Day 4

This is the day we leave Garmish and drive to Corvara, Italy. Amazing that we can drive just a little while and we suddenly see Italians and the sounds change. Germans are very quiet, lean over to speak to you in a whisper. The Italians are excited we are here and talk loudly and jester with their hands for everything. We drive as far as St. Christina and are stopped because of a bike race - Yes, a bikes race up the mountain and back down. It is amazing to see these crazy people, young and old who bike up these steep mountain paths for 30 miles and then back down. We had to wait for 3 hours until the race was done and so it was perfect time to have our first Italian pizza and call Ida to tell her we were in Italy! We finally get to Corvara, Italy. A beautiful mountain ski town, nestled in the mountains. The hotel is the La Perla - a very fancy hotel like none we have ever seen. Our room balcony looks out to the mountains, with ski cable cars running along side. Our room is called the "romantik" - so beautiful. At night they turn our bed down, give us fresh towels, and have slippers laying on a little white mat by our bed. Every hotel has white bathrobes and slippers to wear down to the pool.

As soon as we get to Corvara a storm hits. The lightening and thunder bounces off the mountains. The electricity went out twice - just as we were finding the pool - which incidentally is in the basement, in a cave, with waterfalls to swim behind and whirlpools in a few areas. Amazing.

Dinner is a five course meal that lasts three hours. Fancy food that is delicious - can't be described!