Saturday. We woke up to sunshine, blue skies, and white fluffy clouds. What a difference a day makes! Today the plan was to take the gondola up to Alpe di Siusi. Mount Seic was opposite Seceda and about a 10-minute walk from our hotel. We were able to get tickets without a problem as we arrived and rode up the mountainside for less than 15 minutes. Just one gondola today.
Whatever language people speak, and whatever word they use for "wow", I'm sure that's what they all said as they walked out of the gondola station. The view was simply stunning. The Alpe di Siusi—the meadow surrounded by mountains—was green and beautiful. And someone mows every bit of it. Pics hardly do this area justice.
There were a few hotels across the area, some homes, and lots and lots of people. As we stepped off the gondola, we could choose to either go left or right. Either direction started with a descent to the meadow. (Knowing of course that there would be a big ascent to get back up to the gondola at the end of the day.)
We followed a path that took us on an 8-mile hike around the entire meadow. I couldn't stop taking pics of the same mountains from different vantage points. The bonus? No cold and rain. The weather was simply perfect.
We walked on the left side of the meadow, across and then stopped for a break on a patch of grass while chatting with the girls with Schlern Mountain as our background.
While we were in Italy, the girls were going on a Caribbean cruise together.
The walk back up the hill was no walk in the park. It wasn't quite as straight up as yesterday, but it was a constant incline to the top. Lots of people were stopping to take pictures and some crazy pics at that. I had to laugh at the one and only "Beware of Snakes" sign that I saw. I think it was just to keep people off the grass.
We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon. Chris had been feeling nauseous and not too great since arriving. He needed a break. But first we walked to the grocery store to get a few things and stopped at a pharmacy for some meds for him. Nice that we didn't need any kind of prescription.
Chris still wasn't feeling great by the evening. I walked downstairs to order some takeaway. I had wanted to get him some soup, but they didn't have takeaway containers for soup. I got him some buttered pasta instead. I think it was just what he needed.