The second "Italy bucket list" place was ripped from my little traveling paws this past weekend....again...third was not a charm! I first heard of Cinque Terre back in 2003 when Matt and I were backpacking Europe after we finished our Bachelor's degrees, but we couldn't go, because there was a mud slide that wiped out the train tracks. Then in 2005 when we backpacked Europe (Matt's 2nd time, my 3rd time) we couldn't go then either due to too much rain and they shut down the trail! And wouldn't you know my hotel reservation "mysteriously disappeared" this past Friday when we called to confirm that they still had a crib for my friend's baby they couldn't find our reservation. So do I take this as a sign that I shouldn't go for some reason? No! I will make it to Cinque Terre!!
After I got over my slight anger at missing Cinque Terre (again) we found out there was a traveling International Food Festival in Arona on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Matt and I talked to one of the German guys and he said they travel to a different town in Italy and Germany throughout the year then they go to England around Christmas time. You could get crepes with nutella from the netherlands, sausage and Stinko (yes that is the real name, it is a pig thigh) from Germany, beers from the czech republic, cupcakes from the US (except she sounded British and claimed she was from Chicago? hmmm), etc.
On Saturday morning we decided to head to the north west corner of Italy (very near the Swiss and French borders) to Aosta, Cogne, and the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso (the Sodergren's will travel, they won't be held back by people who can't keep a reservation....ok that is the last rant I promise).
I loved how the home styles drastically changed in this area, they no longer looked like Italian villas, they started looking like Swiss Chalets. There were a couple of times we were questioning whether we crossed the border into Switzerland, but looking at our GPS, we were still in Italy!
Before we left some of our friends in Fort Worth gave us a book that has the 38 most scenic drives in Italy (thank you West Park Friends!) and it has definitely proven to be a fantastic guide. One of the towns, Cogne, on the drive was unbelievably picturesque and happened to have a festival. I will let you be the judge:
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| In the town of Cogne |
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| entrance to the festival |
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| Matt and Sasha in Cogne |
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| The beautiful sound you hear is each cow has a bell on its neck so the herder can keep track of them |
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| Upclose of the cow bells |
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| Cow herder |
The drive and hike through the national park was amazing....pictures speak louder then words so here you go:
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