Selva di val Gardena - 28th may

After the excitement of waking up to snow, we've had a great day. Instead of an early start to cycling we walked to the centre of town - taking photos at every turn.  It was unbelievably beautiful - all covered in snow and the sun shining.  We managed to find somewhere open for a coffee.  Most of the town is closed as it is between seasons and anything that does open - opens from 10 -12 today (Saturday). Its a very unusual part of Italy here - so much so that I asked at reception when we arrived if we were still in italy.  The area was once part of Austria and the main language spoken is German or apparently a dialect - Landin.  The people are also very German like and the contrast with our last hotel is very apparent.  Our last hotel could not have been more accommodating and helpful whereas here it is very strict with lots of rules and very specific meal times etc.  The food and wine is also very different - dumplings and strudels.

We then decided to head off to a nearby village of Osteria where we caught the cable=car up the mountain to have  lunch overlooking the snow covered mountains. Lovely!