Monthly Report, September 2024

Another traveling month - almost all of the travelling by train and mostly spent in Northern Italy. 

Reporting Days: 30

Location; Mostly Italy

Distance Walked: 282 km

Distance Driven: c. 150 km

Photographs Taken: Many hundreds. Mostly Italian rivers and mountains.

Trains (and buses)

This was my fourth visit to Italy over the last 18 months - and they've all been by train, although no two trips have been the same.  

This month the trip started with the long day from London via Paris to Turin - the downside was the continuing need for a rail replacement bus to get around the still-blocked Frejus rail tunnel.  The upside was waking up in a Turin hotel room on a sunny Saturday morning with a chilled day ahead.  We probably wouldn't have been quite so relaxed if we'd known that the Sunday was the latest strike day on the Italian Railways! 

Friday evening in Turin

Strike Day Sunday in Turin

Boario Terme, Val Camonica, Lombardy

Despite the fact that these regular Italian jaunts sound like an ideal holiday, there is a serious purpose behind the trips.  Some of you will know that I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease a couple of years ago, and that Boario Terme is the home of the European Parkinson's Therapy Centre.  The Centre doesn't promise a cure but it does help one live better with Parkinson's.  Aside from exercise regimen, it's a splendid excuse to top up on good Italian food, decent Italian wine - and some warm Italian sunshine.  I expect to be back at the Centre again next May, and next Autumn.  And the following Spring and Autumn..

Parc Terme in Boario

Day out to Edolo in the Val Camonica, as were the Vespa Club of Pisogne

Bridge over the River Oglio in Boario

Val Gardena, Sud-Tirol

Having survived (thrived!) a two week stay in Boario Terme, it seemed right to add in some real holiday time.  The first stop was in Ortisei in Val Gardena - a delightful wee town in the heart of the Dolomites, with lots of cable car options to take the grind out of the high level walks.

Ortisei in Val Gardena

The high tops of the Dolomites have a fairy tale quality particularly with a dusting of fresh snow

Stubai Tal, Tirol, Austria

The next (and final) stop was in the Stubai Valley in western Austria (just a few miles south of Innsbruck).     This was one of several mountain trips that we had booked for Summer 2020, that got disrupted by the pandemic.

At the top of the Stubai Valley

Next month, more time in the Stubai Valley, and there might even be some pictures from Oxford.