Italy, one of the gourmet countries in Europe and also home to the famous mountain ranges Dolomites. A last minute scramble to fill up our September holiday resulted in Dolomites as we wanted to do something adventurous and active. Isle of Scilly was our plan but our super last minute planning left us with NO reasonable accommodation in Scilly and therefore had to scrap that plan. The next best plan we came up with was Dolomites since we both love the mountains and September will still be great weather in Italy.
The planning was tough going since it was pretty last minute and we had to scramble to find reasonably priced accommodation. Even though it's the tail end of the holiday season, Dolomites was still pretty expensive (imagine during the ski season!) After scrambling and missing out on some good valued AirBnB, we finally found an accommodation for our 4 days in Dolomites - Nord Hotel.. It is a really really old styled hotel in Cortina and at €80/night not exactly a cheap place! If you're a backpacker, Cortina will be quite expensive in terms of accommodation - no hostels. The hotel is pretty basic - the beds are not that comfortable, they squeak and pretty flat mattress. Breakfast not included in the rate, but we don't need that fancy breakfast when you're in Italy!
We had 5 days in Dolomites, but the day we arrived, it rained like there's no tomorrow and I was still nursing a terrible cough which turned out to be pneumonia. We flew to Venice airport and rented a car for the 2 hour journey to Cortina d'Ampezzo. The drive is very smooth and easy, not much traffic. We had a little issue at car rental as Ian forgot his driver's license so I had to rent the car instead, with my Singapore license. The official information is that you need an International permit if you're Non-EU, but luckily we were able to rent with my license. So it was my first time driving a manual car in Europe! The roads are really good and you're driving through toll road (€7.80 each way) in our tiny Fiat 500.
Upon arrival we just walked from our hotel to town - it's a good 20mins walk each way. The town is quite nice and very typical European. Upon recommendation, we discovered La Perla, which would turn out to be one of our favourite restaurants in Cortina, and easily the best! Their pizzas and pasta are amazing and very flavourful, and reasonably priced!
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| Pizza @ La Perla |
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| Pasta @ La Perla |
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| Best Gnocchi!! |
The next day started sunny but eventually rained crazy shit! It was kind of a good thing as we went for a little walk in the morning and then the hospital to get me cured. The first 2 days the weather was pretty cold for me - around 10-14 degrees C. Long story short, we spent close to 3H at the hospital where they did some really thorough checks on me and eventually prescribed antibiotics and some cough medicine and told me I had pneumonia. But Dolomites being Dolomites, I decided to still go ahead with our hiking plans.
We rented gear for via Ferrata at a shop in the city - 2 days rental for 2 people for €50. The next day we decided to do Cinque Torre and then off to Alpini for the via Ferrata. Little did we know we might have taken on a bit too much for a day.
Cinque Torre is amazingly beautiful. The day we drove there, the mountains were covered in snow and super cold! But the view was amazing! Follow the route which takes you to one of the Refuge camp and then walk around Cinque Torre. It is also a good place for some climbing if you have the gear. After Cinque Torre we drove to start Alpini. Park your car at Strobel restaurant and start the hike up right behind the restaurant towards Col dei Bos. The walk to the start of the via Ferrata is about 30 minutes.
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| Hospital ruins |
When you walk past the hospital ruins above, you know you're close to the start of the via ferrata.
We started our climb at noon, and the first part is the toughest. It was kind of scary for me to tackle the first part but after about 10-15minutes, you will see the light as it gets easier.
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| The toughest start to the climb |
By no means is this an easy via Ferrata. We had thought it would be kind of easy but ultimately it took us a good 3 hours to get to the top and another 2 hours or so to get back to the starting point. Would definitely recommend doing this latest by noon to make sure you have enough time to get down before the weather turns. During our hike, the weather went from cold to sunny to cold, so make sure you are dressed warmly! It is definitely a medium level via ferrata, for me was doable but made more difficult as I had pneumonia, but if you have experience you'll do absolutely fine. Would not recommend it for total beginners but if you have a reasonable fitness level, go ahead! It is a really great experience and the view is amazing.
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| Made it! |
The next day, we decided to try another via Ferrata. Our initial idea was to do a nice half day one at Mt Cristallino but when we got to the cable car station, we were told the cable car connecting to the via ferrata is under repair therefore if we wanted to do it we had to hike which would take forever. It is supposed to be a really nice one which takes you across a long swing bridge. If you have a full day or time, you could potentially hike to the starting point, do the via ferrata and hike back but we didn't want to do that especially with me coughing my lungs out. Left with not much choice, we went for Astaldi. This is an extremely easy via ferrata - you can even walk it without gear.
