Driving into the mountains surrounding Lake Como, serpentining down a very curvy road to the lake and enjoying a peaceful ferry ride were all part of getting us to Bormio, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, where our intrepid cyclists would depart for their ride up the Gavia pass. Bormio is mere kilometers away from the Swiss boarder. It is very clean, very organized, very unlike the south. It was refreshing for us to see the alpine style of houses and it reminded us a lot of southern Germany and Austria. We just might have to travel back during the winter to ski!
The view from behind our hotel...a ski slope within walking distance!
Oh, we tried cured venison one night...not too bad.
A very picturesque view out our hotel window toward some of the mountains...isn't that little chapel amazing with this background!
Eileen was pretty happy to be done with the drive so she stretched out on one of the chairs at the hotel and soaked up some of the last rays of sun for the day.
FYI: Besides skiing, the town is known for hot springs and thermal baths that used to draw wealthy Romans. It was also a stop on the main trading route from Venice to Switzerland.
Bormio is a regular stop on the World Cup ski circuit, usually with a men's downhill in late December. The Pista Stelvio, named after the nearby Stelvio Pass, is one of the most challenging downhill courses in the world. It is second-longest course on the World Cup circuit, behind only the Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland. For the December 2010 World Cup race, the Stelvio had a vertical drop of 1010 m (3314 ft.) on a course length of 3.27 km (2.03 mi.); the winning time was just under two minutes. *
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bormio
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bormio
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