Lake Como

We spent a few days on Lake Como in Northern Italy visiting Varenna and Bellagio.  The lake is surrounded by mountains rising as high as 8500 ft elevation.  We toured Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello, both incredible!  

 

The Dolomiti

After leaving Venice, we drove along the Grande Strada delle Dolomiti which begins in Belluno and travels thru The Dolomite Mountains.  We visited Cortina d’ Ampezzo then traveled over Passo Pordoi and Passo Sella both offering breathtaking views.  We stayed in a little village called Selva Val Gardena which is framed by the peaks of the Sella Group.  We headed out early the next morning to catch sunrise and then did a short hike in the Alpe di Siusi, Europe’s largest high alpine meadow, located between Val di Fassa and Val Gardena.  

Venice at Night

Thought I’d share just a few final images from Venice.  The most magical time is when the sun goes down, the twilight skies appear and more importantly the crowds thin out. The lights in the piazza and colors reflecting in the canals are truly enchanting...

Venice Islands

We have explored many islands around Venice including Murano, Burano and San Giorgio.  Murano is world renowned for its glass making industry.  We had a chance to watch glass blowing up close and visited several of the glass galleries.  Burano is a charming little fishing village famous for its lace making and brightly colored houses.  San Giorgio is directly across from Piazza San Marco on the main island.  We went to top of bell tower to get a nice view overlooking the lagoon.

 

Venice

Venice (Venezia) is an enchanting city.  It is located on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges.  The main form of transportation is by Vaporetto (water buses) which run  up and down the Grand Canal.  We've covered a lot of areas including Piazza San Marco, San Polo, Rialto, Zattere and Accademia.  We visited the Rialto Market one morning and watched all the merchants sell fresh fish, fruits and vegetables to the locals.  We did a tour of Basillica de San Marco while the interior was lit up and the walls, ceilings and domes are completely covered in mosaics.  We're right around the corner from Piazza San Marco which has been extremely convenient and allowed us to enjoy it after the crowds thin out.

Tuscany Landscape

The drive thru Tuscany has been breathtaking with rolling hills, wildflower fields, tall cypress trees, vineyards and charming hilltop towns.  There are poppies, lupines and many other wildflowers in bloom.  We've explored many winding backroads with amazing scenery unfolding around every turn.  It is truly magical to watch the light dance over the hills and valleys!  The Val d'Orcia is probably one of the most beautiful valleys in the Tuscany area with views that could be mistaken for the Blue Ridge Mtns back home.

Tuscany Hill Towns

Tuscany is filled with charming little towns and villages, many perched on the hilltops offering incredible views of the surrounding valleys.  Our home base was Montepulciano which is a walled city, built on a sloping and narrow limestone ridge.  The streets are very narrow and steep and can be challenging to navigate even  in a small auto.  The churches are impressive and usually the focal point of each town's main piazza.  One of our favorite hilltop towns was Montalcino where we climbed the towers in the Montalcino castle  - very cool!  Other hilltop towns we visited included Monteriggioni, Montisi and Pienza.

Florence

Arrived in Italy on Thursday - finally!  Spent the last few days in Florence (Firenza).  Watched the sun rise over the city lighting up the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and the Duomo - gorgeous!  Walked from one end of the city to the other, again and again, but so much to see and enjoy along the way. Visited the Boboli Gardens and toured several churches.  The finale was a climb up 414 steps to top of the Campanile di Griotto/bell tower to enjoy unique views of the city and closeup view of the Duomo.  Next, heading on a drive thru the Tuscany region...

Olympic Peaks

Another beautiful sunrise from Hurricane Ridge surrounded by the Olympic peaks.  Hiked up to Hurricane Hill for breathtaking 360 degree views into Canada and back to Mt Baker and Mt Rainier.  Olympic has it all...beautiful coastline, waterfalls, wildlife and majestic mountain peaks.  But its time to say goodbye, been a great adventure!

Lupine Field

Sunrise at Hurricane Ridge with beautiful lupine fields.  This area is surrounded with snow capped peaks of the Olympic Range.  The wildflower displays are amazing with paintbrush and columbine everywhere!  The road travels along the ridge offering open views along the way.  Seen lots of wildlife including fawns, marmots and Ptarmigan.  The mosquitos are out in full force so sporting a stylish bug net to tolerate the little pests.  But the views and scenery are worth it.  Great weather with clear views as far as you can see.

Olympic Coast

Arrived in Olympic National Park yesterday and watched an amazing sunset last night.  Started again at daybreak this morning and did a long hike along the rocky shore at Rialto Beach.  It is covered in perfectly polished river rocks in all colors.  And the tides wash in cool little colorful sea creatures like starfish and urchins.  Also hiked through the Hoh Rainforest which was lush with ferns and a variety of trees.

Waterfalls

The Columbia River Gorge lies just south of the Washington state line in Oregon. It is a beautiful corridor lined with waterfalls. The tallest is Multnomah Falls which has two tiers.  Hiked up to the bridge that crosses the falls and offers nice vantage point to view the upper falls.  Also hiked to several other falls in the gorge, but unfortunately had sunny skies so not many great photo ops.  

On the drive leaving the gorge and headed to Olympic, you can see Mt St Helens and Mt Hood in the distance.  Its cool driving around the Pacific Northwest and always having a snow capped volcanic peak like Mt Baker or Mt Rainier within view.

Mt Rainier

Final day at Mt Rainier.  The weather has been great with clear views of the mountain everyday, very unusual.  And the hiking here is amazing with views like this one to enjoy along the way.  Could easily spend another week here.