On our last day in Lake Garda most of the group headed for a day in the Trentino Dolomites; this area of northern Italy is famous for its ski slopes in winter and outstanding mountainous scenery all year round and it's very popular for hiking and cycling or just, as in our case, admiring the outstanding natural beauty of the mountains.  On the way we stopped off at the municipality of Tesero in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol where we saw an unusual tree sculptor (actually a dead tree stump) and a great view across the hills. There was even a helipad for emergencies which was the only evidence of how popular this area is for skiing during the winter.

We were heading for the Passo Pordoi which features 28 hairpin bends and was built in the beginning of the 20th century to link Bolzano with Cortina, and to encourage the development of tourism in the Ladin valleys.  This is a favourite climb for keen cyclists and we saw many die-hards struggling up the mountain and equally some incredibly brave nutters coming down at breakneck speeds.  The coach ride to the top was amazing with incredible scenery; Dee's driving round the hairpin bends was outstanding and it was noticeable how considerate other drivers were in allowing sufficient space for the coach to get round the bends.  Nevertheless as you can see from the photo taken out the back window we did have a following up the mountain.

On arrival at the Passo Pordoi, we took the cable car up to the top of the mountain (Sass Pordoi) and on such a clear day we could see for miles in all directions; a few years ago we went up the same cable car when the top was shrouded in cloud and you couldn't see the ground.  On the way up we saw some climbers who were taking the hard way up (inset).  On one side of the cable car there is what appears to be a very steep climb, only suitable for serious climbers, whilst on the other side there is a more gentle way that hikers use as a way up and down the mountain.  Either way was clearly not for us and the cable car offers a much less strenuous way to get there and back.

The views at the top are truly breathtaking and photos don't really do it justice I'm afraid.  The most notable observation when you arrive at the top is the pale colour of the rock formation which explains why the Dolomites are also called 'Monti Pallidi' in Italian or 'Pale Mountains'; they owe their unique colour to their composition of the mineral calcium magnesium carbonate, also known as 'dolostone', which is very similar to limestone.  The Dolomites owe their name to the French naturalist Déodat de Dolomieu who first discovered and then studied the rock formation which is unique to the Alpine range.  Until 1918, the Dolomites and South Tyrol belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire as did the north and eastern shores of Lake Garda.  The Treaty of St. Germain at the end of WW1 resulted in their annexation to Italy while North Tyrol remained part of Austria.

I couldn't let this opportunity pass in my holiday blog, as an ardent cyclist, to mention Fausto Coppi whose memorial is located in the Passo Pordoi.  He was a top cyclist before and after WW2 and won the Giro d'Italia five times (1940,1947,1949,1952,1953), the Tour de France twice (1949,1952), and the World Championship in 1953.  During the war he was captured by the British in North Africa and spent the rest of the war as a POW at camps in Italy; on one occasion a British cyclist, Len Levesley who was bedridden having been injured, said he was astonished to find Coppi giving him a haircut.  He was moved to an RAF base at Caserta in Italy in 1945 and when he was released he cycled and hitched lifts home; he won the Circuit of the Aces in Milan in April 1945 after four years away from racing (the ride home must have helped) and the following season he won Milan–San Remo.  A truly great cyclist.

Whilst at the top we noticed that there were many hikers who were walking away from us over the very flat top of the mountain and we discovered that about 15 minutes from us there was a 'refuge' called the Rifugio Forcella Pordoi which serves as a refreshment point, a safe haven in the winter, a small hotel and a restaurant; it is clearly a very popular destination for hikers during the summer months.  After our strenuos exertions (LOL) we returned in the cable car to base and enjoyed a lunchtime break before returning through the Passo di Sella to our hotel at Torboli for our last night in Italy.

The following day we headed on the first part of our return journey to our hotel in Darmstadt, Germany; during the drive we stopped at a very strange service station that was I think built to look like ice-cream cones - weird!!  The following day we set off on our last full day with a lunchtime cruise on the Rhine from Boppard to St Goar, which is a picturesque part of the river and includes many castles on the hills and the Lorelei Statue.  In German folklore 'Die Lorelei' is a sort of siren who, sitting on the cliff above the Rhine and combing her golden hair, unwittingly distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks. Great story for the Rhine tourist industry (LOL).

The cruise included lunch and although the setting for lunch was OK, unfortunately the food and service was poor and led us to make a formal complaint for the first time ever on our coach holidays; they brought us the wrong colour wine and weren't happy to change it and then proceeded to serve our snitzels 10 minutes before the chips which were insufficient for 7 people.  At least the company of our eating companions Sheila and Margaret (sorry I don't know your surnames) and Pat Jones helped to make up for the poor service - three very loveley ladies.  You can see what I thought of it all.

We proceeded to our final hotel in Belgium and then home (always the worst part) at the end of another great Leger holiday.  I will remember especially the towns of Riva and Sirmioni on Lake Garda, our final visit to Venice and our one and only ride in a gondola (too expensive), our first visit to Verona and the slight disappointment of Juliet's balcony (made just for visitors) and the ignonimity of Romeo's house (now a private dwelling) and the magnificence of the Trentino Dolomites with it's beautiful scenery and those incredible climbs for the cyclists.  But most of all I will remember the holiday for being with such good friends as Nick and Olwen and once again an excellent Leger Silver Service...Mike