Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: mountains

  • Last Day Is Always Bittersweet: Travel Goals Italy

    Last Day Is Always Bittersweet: Travel Goals Italy

    Our last day in Italy. Where did the time go? We decide to stay fairly close to home as we need to pack and prepare for a morning flight. Although we had connected trains in the town of Domodossola, we have yet to properly visit. It seems like a great destination. The town sits next…

  • Zermatt Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Switzerland

    Zermatt Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Switzerland

    I don’t usually think about bucket lists. Anywhere I am, is a worthy travel adventure as long as it is out of my ordinary. However, Zermatt and its wonderful Matterhorn have been on my wish list for decades. It seems unreal that we are on our way this morning. The road over the Simpson pass…

  • Between a Rock and a Foggy Place: Travel Goals Italy

    Between a Rock and a Foggy Place: Travel Goals Italy

    It is still raining in Lesa. We head to Varese where there are a few indoor museums. The weather there should be clear and we will be able to visit the Sacred Mountain of Varese. We head out and the rain stops as we get farther down the road. It is looking pretty good, until…

  • Rainy Days Are Still Beautiful: Travel Goals Italy

    Rainy Days Are Still Beautiful: Travel Goals Italy

    Sunny, magical days have to be interrupted occasionally. And so the rain sets in for a multi-day period of grey clouds and damp pavement. Since we are in Italy to experience Italy, we set off for a wet drive around the lake to Cannobio on Lake Maggiore (….not to be confused with Cernobbio on Lake…

  • Markets and Mountains: Travel Goals Italy

    Markets and Mountains: Travel Goals Italy

    Today is my favorite day! When I travel in Italy, I can’t wait for market day. Each town has a designated day for a pop up outdoor market. This tradition goes back to the medieval traveling markets. Vendors can go from town to town with no overhead, and the townspeople can plan their shopping around…

  • The End of the Road: Travel Goals Italy

    The End of the Road: Travel Goals Italy

    Wanderlust…our internal yearning of wanting to see new things, hear new sounds, smell new smells….means that every day we venture out to parts unknown. We try to keep the destination within two hours drive to ensure we have enough time to enjoy each new spot without tiring or feeling rushed. We never know what we…

  • Convents, Cable Cars, and Clothing: Travel Goals Italy

    Convents, Cable Cars, and Clothing: Travel Goals Italy

    The day is overcast as we drive around the lake to Santa Caterina del Sasso. An ancient monastery along Lake Maggiore, Santa Caterina is carved into the rock. It hangs above the lake as if suspended by magic. After parking and trying to decipher signs that seem to suggest the monastery is in two different…

  • Mottarone, the Tiniest Alp: Travel Goals Italy

    Mottarone, the Tiniest Alp: Travel Goals Italy

    The morning broke cool and cloudy. Because the forecast for the rest of the week included rain, we decided to drive up to the top of Mottarone. The smallest mountain in the Alps. The tiniest Alp. The road was surprisingly busy, and unsurprisingly winding and narrow. Gangs of cyclists clogged the road. Once we got…

  • Climbing the Sacred Mountain After Sailing to the Island of Silence: Travel Goals Italy

    Climbing the Sacred Mountain After Sailing to the Island of Silence: Travel Goals Italy

    Saturday in Northern Italy is marked by hordes of men on bicycles taking over the roadways. These biker gangs are problematic because the roads are narrow as they curve up and down the foothills of the Alps. The general rule I’ve determined is the narrower the road and the more blind curves, the more cyclists…

  • Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Italy

    Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Italy

    It is raining this morning. Light misty rain, but moving into an all day steady drizzle. I search google maps and apple weather for patches of dryness to see if anywhere close is a better (drier) way to spend our day. Rain. Check again. More rain. Eventually, I find dry patches high in the Italian…