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| Astaldi |
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| Hike to Astaldi |
Drive to Rifugio Dibona, you will drive through an unpaved road for a bit so don't panic. Take the route towards Rigufio Giussani (421) and you will see the start point of the via ferrata. This is a loop so you can start from either direction and eventually back to Rifugio Dibona. The whole journey will take about 3 hours including hiking up to the start and hiking back down. As mentioned, this is a very easy one, we even saw a dad taking his little girl along! If you had only 1 day for via ferrata, this is probably not the one you want to go for since it doesn't require gears to walk. But if you're left with nothing else to do, try it with your gear. Otherwise just come walk this Astaldi anytime you want without gear! Don't forget to enjoy the scenery as you walk!
At Cortina, spas are very common so we decided to try it at the hotel opposite Nord since it was also good for my condition. We paid €15 per person per entry. They open from 4-8pm and there is a Jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna in there. We were pretty much done after an hour of steaming and bathing.
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| Eggplant pasta @ El Bronsin |
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| Beetroot ravioli @ El Bronsin |
Take note when you're in Cortina on a Monday, quite a few restaurants are closed. We were running out of options but finally decided to go to El Bronsin and what a great choice we made! We were kind of the first batch of customers and were a little apprehensive when we didn't see anyone in the restaurant but it slowly filled up after we ordered. And the food was amazing! As usual we ordered pasta and were not disappointed. This is another must go restaurant, it is a little out of the city center but not too far off. If you're driving, you can actually park for free for 2 hours at the sports complex just outside the center (near to the cable car station). WE only found out about this on our last night. It is very difficult to find parking in the center so this is the best option you have! We went to another recommended restaurant Il Ponte but didn't think it was that great. Maybe their pizzas are better but the pasta was not as amazing as El Bronsin or La Perla.
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| Tre Cime |
The next day we went for the most famous hike - Tre Cime! The drive there is expensive - you have to pay a toll of €20 each way. And it is the most crowded hike we did in our 4 days. Dolomites is a very popular place but the hikes we did so far were not crowded with people, sometimes it was only us along the trail. But Tre Cime is the bomb - The car park was huge and full and you walk with a stream of people. You don't have to be afraid of getting lost! The weather was not exactly great when we got there - very misty and cold so the Tre Cime was kind of shrouded. The hike is not difficult, the start is basically just walking on relatively flat terrain, and you only really go up after you hit the first Rifugio. The uphill at that point is not ridiculous, but for a sick person it was not the easiest for me. I would say this hike (which took 3 hours) is suitable for everyone even kids! And we did see children hiking! There is a tea house after you loop past Tre Cime and if you need to use the toilet, make sure you bring cash or buy something from them.
Tre Cime is for sure beautiful, we only hoped we had better weather when we were there to see it clearer! Easy to understand why it is so popular because it is really easily accessible and the hike itself is not difficult and everyone can do it! Cliché yes! But definitely walk this hike when you are at Dolomites!
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| WE played with the stones |
After Tre Cime, the sky cleared and the sun came out again! WE decided to go for the cable car up the highest peak Tofana. The cable car to the highest peak is €30 per person return. The slope is used as a skiing area during the ski season and you can clearly see all the ski markers. The view is pretty amazing up above and I believe there are some hiking trails in the lower 2 peaks.
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| Heart shaped lake! |
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| Top of Tofana |
Our last night we stayed at Fiames Hotel, for €60/night with shared toilet. The downside is that it is beside the main road so can get noisy but you can close the windows to shut out the noise. Breakfast was included in the rate. As we had half a day the next day we went for a walk along Fiames and in search of the waterfall Cascate di Fanes. We walked to the start of the via Ferrata but didn't have time to continue the walk to the waterfall. The via ferrata looked awesome and probably will take you really close to the waterfall. We regretted not doing this instead of astaldi - but do consider doing this via ferrata. I believe it is an easy one. You should be able to also hike close to the waterfall but definitely need more than the 2 hours we had.
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| Fiames |
And so ends our Dolomites adventure. The Dolomites were amazing and definitely you could spend a week or more doing the different hikes. They are all free and give you amazing view and fresh air! We drove back to return the car in Venice and check in to our AirBnB in Mestre. Venice is an extremely expensive place in terms of accommodation. Even the hostels were more than €80 per person per night. So we decided to stay outside of Venice but still within close distance. Mestre is a good area - Venice Heaven was our guesthouse for €55 per night for a double room - they had the best bed we had the whole week! The owner of the guesthouse doesn't really bother you at all, he just handled our check in and left, never to be seen again! So we were left to our own. There is a kitchen with microwave and some utensils, good enough to cook small meals but no stove or anything. The location is pretty good as it is near supermarkets and bus stop to Venice, and also close to the eating area in Mestre.
