Aw Man, I dont even know how to try and describe how damn special this trip was….. I did however try to capture a bit of it, in between playing in the snow, soaking up the kids, special moments with husband, and freezing!! Golly this place is a Winter Wonderland SnowGlobe Paradise Of Nature’s Playground dressed in White!!! I love it here.

Little Home Movie for us to watch now and then ;)

We packed the car the day before with ski clothes and tons of food and music, left at 1:30 Am, and drove from our home here in Sicily, to the San Giovanni Ferry, into mainland Italy, then NORTH- It was calling us like that voice in Frozen 2— “ Ahhhh ah ah ah….” 16 hrs, a ‘Joe Rogan with Jacob Dylan’ Podcast and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Audio Book, about 4 bathroom/ stretch breaks later, we had arrived- Seiser Alm/ Val Gardena, where we would spend our next few days! The Dolomites have been on my Radar since we first got orders here from Japan… During our last year in Nippon, we were on lockdown, and didnt make it up to the Japanese Alps like I had hoped, so I knew as soon as we could, we needed to road trip to the Alps on this side of the World…. No better time for our first trip then Christmas!

We stayed at the Gran Tubla in Ortisei- It was an apartment style so we had 3 bedrooms and a kitchen (thank golly since still no Green Passes and we can only eat so much Pizza here!), with a full balcony overlooking the ski slopes, ice skating, and what appeared to be Santa’s Village….. We had an indoor/outdoor heated pool and Sauna to warm up and play at every evening as well- BLISS. Im sure anywhere you stay here would be amazing tho, all the little hotels were so cute-

Just a short walk down a steep hill we were right in Town- Access to multiple Ski Slopes, Shops, Restaurants, Bars, and a Christmas Market! Drive in ANY direction and you will hit amazing Mountains, Views, Nature Preserves, Lakes, ETC! We spent our days riding sleds and toboggans, a horse drawn sleigh through the snow covered valleys, taking ski slopes up to the tops of the Mountains for snow ball fights and light hiking around, ice skating, sipping hot cocoa, and buying a few Hand Carved Nordic Christmas Gifts.

We visited Alpe Di Susi, Seceda, Parco Naturale Sciliar-Catinaccio, and Col Raiser to name a few areas….

Not a one of us wanted to come back to Sicily….. But hey, there is always Summer to come back!

16 hrs back home-

If you ever have the chance to visit the Dolomites, take it- dont even 2nd guess it! Its worth every penny- The people of the region are so nice- Its very Dutch, clean, charming, with endless fun- I have never seen Mountains like this in person- It really puts into perspective just how tiny we are on this Earth- How magnificent our Mother Earth is-- When I sat down to cull through the photos and footage it was like re-living this trip for a 2nd time- This part of the world filled my Soul, I cant wait to go back and discover so much more-

Till next time- xoxo

Christmas in the Italian Dolomites