9/16/09 Cortina D’ Ampezza (Day 1)

Another weather delay. The morning started with serious overcast and then went to rain. And it rained hard all day. A couple of people ventured out for a ride and thought it was miserable. I had one of the best days of the trip. We had breakfast and then took a walk into town hoping the stores would open when they were expected to. Cortina is very upscale. There is nothing on sale. As a matter of fact things are marked up because it’s Cortina. Of course I don’t know that for fact but there is a paucity of “On Sale” signs. The day started off on a positive note when I found a matching jersey and shorts that I’d been looking for the entire trip (perfect combinations of blue and white). The sky could not have matched the colors better.

I spent the rest of the day curled up on a couch in the lobby of our hotel with great reading, writing, and blogging. I made my trip to the Café Royale and had a gin and tonic and experienced some Americans causing a commotion regarding expresso’s versus cappuchino’s versus a cup of coffee. The barista had her nice quiet afternoon interrupted by these time consuming Americans who eventually asked her if she could direct them to some “authentic” Italian food. Mind you in my 4 weeks in both France and Italy I haven’t seen a McDonalds or a Burger King. I’m sure they meant to ask for some “traditional” Italian food.