We are in Ortisei, a small town in South Tyrol in the very north of Italy. In fact as Ewan has explained to us, it has been Austrian for much more of its history than it has been Italian, which is reflected in many of its place names and its delightful cuisine. It’s a very pretty town with wood-carving shops, churches, a little town square, and of course it’s a ski resort, connecting to the many other ski resorts in the Dolomites. The town’s original Laden name is Urtijëi, which means “the place of nettles,” something to bear in mind if we ever return in the summer! I was interested to discover that well-known composer and music producer Giorgio Moroder was born here. Our hotel, the Luna Mondschein, is excellent, with amazing food and smart alpine decor.
I am in the unique (to me) position of spending a whole week in a ski resort without skiing. This is because of the pain and numbness in my wrist. Although disappointed not to be skiing, and concerned that my wrist feels so painful a full ten weeks after its break, Ortisei has turned out to be an attractive place to spend time. There are quite a few cafés and shops, and a large and excellent swimming pool which also has an outside pool, a flume, steam room and jacuzzi. I spent a couple of very pleasant hours there this morning, and I’m hoping that swimming will be good for my healing bones! I then walked five minutes to the main gondola which lifted me up to a lovely restaurant overlooking the ski slopes. It was sunny and beautiful with spectacular mountains. Soon I was joined by birthday boy James, Heather and Ewan, and we all had a hearty lunch. The others had enjoyed a very good first day and skied down the big red to the resort after lunch; I took the gondola down and strolled back to the hotel. Après-ski drinks were followed by showers and in James’ case a birthday nap!
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