Mountaintop Moments (pt. 2) (featuring Kat!)

La mia sorella (my sister) is in town, so naturally we headed to the mountains this week!

Kat got in Thursday morning after finishing up a short summer study abroad trip. I’ve been dying to show her my little apartment, introduce her to my friends, and share a glimpse of my life with her.  I gave her a little tour of Piacenza and we enjoyed an aperitivo that night. The next day I got up to go on a field trip (we got to spend hours learning about bugs in the vineyard — not quite my favorite thing!!). I got back in the early afternoon and Kat and I both fell asleep until dinner time. We needed rest I guess! And we are thankful we had it after the adventures we’ve had this weekend.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the Piacenza morning market. We stopped in to get coffee from my Italian mom, Rosanna, and I got a healthy scolding from her for not being fluent in Italian after nine months. Fair. Rosanna wanted to come to Verona with us, but unfortunately had to work.

We hopped on the train around noon and began exploring. Verona is stunning!! The land of Romeo and Juliet and Dante and the Adige River and insane golden sunsets and Amarone wine. The views were breathtaking and the architecture was impressive. Florence has been my favorite city in the world ever since I studied abroad there, but I think Verona would take the cake if I’d spent more time there. There was a whole lot to love about it. We fell asleep watching Letters to Juliet and woke up before the rest of the world did to do one last walk about before heading to Bolzano.

Bolzano is a stunning mountain town on the Italian Dolomites. It’s one of the German speaking regions, and Kat and I spent our entire time there equally impressed with the breathtaking scenery and the residents switching between German, Italian and English seamlessly.

We rode a gondola (horrifying) up to Sopra Bolzano and went on a little hike through a few of its neighboring towns. When it was time to head back, we saw a sign that said “weinwanderweg” — a wine hike down the mountain. Of course I wanted to go; we could skip the gondola AND drink wine. Win win. We followed signs through pastures and forests and streets until eventually we realized we had no idea where the trail was taking us. It turned out the trail started near the bottom of the mountain. Why they put signs with arrows at the top of the mountain we will never know, but it is what it is. We trudged back up, had a sketchy gondola back down, and had one of the best burgers of our lives. 14 miles of walking in one day wore us out, and we were in bed at 8.

This morning we woke up before the rest of Italy once again because we had a bus to catch! We missed it though. We had to wander through a random town in search of an ATM in order to buy our tickets, but after an hour delay we were on our way. We went to Ortisei, a ski resort town, where we had to take YET ANOTHER gondola. It was worth it though. The view at the top was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

We hiked and frolicked through green pastures and beside quiet waters. We admired the jagged peaks of the Dolomites and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. Halfway through the hike we came across a Lincoln-Log house looking restaurant where we had the most heavenly meal of our lives: brats and potatoes and apple strudel with a view.

With full tummies and full hearts, we walked back to the top and enjoyed a post-hike beer and watched a rainstorm roll in from the jagged peaks. We had to take the gondola one last time, and I said a quick prayer of thanks as my feet hit solid ground.

Kat and I both fell asleep on the bus ride back to Bolzano, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we do again on our train ride home.

I’m so thankful for this time I’ve gotten to spend with my sister. She sees the world with so much awe and wonder, it makes even the best places better.