As I explained in Part I, after I had mapped out the feature meal stops on my trip to Valle d' Aosta, I had to go about figuring what to do in between. Well, what better way to appreciate the mountains then by hopping on a bike and touring them by your own sweat & blood? So, searching the map from La Clusaz (3,900 ft) I picked up an interesting looking route that would take me along the Valley of Great Saint Bernard and up a mountain pass to the Swiss border at an altitude of 8,100 feet. Little did I expect what I would discover when I got there.
Here are a few shots riding up the valley. I couldn't have asked for a better day, cool temps and beautiful skies helped keep me in a good mood,
... even when I saw signs like this ...
But, the climbing didn't get really tough until I cleared the tree line. You can see the long switch-backs snaking up the moutain side, leading to the pass. The road runs back to the dark ridge you see on the right side of the picture and to within a couple hundred feet of its crest,
... just beyond it lies the Hospice of Gran San Bernardo
I was surprised to discover that I had arrived a quite the destination. I had hardly met any traffic coming up the Italian side; but, there where lots of visitors who I suppose came mostly from the Swiss-side. It turns out that's the direction from whence Napolean came, on his way to trounce the Austrians in 1800. Here's the Little General posing for some kiss-up named Jacques-Louis David in "Napolean Crossing the St. Bernard Pass".
Here's my version, called "Ole' Paint Crossing the Saint Bernard Pass", which I took after we had descended to the bottom of the Swiss-side valley and crawled our way back-up
... for lunch, of course.
However, I couldn't help but wonder, "What's all the barking about?" To my most pleasant surprise, I discovered that the monks who maintained the hospice were the ones who bred the Great Saint Bernard to rescue avalance victims and guide travelers safetly through blinding snow storms. A small museum maintains their history, where you can learn about real-life Super-Dog heros like "Barry" (who saved over 40 lives), study honest-to-goodness St Bernard artifacts (like doggie-snow-goggles)
... and, make your own honest-to-goodness Great Saint Bernard friends.
4 comments:
Nicky asks to have his application sent to the appropriate dog recruiters. Although a bit short on stature, he has a lot of enthusiasm.
Zio Tony, you can't do much better than to find a loyal, even saintly companion who carries booze for you. Glad the book is helping. The food photos are making my mouth water--I hope you haven't had to switch to a wider bicycle seat. Thanks for the vicarious thrills & keep 'em coming.
Zio Tony: Quit slacking off with insanely challenging bike rides and long, gourmet lunches and get writing.
Your fans are anxiously awaiting the next post of insightful observations of Italian culture and history facts.
Count me in as part of the fan club; you're living the life I'm supposed to be having
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