"But you're not taking holiday in August?"

"Where are you going for holiday?" is the must-have question this time of the year. For most people here it seems inconceivable not to go on holiday in August, and Turin - just like Rome - has become completely deserted. But to me, it's the best time of the year not to take holidays. Towns are blisfully relaxed and traffic-free, work gives space to breathe, and with the practically endless possibilities for short trips in the north-west of Italy it's easy to feel on holiday every weekend. Plus, avoiding crowded tourist destinations seems like the sensible thing to do.

Our Iran trip back in May (on which I'll eventually finish the remaining posts) satisfied our immediate travel cravings, and we wanted a summer of exploring some of the huge array of mountain options around Turin, and settling into our new house (it took us only two months to buy towels).

With our wonderful Rospo (Ropušák), new boundaries opened ahead of us, and though we didn't get to do as much as we originally thought, the overall balance of the summer so far is more than satisfying.

The usual last-minute (i.e. Friday evening) planning: so where shall we go tomorrow?

In the Alps it's easy to go high (both in altitude and as state-of-mind). Already the first trip of the summer brought me higher than I had been in Europe before - even in spite of an initial hiccup ("did I turn off the gas?" is an inconvenient doubt to have 2 hours drive from Turin, and 45 min walk from the nearest point with mobile network; fortunately - following a mad sprint down to find mobile network - a willing friend went to verify and confirm that I had turn it off). Doom scenario averted, we set off again (so much for waking up at 6am to have an early start)...

Panic averted, and we go up again

Towards Col Leynir

... and were still in time to make it to the end point - Mt Taou Blanc, in the Gran Paradiso national park. At 3438m, it felt quite high.

And the view from Mt Taou Blanc, up at 3438m

The toll of the late second start was a bad sunburn on my legs - thoroughly covering myself in suncream, I somehow forgot that I also had legs - which left me with red-leggins-effect for a week, and an interesting stripy tan for the rest of the summer. At least it helps me maintain uniqueness in the land of the perfect tans that Italy is.

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To raise the level, Miky picked the next outing to be My First Glacier. Glaciers are hard to avoid in the north-west, and they are scary and spectacular at the same time.

The Rutor glacier, one of the biggest ones in Valle d'Aosta - with our destination on the top

Mercifully, he chose an easy target - Testa del Rutor at the end of the Valle d'Aosta - where the main difficulty was the 2000m elevation gain and the overall length.

It all turned out to be unsuspectingly spectacular. The first day was a pleasant hike up to rifugio Deffeyes, with plenty of time to then check out the lakes around...

The view from the rifugio Deffeyes. Well chosen spot.

... and the following morning, after an early start...

We started off with headlamps, but by the time we reached the glacier there was already light

And then, sunrise over Monte Bianco (aka Mt Blanc)

... we eventually reached the Testa del Rutor (a particularly unappealing name, in my opinion), at 3486m, with views of Monte Bianco (to everyone but Italians more commonly known as Mt Blanc).

On the top of Testa del Rutor, the highest peak surrounding the Rutor glacier

... and down again

... and still down, all 2000m.

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A trip in Miky's native Dolomiti has been pending for a good while now - always displaced by unforeseen changes or obligations. A serious one continues to be pending, but at least we managed to squeeze in an unplanned tour of the impressive Tre Cime di Lavaredo. They are three giganting rock teeth, reminiscent of the Tres Torres.

Dolomiti di Sesto. So very different from the Alps in the north-west corner

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

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To keep our outings varied, last weekend we added a ferrata in the Valtournenche, north of the Valle d'Aosta. I hadn't realised that we had the Cervino (to everyone but Italians more commonly known as Matterhorn) an hour and half from home, and I hadn't realised either what an impressive sight it makes.

Cervino (aka Matterhorn)

Together with the approach and the descent it made for a long day...

A ferrata with the view of the Matterhorn... seriously?!

Coming down from Colle di Vofrède

A well-deserved rest at the Gran Lago

 

... but the scenery, and then the night in an amazing tiny bivacco with breathtaking views made it really worth it.

Bivacco Manenti, our home for the night

Equally spectacular view in the evening...

... as in the morning

Good morning!

This is not fake - and it's not even processed

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It hasn't been all about mountains, of course. There was also a lot of wine and friends.

The wedding season brought us to a wedding in Veneto...

A lovely wedding in spite of the almost 40°C and a million percent humidity

... immediately followed by a family one in the Czech Republic, in Litomyšl...

And a week later, if possible an even more lovely wedding, in spite of the almost 15°C and cold wind

Litomyšl castle - one of the biggest Renaissance castles in the Czech Republic - hosting an annual classical music festival

... which we connected with a quick visit of Prague.

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first Czechoslovak president. "Not to be afraid, not to lie, and not to steal." It seems easy enough - why are we struggling with this even nowadays?

So overall, I really don't mind "not taking holidays" in August :-)

Oh and in case you feel inspired - we have a (reportedly comfortable) sofa-bed, a stock of real prosecco, finally also those damn towels, and like welcoming guests :-)