| In the town of Follina, at the foot of the "pre-Dolomites", we
stayed in the lovely Villa Abbazia, named for the Benedictine Abbey of Follina just across
the way. |
Hotel Villa Abbazia |
Jim, Sally, and Joan gaze at a wall of grappa behind the
sommelier. |
For our first night's dinner, however, the van transported us a few miles
away to the town of Miane and the Michelin-starred restaurant, Da Gigetto. The most
impressive aspect of this establishment was its wine cellar, of which we were given an
expert tour, accompanied by a tasting of Prosecco. The holdings in the cellar included
unbelievable wines from all the great regions of Italy and France, together with
comprehensive collections of grappa and single malt whiskeys (and also two bottles of
"pre-war" Coca-Cola). Over dinner we all gave brief introductions of
ourselves, possibly including an untruth. Charlie said that he was travelling with
two chess books, which anyone who knows him would know is unlikely: in fact, he had three
chess books with him. |
The following day's "walk" was advertised as the most
challenging of the trip, a hike to the top of what was clearly a very steep mountain.
Joan, Irit, and Nina opted out of this hike, and spent the morning in a leisurely
visit to the Abbey of Follina, a Benedictine foundation dating from the 12th century.
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This is the view from the west entry of the Abbey; the sheer mountain
behind the house is what the others of our group were scaling. |
| The cloister was the most picturesque part of the Abbey. Here Nina
poses by the refreshing central fountain. |
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Joan was particularly taken with the twisted composite column at one
corner of the cloister; it was not repeated at the other corners. |
In order to join the rest of the group for lunch at the top of the
mountain, a car had been hired to drive Nina, Irit and Joan. The car couldn't follow
the same route as the hikers, since that had been partly over trails; it had to go all the
way around to the other side of the mountain, nearly to Belluno, and then back up the
other side. The meeting point was the Bar Faggi in Praderadego.
The driver of the car spoke no English, but had been given his
instructions and seemed to know where he was going. The route was on narrow mountain
roads, the sort that Joan can't bear to look out over (she gets vertigo from seeing the
steep drops). At first it seemed as if the driver was trying to talk to us; later
(especially as the roads became more precarious), it seemed more as if he was mumbling to
himself. Nina and Joan, in the backseat, wondered what he was muttering about,
worrying that he might be lost, or as scared of the road as they were. Irit, in the
front seat, seemed to be pointedly staring out the side window. Our driver continued
to talk to himself. As we were reascending the other side of the mountain, nearly
there as it turned out, Irit turned to the others and said , "I don't know what he's
saying, but he's driving one-handed." Further explication indicated what he was
doing with his other hand. Nina and Joan uncontrollably cracked up; luckily, it was
only a matter of minutes before they arrived and could bid farewell to the driver.
| When we arrived at Praderadego, we found that all the hikers had made it.
Even those who relied on the van part of the way had to climb the last mile where
the road was closed. Brenda and David had apparently taken their own route, but they
made it as well. |
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Joan was especially glad to see that Charlie had made it, and apparently
none the worse for wear. The mountain scenery was impressive! |
| The weary hikers rested and changed out of their sodden t-shirts before
going into another amazing four-course lunch. |
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After lunch, even the non-hikers had to walk down the closed part of the
road, at least as far as the van. The rocky path was steep and the views spectacular.
Once back on the road, though, several hikers opted to join the non-hikers in the
van, for a transfer to the cashmere workshop in Valmareno (Joan was disappointed with the
selection there), and then back to the Villa Abbazia for showers and naps. |
| Dinner that evening was preceded by a Prosecco tasting in the garden of
the Villa Abbazia. |
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Lucas translated and explained the finer points of the wines to us. |
| Joan enjoyed the Prosecco, and offered a toast to the photographer. |
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A sumptuous dinner followed in the enchantingly decorated dining room of the Villa
Abbazia.
Nina was especially fond of the allegorical landscape
fresco in the dining room. |
Sorry arout the redeye, April! But doesn't the
table look lovely? |
Joan is very fond of Charlie. |
An extra "romantic" dessert, to follow the
chocolate mousse. |
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