Day 45 & 46: Valtellina vino days

Two days of rest in Valtellina

So our rest days in Valtellina looked a little different than the ones we had before. Except for the necessary things like laundry 🧺, groceries and cleaning 🧼 the bikes 🚲 of course. We started the day with this amazing breakfast at wine hotel Retici Balzi with all kinds of bread 🍞🥖, local fruit 🍎🍇🍑, homemade cakes 🍰, yoghurt from the Sondrio cows and fresh eggs 🍳🥚.

Afterwards Lotte and Lars took us to this 234 meters long suspension bridge hanging 140 metres above the Valley. Well don’t go there if you are scared of heights. Mas wasn’t happy, Suuz seemed to be okay. Luckily for Mas we walked all the way down to a dam so she did not have to go back again over that scary piece of bridge. The dam was pretty cool, actually the whole area was. We were surrounded by all green mountains tops 🏔. It was a feast to walk around and just enjoy the view. 

We drove back via the Strada del vino, this road is amazing. You have to be a little tough to drive over there since some parts are insanely winding and narrow, but luckily Lotte Verstappen had some good training in Italian driving over the years and she doesn’t scare easily. The view was absolutely phenomenal, vine branches growing high up on the mountains, Sondrio all the way down in the Valley, it was an absolute treat.

Back in the hotel we had a nice glass of something sparkling before we went to the restaurant next door to the hotel. Talking about a treat. Being in this area with two people who know their wine and everything about the local specialties is pretty great. The food in this restaurant was amazing again and the view wasn’t too bad either. They use all local products and serve mouthwatering specialties like blueberry gnocchi with hazelnuts and Parmesan cheese.

Gnocchetti mirtillo 😍

The day after we drove into Sondrio to stroll around and explore the city a bit. Ok and to have another delicious gelato 🍧 at cafe Liberty. We also went into a small and well-known specialty store selling many of the region’s delicacies, including Bitto cheese, Bresaola and beautiful wines stored in their dark and stinky cellars.

Afterwards, we hopped back into the car and drove to a small village called Girola Alta that is famous for its Bitto cheese 🧀. We walked around the village high up in the mountains and bought quite some cheese to try later. Afterwards, we drove further up the mountain and walked around on a hiking trail for a while. This would be a perfect place to go hiking 🥾, but since we are on a bike trip we need to save the legs 🦵🏼.

Lotte drove us back over numerous hair pin turns on narrow mountain roads and along the Rocce Rosse, an even smaller road through the vineyards known for the red cactus figs growing on the roadside. It was breathtaking. We can’t believe there aren’t more tourists in this area since it’s absolutely fantastic, especially if you like wine 🍷, cheese 🧀 and mountains 🏔, but then again, we hope it stays like this.

Back in the hotel Suuz and I jumped in the jacuzzi with an amazing view over Sondrio and stayed in for more than an hour. In the meantime Lotte bought all these great local products in some of her favourite stores and we had a lovely picknick on their huge balcony that night. We emptied a few bottles of wine 🍷while eating and playing cards ♣️. It was already after midnight when we jumped into bed 🛏. We get back on the bikes again tomorrow. It’s gonna be a long day and we have to cycle along the Como lake, something we are a little scared of cause it might be busy. But first a good sleep! We will see Lotte and Lars again in La Morra in a few days, but first Suuz her parents 🧑🏼🧔🏻will pay us a visit! Excited!

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