing we have back at home. The narrow roads took us from one village to the next and we weaved our way further up the mountains. The hairpin turns seemed narrow for cars, and each time a bus or logging truck passed, it was a bit of a thrill. We were supposed at the number of logging trucks on the road. The trees looked very similar to what we see at home, except they are cut much shorter (probably so they can transport them on the narrow winding roads). The drive itself was quite an experience for all of us.
Nadia welcomed us into our Airbnb in Bressanone around 19:30. It is a beautiful little apartment. She showed us around and handed over the keys. We quickly walked to the grocery store to get some supplies to make lunches. We enjoyed the cooler weather up in the mountains. It is between 12-24 degrees up here. When we got back, we put in a load of laundry and walked down to the local Pizzeria for dinner. It was crazy busy and they had no room to seat us. Instead we ordered pizza and were told to wait 60 minutes to pick it up. We came back to the apartment to get some work done and hand our laundry. We didn’t eat dinner until after 22:00, which was our latest dinner this trip.
Tomorrow, we look forward to exploring the Plose.