France is getting close!

21 / 08 - Thursday

It was rather a "it's getting hotter let's go away" morning, so the timing for our mountain break was perfect. Around 9am we left Conegliano and stopped at around midday in Cortina. This is a rich mountain town where celebrities are often spotted. Although I missed out on seeing Johnny Depp (he does have a house in France... fingers crossed), I spotted a shop featuring Billabong products! We stopped in a cafe with a most impressive delicatessen display, so there some of our lunch happened.

Once we arrived in Gais, Campo Turres, we took advantage of the afternoon tea offered. Some lovely deli products and pastries did us fine! Later in the afternoon we took a walk around a nearby castle. Finally the musky, fresh smell of forests I remembered from seven years ago! It was good to get those legs moving again!

At the hotel restaurant were 20+ lovely dishes for us to choose from the buffet. The menu tonight was to be Italian; this may seem obvious but Gais is so close to the Austrian border (the region was formerly Austrian) that the population is largely German and not all signs around town are translated in Italian. Interesting way of life though, because most residents are bilingual. Anyway, the buffet was quite satisfying.

Fools we were!

Following this, we were given another entree, a first course, a second, AND dessert! Best tiramisù I've ever tasted, sorry Dad! Everything was exquisite, and we endulged in this delicious ritual every night; we felt so guilty about how much food we had it was a nice excuse to go out after dinner :)



22 / 08 - Friday

On Friday we visited the castle of Campo Turres. My favourite so far! It overlooked the town and was very impressive, built largely on rocks around 1100. The castle was also well looked after and we took a guided tour around the magical insides. What struckme most was how small the window holes were around the place; situated over 800m in altitude, it could get quite chilli, also due to the stone walls. Furthermore, the absence of windows let all air in. However, very little light penetrated so I struggled to imagine the importance of candles! All doors, chairs and beds were much smaller than these days'. There were no wardrobes. A chapel (which didn't allow the presence of women, who had to spy through a hole in the wall and ceiling) and a priest's residence were within the castle. We were also shown the torture room and some pretty gore and scary ways the prisoners were treated.

In the afternoon, mum and I took off in an exploring entourage, and for some reason I thought it was hilarious to yell 'shark' in the middles of the forest. A few rounds of cards and another glorious meal awaited us.

Following dinner, the group split: my parents and grandma went to see a local orchestra, the rest of us went to a nearby town, Brunico, to see some late night markets and live music.

23 / 08 - Saturday

What a change in the sea! Overnight, a storm made the temperature drop about 15 degrees, and most of this rainy Saturday was with little sun. We decided to go to Brunico again to see its beauty (and shops) in the daylight.. had lunch in a cafe where we waited less than 10 mins for our meal, but over half an hour for three ice creams..
After a much needed siesta I walked around Gais with mum (literally ALL AROUND IT, it's that small) and again found ourselves in a place we were not supposed to be... an old church, in fact, which was being restaured. There comes the priest looking suspiciously at us..
A few more games of cards, dinner, and then we walked down to a local 'show' on the lake, which really consisted only of a stage with live music, a few bars and lots of people drinking beer. We were basically in Austria, remember! It was surprisingly strange though because at some point the Australian 'Land Down Under' song (by Men at Work) was playing!

24 / 08 - Sunday

Today we left Gais, as the sun came out again.
Stopping in San Candido and another town, we made it back home. After about an hour (just enough time to talk on the phone to my man, after four days!!) we had to go visit some people again, the family of a girl who used to go to school with my brother, Silvia. She invited me out for a pizza but unfortunately I had to give her a raincheck for October, since last night was one of the last dinners my family would have all together.

Because TODAY is Monday, and I've been for a ride to the castle of Conegliano, soon I need to get packing because TOMORROW I'm leaving for France!! Scary. Peur. I think that's 'fear' in French. Is that right Carolyn?? :s