Temu, a week of skiing at New Years

Skiing at New Years in Italy is tough on the wallet!  I searched high and low for a ski resort town that was either a little less known or a hotel that was reasonable (most famous places were about 350-500 Euro a night and definitely not in our budget!).  I came across a small town, Temu, Northeast of us that actually had some very reasonably priced hotel rooms so off we went with our friends Ashely, Steve, Melissa, and Brian for a week long trip at New Years Eve.

Matt and Me

Steve, Brian, Me, and Matt

 I love this group photo on the 6 person ski lift!  Great job Steve (I hope it is ok I stole your photo).

Matt got a new toy for his birthday so I put together a quick GoPro video:

For dinner, we participated in Raclette, which is a block of cheese next to a heating element and you scrap the cheese onto your plate when it is ready.  They bring you plates of meats you grill yourself on a hot stone and breads to eat with the cheese. It is kind of like fondue without the pot.  Bellisimo!

New Years eve was spent playing a little Cards Against Humanity and partaking in a few beverages.

It is very common in Italy to light paper lanterns on New Years Eve and send them floating off in the sky.

Matt, Sasha, and I on a hike!  Quick Sasha update for those of you who know her, she is still doing great 6 months later and it is unbelievable!  She still struggles with the stairs a bit, but she still loves traveling with us.  We don't take her on strenuous hikes anymore, but we still try to bring her as much happiness as we can, while we can.  Thanks to Ashely and Melissa for letting me stay out to ski while you took Sasha out midday for potty breaks! :-)

Across the street from our hotel, was a great museum about World War 1 from the perspective of Northern Italy, which they called the "White War", because it was fought from the mountain tops that line the country.  It was fascinating to see their struggles with getting large equipment, such as cannons, to the top of the mountain.  Some of the men fighting were from the south so they had to learn how to hike in the snow, because it was their first experience with snow.

Pulley system created to bring sick animals, food, etc. up and down the mountain

Some of the old barracks are still intact on the mountain and this one was disassembled and reassembled in the museum to show what life was like on the mountain top:

museum front

Happy New Year, Everyone!  May 2015 be filled with new, exciting adventures!