Weather: blue sky sunny, and hot - 34C in Sondrio.
We slept well in our silk liners on Markus's double bed whilst he rustled on a Thermarest.
Coffee and linzertorte set us up for the leisurely drive to Chiesa.
It's just 170 miles. Scenic miles. Swiss motorway, then the Julienpas, with a pause at Hotel Edelweiss to allow further depleting of our dwindling reserves of Swiss Francs, took us to St Moritz. After that the Bernina Pass to Tirano is accompanied by a wonderful scenic narrow gauge railway line, and Tirano itself warrants a longer visit than our lunchtime excursion to 'Bar Tourist'.
Outside the bar a 16th century church, Basilica Madonna di Tirano, sported as many reliefs and paintings as any church we can recall. A wonderful place with the most amazing sculpted wood embracing the organ and the pulpit.
A short drive under a clear blue sky took us onwards to Chiesa by 4 pm, and Hotel la Betulla. Our car, my bike, and our excess baggage will live here for over a week whilst Sue and I tramp the paths of the Alta Via of the Valmalenco.
Sorting gear, a wander around town, pizzas and a bottle of earthy Rosso di Valtellina at Bar Dunvegan, was all we had time for before crashing out.
Today's pictures:
Sue near the summit of Julienpas
A view towards Piz Bernina from the Bernina Pass road
Basilica Madonna di Tirano
Reliefs etc inside the incredibly ornate Basilica
The view from our balcony in Chiesa
Gee Martin, you are having it tough. Enjoy the weather, its not so good here although yesterday we did have a bit of summer. Today its back to grey and wet.
ReplyDeleteYou and Sheila would enjoy this 'AVV' route. The weather is slowly deteriorating here, but it's still a lovely place to be.
ReplyDelete