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| Venice |
Next day we started our Venice trip. Point to note: But the transport card/ticket beforehand as it costs twice as much to buy it from the bus driver! €3 onboard vs €1.50 with the transport ticket. And if you decide to island hop, but the 1 day transport card (include bus, vaporetto) for €20 per person. You can take unlimited bus and vaporetto rides which is the most worthwhile purchase. We took the bus into Venice and started walking. We joined a free walking tour which took us to the lesser known areas of Venice. That was a really nice 2 hour walk and I would highly recommend starting your trip with this tour. There are a lot of different free walking tours on offer, we went with Free Venice Walking Tour. We got introduced to one of the best gelato in Venice Il Doge! Gelato is so cheap in Venice, for €1.50 per scoop they taste so fresh and natural! We also partake in Venice Tapas and Spritz.
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| The €80-100 gondola boat |
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| San Marco |
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| Rialto bridge |
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| Any canal is as beautiful |
To be honest, Venice is extremely crowded with tourists but if you veer off the usual tourist spot, you will walk through alleys that are deserted but still beautiful. We had thought we would not really enjoy Venice since it is so touristy, especially Ian who was so skeptical at first, but he also relented and admitted that Venice is beautiful and he liked it!
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| Libreria Acqua Alta |
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| A boat in a bookshop?!?! |
I highly recommend visiting the very famous bookshop also known as the most beautiful bookshop in Venice Libreria Acqua Alta. It is no longer a secret and swamped with tourists but it is really quite amazing inside! The entire shop is stacked with books that seems so disorderly but really organized! And a stair made of books! Eating in Venice can be expensive and not necessary great tasting as it primarily caters to tourists but there could be some local gems along the way. We did not quite eat in Venice since walking around kind of distorted our eating times.
We went back to Mestre for dinner in the center and would really recommend Ai Veteranio. Note that when dining in Venice, and even in Cortina, there is a cover charge for each person. This is something I'm not used to but it is what it is.
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| Meal @ Ai Veteranio |
Not to be missed is island hop to Murano and Burano. They can be done in a day! Catch the vaporetto at F'te Nove. You will arrive at Murano first, the island best known for their glass works. It is a pretty nice little island and we spent almost an hour walking around before hoping into another vaporetto to Burano. For me, Murano was a little boring and not as exciting.
Burano is famous for its coloured houses. You feel like you're in a painter's world! The colours are very vibrant and the houses are quaint and cute! Walk away from the canal into the heart of the island to be away from the crowd. Burano is a lot more lively and the colours bring a bit more life to the island. It is a small island, and there isn't much to do around other than walk along the canal, sit in a café and soak in the sun and scenery. We left our we walked almost all the island.
It takes more than an hour to get back to Venice from Burano. And once back in Venice, with the day transport card, take a vaporetto along the Grand Canal! This is a really pretty journey as you cruise along the nice buildings along the canal, and a much cheaper way to do a canal tour than the gondola. You pay €80-100 per gondola for a trip, and granted they take you through small picturesque canals, it is a high price to pay for a canal experience.
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| Murano |
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| Colourful Burano |
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| Leaning tower of Burano |
Rialto market is best visited in the morning which we did, however we were slightly underwhelmed with the offerings at the market. It is quite a small market with similar stalls and not as lively as we had expected. I mean the farmer's market here in Utrecht every Saturday has more character!
And so ends our Italy trip. A bus back to the airport took about 20mins and you do not have to take the airport bus! What we will miss - food in Italy and the fruits. So amazing and so fresh! Even though we were not overwhelmed by Il Ponte, it is easily better than a lot of places here in Netherlands. Hot chocolate - that's for me, Italy has the best hot chocolate, so thick and flavourful! Amazing mountain ranges and people. In general the Italians are friendly and gregarious! But be careful in Venice - lots of pickpockets! We went light and only walked with a backpack filled with water and sweater and stuffed our cash and card in our pockets. We went to all the touristy places in Venice - San Marco etc, but we didn't go in the buildings or up the towers. Venice itself is actually really big and would take a day for you to walk the different sections! We did not complete all sections but we were pretty happy with ourselves for what we did. I must say, definitely visit Venice, it sounds very cliché but you wouldn't regret it! Because one day Venice might sink :)
