This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Down from the mountains now, and catching up on the world. The last couple days of climbing / hiking have been pretty incredible. The via ferrata concept is an amazing way to gain a perspective on a landscape that would otherwise be impossible without serious…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Italy 2012 I’ll do a post on the last couple days of climbing later today. For now, I thought I’d write up some of the Via Ferrata basics that I wasn’t able to discover before heading out, in case Google helps someone else find this info in…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 First real day of via ferrata. It’s kind of unreal! Kicked things off with breakfast at the rifugio, then set out for what’s called a “definitive” ferrata route. First, another half kilometer climb. Then you hit the first ladder and start to get nervous. In…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Only have the iPhone for the next few days, so I’ll hold big thoughts for later. Driving was amazing today. Madonna Di campiglio is very nice and Italian. Hiking wasn’t terrible. The views are ok. More later!
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Italy 2012 This post is going to be heavy on things related to automobiles. If this offends you, I recommend you reconsider what you get offended about. First off, an introduction. Spend the time to watch this video from Top Gear, where the boys go in search…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Today, I hopped the train up to Lake Como to do the Dorsale del Triangolo Lariano – the walk from Como to Bellagio, along the mountain tops. This may not have been a wise move. There isn’t a lot of English-language information about this hike, but…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 (covert photo, to prove I was there) As much as it was fun to make Last Supper jokes on twitter this morning (trust me, I had *so* many that went unused), it was pretty remarkable to see in person. Far more powerful than I was…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Getting a better feel for Milan. Turns out, they do have lots of cool “culture-y” things, they’re just a little more hidden away. The city also has a long history of incorporating old parts of the city into new parts – Roman towers reused in…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Today was the only fully unscheduled day on my Milan itinerary. (Tomorrow being La Scala and Thursday being the Last Supper, and perhaps a day trip) After dropping my mercato purchases at the hotel, I set out to visit the top sights. Milan doesn’t have…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Somewhere along the way today, I believe my brain broke just a little bit. I forgot that I’ll be in Italy for the next couple weeks, and instead tried to cram a lifetime of Italian food into a very short period of time. Not that…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 A bookstore with whole sections on marques like Intermeccanica, Marcos and Bristol? I feel lucky to have escaped having spent as “little” as I did – a very dangerous store. And even worse, the owner gave me tips on all the other places to go…
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This post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Travel day went as smoothy as a travel day can go. Schipol was friendly and easy to navigate, as always, and it didn’t take long to figure out the various bus and subway transfers to make it to my hotel. I’m staying just outside the…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Spent some time packing this morning. I’m breaking with my travel tradition, and am bringing my backpack (as in, backpacking) instead of my trusty Lowe Alpine Voyager 40. It’s only an extra 10 liters (backpack is 50) but it feels somewhat extravagant. Oh well though,…
View MoreThis post is part of a series called Italy 2012 Let me say off the bat that I fully acknowledge that everything I post from this point forward is the ranting of an over-entitled middle class yuppie. Ok, proceeding with whining about first world problems. Over the last few years I’ve become a full blown…
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