Venice is one of the most often visited places on earth. The tourists have invaded this tiny island and this trend shows a steady growth. I visited it many times before but last weekend, for the first time ever, I visited in the winter time. I thought that the pouring rain will discourage the tourists and I shall have Venice to myself but I was so wrong! Many tourists, Italians and internationals, visit this place irrespectively the weather conditions. If you ever wanted to know how is winter in Venice and whether it is worth to try, read this post. The literature For me and many other readers, the literature is what attracts us to this particular city. I loved a wonderful piece of prose titled Watermark in English and Fondamenta degli Incurabili in Italian. If you haven’t read this book I strongly encourage you to do so. In my opinion, this is the best book about Venice ever written. Josif Brodsky, the author, Nobel Prize winner, spent in Venice seventeen winters in a row. He always visited the island in the worst possible weather: foggy, rainy and with the high level of water called in Italian aqua alta. Evocative, suggestive and despite the horrible weather conditions the books praises the city of Venice. It’s all about the water – the author is convinced about the importance of this element in our lives. He sees beauty everywhere and last weekend in a pouring rain I saw exactly the same thing. Travel with books I often follow footsteps of my favourite authors and I was excited that I will finally visit Venice in winter. Reading aloud the quotes from Watermark was a truly fascinating experience. I swear I felt the smell of seaweed the moment I stepped into the city and saw the first canal. I was totally amazed how intense the emotions evoked by this book were. I can sincerely say now that I consider Venice one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. In wintertime, of course.  

The post Winter in Venice appeared first on Null & Full.

The dream of every skier is the white sparkled hillside and no speed limits. The wind in your hair and sun shining straight into your eyes is something that many of us are waiting for the whole year. Val di Fassa is a place when you can have it all! The snow is almost always there PLUS there is something that Austria, France and Switzerland is missing: THE SUN! The majority of the hills in Italy is inclined to the south. It means that if you ski in Val di Fassa the sun is shining almost ALL day! The Dolomites cover a considerable terrain of the northeast of Italy. The mountains are magnificent. High, rocky, respectful. Stunning. Despite the size of the mountainous provinces it is amazingly well organized and managed. This is the real paradise of every skier. The province- Trentino Alto Adige– is also a fascinating place with rich history, ancient castles and legends about them. The Dolomites are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This autonomous region is highly distinctive from the other italian regions. People speak two languages here: German and Italian. The proximity of the Austrian border and the mountainous characteristics shared with the austrian Tirol makes these two similar. The tourism is one of the main source of income for the region and, due to its autonomy, it is also well spent on site. What you will find in Val di Fassa is a combination of small mountain towns with old churches and wooden workshops and extremely well developed ski infrastructure. Hotels, apartments, chalets and B&Bs offer accommodation of good quality providing full services for skiers like: ski schools, maintenance ski services, shuttle bus services, and a rich offer of ‘off-the-slope’ activities. I remember my first holiday in the Dolomites spent with some of my Italian friends. I was the beginner, they were advanced skiers and, I must say, this wasn’t a bad combination. Well, maybe a little. OK, I will tell you the truth: I broke my leg. But it was totally my fault. After skiing for the whole day on the moderate and easy tracks I felt I can handle the more demanding ones. And so I took a lift to Col San Margherita and went straight down using the track for advanced skiers. And there is was! I made a wrong move while turning and made an epic fall in the middle of the track. It looked like a snowstorm– as my friend confirmed later. It was funny thing because at the beginning we didn’t know that the leg was broken. You know, no blood, no cuts, it just hurt a bit but I had such high level of adrenaline in my veins that I was able to ski further! Slowly the pain was growing and in the evening it was unbearable. The X-ray taken next day clarified everything. So, I spend 6 weeks at home and another 4 on rehabilitation. Irrespectively my personal experience I recommend the ski area of San Pellegrino as it is really good and if you’re a fan of ski you will LOVE IT! I still do;-) But, this experience caught my attention and made me think about my general fitness and endurance. The broken leg was a reason of general thinking about travels and my health condition. I have never considered ski an extreme sport but suddenly it caused a serious damage instead of being a source of energy and wellbeing. I know I should not have used the track for the advanced skiers but if I was in a better shape my fall could have not caused such a serious consequence. When I was sitting at home and waiting until my leg was OK again I decided to do everything what I can to avoid such situations in the future. I know that accidents happen and can always happen and we usually have no control over it, but this event encouraged me to care for my health. So I got back to jogging. And today after couple of years since the accident I’m the best shape ever. So, learn from my experience, skip the accident part and MOVE! Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!  

The post What is the best place to ski? Val di Fassa! appeared first on Null & Full.