Buona Vita

Just back from Santa Catarina in northern Italy. The Alps were remarkable, and the skiing was wonderful. Add in the Italian culinary zest and you have a vacation which leaves an impression in your mind and another belt notch utilized on your pants.

With lift tickets at 25 euros a day and a very nice hotel for 75 euros a night, what's not to like? The only negative was our first day on the slopes which was incredibly windy. As in GALE force. This made skiing much more challenging, a sort of alpine Marcel Marceau imitation.

The remainder of the trip there was no wind, blue sky, and crisp clean snow. This led to an excess of skiing, followed by an excess of eating and drinking. Cycle repeated daily.

In order to avoid sounding like some ad for a lifestyle channel or a paid employee of the local chamber of commerce, I'll stop here. One final thought: If you have a chance to go to Santa Catarina and stay at Baita Fiorita (owned by Italian Gold Medalist Deborah Campagnoni's parents) - GO!