It is 4:00am and the 'Movistar' ringtone suddenly awakens me as it echoes right through the paper thin walls of my little Italian apartment.  Considering I had only fallen asleep 3 hours earlier, I could barely get up enough energy to turn the thing off (and yes Movistar is the name on my cellphone).  In just 5 hours, one loaded backpack, and a tour bus, me and my roommates headed to the Italian Alps for an unforgettable weekend adventure.

We finally got to the highest town on the Italian alps called Madonna Di Campiglio.  The drive up there was beautiful (when I wasn't sleeping).  Once you left the city, your were just surrounded by the Tuscan country side.  Green hills and farmlands lined the highway with scattered homes about.  Just wished we could have pulled over so I can get a better look at those beautiful farmhouses! But we did have the chance to see the sunrise which is something I can't remember ever seeing (no one should ever voluntarily be awake that early).

Anyhow, once we reached the town, we stepped out of the bus and began our lovely 8 mile hike through the Alps in 50 degree weather. Although ill-equipped for such conditions (dressing warm is quite the broad term), the hike was still the most beautiful thing ever. We hiked about 3 or 4 miles and stopped as the most amazing waterfall.  Although not large, it was an incredible sight.  We even got a chance to walk underneath it! Right across from the waterfall was this tiny little bar (bar means coffee shop in Italy) that served the best little cappuccinos. We relaxed there for a good while then began our hike even further up the mountains.

After the 8 mile hike we got back on the bus and headed for our hotel in the city of Trentino. We stayed at Hotel America (so fitting I presume).  At that point anything was better than sleeping on a bus for fives hours! Once we got checked into the hotel we headed downstairs to have a group dinner.  The food was decent, nothing spectacular but it was food. After dinner we thought it would be a great idea to go walk around the city.  Trentino is quite the bore at night but we managed to find this African festival (who would have thought).  They were playing some pretty awesome traditional African music and the front row of spectators were just going to it. It was pretty legit but too many creepers were there so we left and decided to crash for the night.

The next morning we headed to the Garda Lake to the town called Sirmione. The views were breathtakingly beautiful. If you are looking for somewhere different yet with a touch of the Mediterranean vibe, Garda Lake is the place to choose. The beaches are not very crowded and you are located in the middle of the Italian Alps.  The views just can't get any better. We first entered into this old castle called Rocca Scaligera.  I got some amazing photos from the top of the castle. You could see the entire bottom half of the lake.  At the moment I wish I had one of those crazy cool cameras and was a professional photographer so that you could see exactly what I was looking at and capture it to its full beauty.








We got back on the bus and headed for Verona.  Now Verona is apparently the city of love where Romeo and Juliet began. Well thats all a lie, sorry to break it to you! The balcony was built in the 1930's I believe and the story did not even originate in Verona! But we only spent   only 2 hours in Verona which was a disappointment because the city is beautiful and all the buildings are so ornate.



Well that is a little bit about my weekend adventure.  This following weekend is Pisa/Siena a Florentine soccer game and Cinque Terre!

Ciao until next time!

Beatrice