Castelrotto (Castelruth) - Dolomites Gateway

After a fabulous buffet breakfast we packed up the car (or rather Jeff did again) and we boarded the 10 minute ferry from Bellagio to Varenna to head up toward the Dolomites. I had thought (and at the time Jeff sounded like he agreed) it would be worth the additional 2 hours to take the more "scenic" back country road through the Alps to the Dolomites; however we didn't think we would be behind a construction truck nor that the road would be under construction so at times only one lane would be open and we'd have to wait for on-coming traffic to clear.

Needless to say what could have been 4 hours on the freeway took about 7!! But it was gorgeous and we drove right next to the boarder of the Swiss Alps and through little towns.

We spent 2 nights in Castelrotto at a really cute, Austrian ginger bread house with a huge balcony overlooking the mountains. Oddly we were the only people at the hotel - the tourist season really doesn't start until late July/August. It was beautiful and a lot cooler - about 75-80F.

Our 2nd day there we took a chair lift up to a high alpine meadow with cows, horses and sheep - just like what you'd picture in the Sound of Music. We took a small hike and ate lunch. Was gorgeous and Morgan loved it. It was very kid friendly with playgrounds and lots of places to picnic.