We made it to the Dolomites, and finally it's 18 degrees instead of 36. The views here are unbelievable. We're staying in a house where the owner, Luca, is clearly a bit OCD or on the spectrum. Everything is extremely neat and well thought out. The mattresses are good, the shutters close tightly, there's a special little jar for soap, tons of cabinets, and everything is wooden. The Wi-Fi password is written in capital letters on a piece of paper. There's even a foil and cling wrap cutter in the kitchen!
We were met by the cleaning lady, who informed us that the fridge shouldn't be adjusted, the gas needs to be shut off when leaving, the thermostat shouldn't be turned on because it's warm enough as it is, and so on and so forth. Luca clearly craves savings and control. There are also plenty of drawers labeled Privato, and they're locked. There are about ten Turkish coffee pots, which are called cezve here. But there's no electric kettle to be found.
Part of our crew came down with altitude sickness, so I headed up the Tofana Di Mezzo peak (3200 meters) alone, and even hiked almost to the very summit. Oddly enough, it wasn't as terrifying this time as it was in Romania. Maybe because of the cables stretched along the trail, or maybe because of the sunglasses making the surroundings feel less real. I met a friendly dog along the way; it doesn't have altitude sickness, and the height doesn't scare it. At the top I had some tea, as one should. Just as I roughly estimated, the cable car to the summit and back cost me 60 euros. Not cheap, but it's almost impossible to get up there on foot, and the beauty is staggering.