"walk" + win!

milk, pjs, and that sneaky look he gives us... love it all!

What a week! And yesterday - ouf, what a day. Soooo we have a pamphlet for a few hikes and things-to-do just south of Trento in Brentino, and I've been wanting to do the on-the-cover activity (Sentiero della Speranza) for a while - a hike/walk up to Madonna della Corona, a sanctuary and religious place that lives carved into the mountain. It looks super neat, and the information included in the brochure is as follows:

Time: Approx 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy

Well-known route frequented by pilgrims, hikers and visitors, the Sentiero della Speranza (Trail of Hope) goes from Brentino Belluno to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Corona. Approximately 2.425 metres long with a different in level of 600 metres, the trail takes about 2 hours to cover on foot.

Okay, 600 metres is a fair bit, but we were sold on the "easy" (which normally, in touristy pamphlets means really easy - no?) and the beautiful pic of the chapel and surrounding buildings, carved right into the mountainside. We packed a lunch and drove south, finding the starting point fairly easily BUT... what was not included in any of the above information is that the path is all stairs. All of it!! We were thinking ooooh you know, we'll walk a bit, hang out a bit, let Hendrik walk some, carry him some etc etc but up stairs? Two and half hours of stairs!!!?? I'm sorry, but that's not easy in my books. However... there was a beautiful picnic spot mmm about 40 minutes up and we stopped and enjoyed the sammies and views for a good 30 minutes before setting off again. And then Hendrik fell asleep in my arms and the stairs got steeper so this momsy turned around and slowly slowly made her way back down. Steve kept going for a bit thinking that he might get a good view of the sanctuary - and he did, but it was still way too far away to make it to the finish line. Perhaps another day senza bimbo we can make it up - the views were incredible and it really does look like a neat place to visit. And with this amazing weather we've been having - 20 degrees-ish (!!!!) - we can start spending more time outside and scoping out easy FLAT walks to do. With lunch.

on step #5

at our lunch spot - beautiful views on a be-autiful day!

just, you know, taking a break from being carried up the mountain :)

mom and sleeping babe back down at the bottom

Trentino Volley won a huge game on Thursday night in front of a sold-out crowd, and  I wish I could find some video of the last "golden" set because it was craaaazy! Not that it was so so close, but the fans were on their feet and chanting and it was loud loud loud and there were flags and drums and horns and everyone was singing and yelling - it was an incredible atmosphere. It was a do or die situation and they won 3-0 fairly easily - boom - and then the fourth set went their way too - double (quadruple) boom. The team will head to the final four in Poland March 17-18 where they'll be looking to repeat last year's European Cup title. Yiiiikes! It won't be easy, but many say they're the favourites. We'll see... And did I even mention that Antonella offered to babysit - so I caught the game, with Elena, in person! And after we went for the best gelato ever, oh man it was so good; we will definitely be going back to Gelateria Serafini.... yum.

yeah, I'd say that's a pretty big block... !!

And it's March and Nao comes soon and then Erin and Fred and then it will be April (!!!) and my parents will make a stop in as well - can't wait! Well, I can. Time is marching on and even though of course I want to go home and see friends and family, with the warmer weather here I'm feeling like we might be a bit reluctant to leave. Mrrrrrr... We've got to enjoy it while we're here - and with that, I'm heading outside!

we had the library to ourselves on Thursday... I love that he loves it there!