Days 9/10 Dolomites

Renting a car, we drove from Venice to a town called Cortina d'Ampezzo, which is located in Northeast Italy in the Italian Alps. The mountain range is specifically called "The Dolomites", derived from the mineral dolomite that gives the mountains their characteristic "pale" appearance. We must credit our friend and Radiology partner Scott Bolton with giving us the idea to visit this region, as we had not heard of it before. Great advice! Beautiful alpine village (think Aspen on steroids) nestled among some of the most rugged and downright spooky cliffs/rock formations we had ever seen.

"A room with a view"  (from our bedroom window)

Again, a picture from the bedroom window. Town of Cortina has more of an Alpine/Swiss/Austrian look. 

We naturally decided we needed a closer look and went hiking the next day. After a brief conversation with the concierge, Eric said we probably needed to try to plan our hike ahead of time, and not "wing it" so as to avoid "climbing any ladders". Upon further investigation, we realized this area is known for extreme climbing including free climbing etc (Think Sylvester Stallone in the movie "Cliffhanger" filmed on location here!) We definitely wanted to avoid the via ferrato (Italian for "iron walk"). The name is self explanatory....

This is not us!!!!!   In spite of helmets, still didn't appear safe enough for us sea level dwellers...

This is us!! Note moderate slope, foliage (not pure rock) and hands in pockets!

The cable car ride up was enough adrenaline for us, elevation approximately 3000 meters (just under 10,000 feet)

Plus if you are hanging on for dear life, how do you enjoy the view and take these great pictures?!

Some sort of abandoned building from a mining company

Scattered clouds added to the surreal atmosphere  and overall incredible beauty of this place.

After our day hike, we strolled the streets and felt very "American" ! In all our travels so far, we ran into the fewest number of Americans here. We saw one other American couple the whole time we were in Cortina, but felt a friendly vibe from local people and travelers through this area. Plus it helps that Europeans try to speak English to each other when traveling from one country to another. (American Express also part of the universal language :))

Quite a few people with their dogs inside stores. Very big dogs, not even sure the breed. It caught our attention but didn't seem "red" like seeing a Pitbull at PetSmart in Dothan, for example.

Have to be careful with the food pics. There is a fine line between a "foodie" and a "fatty". That being said, tasty fresh pizza with an egg in the center. And  not even salty ! :))

Ciao !!