Sunday morning I woke up to another beautiful day in the Dolomites…but with a heavy heart, knowing it's my last day here :( I have really, REALLY loved this place…the people, the mountains, the scenery, the quiet, the activities - everything! I spent the morning getting myself packed up & ready to go while Liz did some cleaning around the chalet & then we headed off around lunchtime with Emily to go up to the top of Pralonjia Plateau.

We drove over to La Villa (& were lucky not to run into TOO many cyclists on our way over) where we caught "the bubble" i.e., one of the enclosed gondolas, up to the top of the mountains. From up there you get incredibly 360 degree views all across the mountain, & it was the perfect day for it: sunny, warm, with just a few fluffy, white clouds in the sky :)

We went for a wander through the meadows, which are MADE for frolicking! They are sprinkled with brightly coloured wildflowers & you really do expect Julie Andrew to waltz out of the forest at any moment, fling her arms open wide & start belting out "The hills are alive…" We came across some cows in field that Liz & I decided to make friends with. I patted a very friendly cow on the nose & we were getting along rather well until she tried to eat my cardigan. Now it's covered in cow slober…ugh!

We sat under a shady tree & ate out lunch & chatted for a while before deciding to start heading back down the mountain. Em had brought her mountain bike up with her so she set off ahead of Liz & I, while we hiked back down through the forest. It was a really beautiful walk, mostly meandering along through thick pine trees, although my knees were really starting to feel it by the end. We sat in the car for about 40 minutes waiting for the traffic to clear (due to the cycling race that day) & then we finally made it back home for my last night at Haus Valentin :(

Dinner was hectic as always but after all the cleaning up was done I got a chance to hang out with Liz, Callum, & Griff on the balcony, & have a good chat. Then (to Callum's absolute delight) we watched Top Gun. Awesome. I'm really gonna miss this place…