Whilst this area is not as picturesque as other areas of Italy, it is more than made up for by the architectural delights, amazing variety of local food and drink. The holiday has the balance of walking, sightseeing and comfortable travelling between locations on roads that often very straight roads.
Ski ing with Super Woman! This tour company employs some really great people to lead their trips , but those of us who booked a week in Dobbiaco this February were in for a real treat! For one week only the company had managed to get Superwoman....and we were the lucky ones! Karen Messenger is a young Canadian who spends her summers working in a National Park at home and her winters pursuing her 'Tour de Fun' competing in XC country long distance races around the world , known by the wonderful name of Loppets ! For the first two days Karen gave us great ski tips in the mornings and lovely skiing routes in the afternoon keeping her true identity secret, until all was revealed at an evening power point.....we were all very inspired and very impressed when she explained that the 'Fun' bit her Tour de Fun was that she dressed as Superwoman for her races....in some races everyone was whacky and she completely fitted in...in other more earnest gatherings there was some amazement , but , she said, the outfit worked wonders for her. So our holiday highlight came on the going home day when we we all went to cheer her as she entered the local Winter Olympics stadium , dressed in red and gold coming in as 26th out of 167 international women skiers , including professional teams , from all over the world, completing the 32 k classic style race in under two hours . And then she did it all again the next day this time with be the skating technique and achieving 7th out of the field of 29 other mad women who tackled both days! What an inspiration and what fun! We will be back ! Hopefully seeing Karen again !
The parts of the trip that were "off road" were enjoyable - despite the heat. Signposting was generally very good. Accommodation was highly variable - from good to very average. Breakfasts similarly variable. Baggage transfer was excellent.