We celebrated Chris’s birthday a little early this year by heading to the Ryder Cup at the end of September.  For all of you non-golf followers out there, the Ryder Cup is a biennial tournament between a team from Europe and a team from The United States.  This year, the tournament was held just outside of Paris, and Chris decided that there was no better way to celebrate his 31st birthday than by cheering on our favorite Stars and Bars golfers.

Lodging: Having been to Paris twice this summer, we opted for a small bed and breakfast outside the city but close to Le Golf National (this is actually the name of the course and not our obnoxious way of pronouncing ‘golf’ like Pepe Le Pew).  The B&B was quintessentially French – cozy but simple interior design, lovely gardens, and hosts which were generous and kind but who also spoke no English.  It was perfect.  The town, on the other hand, was a little less charming, but in the end, we weren’t there for the town but rather for the golf.

The Upsides of the Tournament: Le Golf National is a relatively new course and was built with spectatorship in mind.  Many of the holes are constructed so that viewers could watch from a stadium-like arena without having to be in artificially constructed grandstands.  This, coupled with perfect weather, made for optimal viewing, and we were lucky enough to see many of our favorite golfers up close and personal.  The Ryder Cup is also one of the rowdier tournaments around, and though we were certainly outnumbered by Europeans, we still managed to get in a few good U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A chants.

The (ever-so-slight) Downsides of the Tournament: The Ryder Cup was unfortunately slammed with people, and because there are only four groups of golfers in each round of play, there were a lot fewer holes with live action at any given time than in a traditional tournament.  We had a good tactic of skipping ahead a few holes to maximize our viewing, but this led to a bit of downtime (which was a blessing in disguise considering the bathroom and concession lines).  In the end, the only real downside was that the good guys couldn’t pull off a W and keep the cup back home in The States.

The Cherry on Top: In reality, the golf was good, but the company was better.  Thanks to the power of social media, we learned that Chris’s high school friend, Johnny, and his wife, Caroline, would be flying over from DC to attend the Ryder Cup on the same day.  What are the odds?!  We had an absolute blast catching up, and we were once again reminded that the world is a lot smaller than it seems.

 

At the end of September, we joined our buddies Mike, Mary, Jose, and Andrea for one final hiking and climbing adventure in the Dolomites … and it was awesome.  But before we get into the details of the trip, we feel that a little explanation of ‘huts’ may be needed.

Throughout Europe, there is an extensive network of huts used by hikers, climbers, and depending on accessibility, non-extreme individuals alike who are looking for a rustic mountain escape.  The quality and luxury vary from hut to hut, but there are typically a few common factors:

1. Blankets and pillows are provided by the hut, but travelers are responsible for linens.  Given the nature of our trip (lots of hiking and climbing), we were conscious of the weight and size of our bags.  As such, we used sleep sacs (basically sleeping bags but made only of cotton) and shammy towels.  These compact linens allowed us to keep our packs small and light (which allowed for a much-needed bottle of booze).
2. Huts usually come with half-board.  As relative newbies to huts, we can’t say that the following applies to every establishment, but the places we stayed in had fabulous food.  Considering we were thousands of meters in the mountains sometimes with no gondola or car access (definitely never, ever both), the food they turned out was pretty spectacular.
3. Showers are optional.  The first hut we stayed in charged €3.50 for a shower which consisted of 25 liters of hot water.  It was just enough to rinse off a days worth of grime and sweat, and it was money well spent.
4. Most huts prohibit hiking/climbing shoes inside their establishment, but they also realize that these are likely the only shoes that travelers have.  Consequently, they provide house slippers for every guest.  It’s a wonderful little luxury.
5. Sleeping arrangements are typically in a dormitory style, and whether you’re in a small room with friends or sharing a large room with strangers, earplugs are a must.

Huts now explained, here’s a general overview of our 3-day, 2-night amazing adventure through the Dolomites:

Day 1: Up to Rifugio Lagazuoi

Day 1 was a very early morning.  We left Basel before 5-am and were able to catch up with our pals from Zurich on the road.  After a 7-hour car ride and a few stops for errands (country vignettes, maps, car parks, etc.), we finally arrived at the base of the mountain around 2-pm and began our adventure up into the mountains.  The first part of our ascent was a Via Ferrata, and while it was less difficult than other courses we’ve climbed, the Dolomites style presented its own challenges.  This style, apropos to our location, has fewer steel supports than the French/Swiss style.  There is still a steel line to which we were always clipped into, but the hand and foot holds for climbing are mostly natural.  As such, the responsibility is more on the climber and less on the course designer.  This difference took a little while to get used to, but in the end, we both now prefer this au naturel style.

After finishing our first climb, we still had a rather demanding hike ahead of us.  We don’t know how many meters we had to climb, but we do know that it was about an hours worth of very steep, uphill hiking.  Generally speaking, we don’t really like hiking (we both tend to get a little bored … and sometimes lost), but this trip was a little different.  For starters, the scenery was absolutely stunning, and to top it all off, we passed a few preserved WWI bunkers along the way.  Very cool stuff.

We finally arrived at the hut just before sundown, and after a much-needed shower, we settled in for a tasty dinner, a couple of dice games, and an overall enjoyable evening with pals.

Day 2: Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Dibona

Day 2 was another early start.  We dined with the rising sun and were headed down the mountain before our legs and minds really had time to process the days promised physical challenges.  After about 90 minutes of hiking, we found ourselves at the start of our next Via Ferrata.  At first glimpse, the start was a little ominous looking – tiny ladders leading straight up into a dark tunnel.  But we put on our gear and ventured ahead.  The tunnels are actually left over from WWI and were used by the Allies to quickly and safely traverse the mountain without enemy detection.  The tunnels and line are all well maintained, but a headlamp and climbing gear were essential.  We spent about 20 minutes hunched over, relying solely on our headlamps and the steel line to bring us out safely to the other side of the mountain.

The rest of the Via Ferrata was much like the previous day – full of incredible views and awesome climbing opportunities.  We finished our climb in the early afternoon with enough time to summit the peak; however, we were a little worried about the weather, so we decided after a quick photo shoot to head straight down to our hut for the night.  Unlike the first day, our afternoon hike was all downhill, but we would both argue (perhaps Sarah more fervently so) that down is way harder than up.  We arrived at the hut exhausted and ready for a much-deserved adult beverage.

Day 3: Down and Back Up to Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Our last day was just the most perfect weather, and none of us wanted to waste a day in the car.  As such we hiked down to our cars and decided to drive across a valley and up to Tre Cime di Lavaredo before heading back home.  After two solid days of hiking and climbing, our legs were all pretty sore, but we pushed through for one final hike.  We will let the pictures below speak for themselves.

Final Goodbyes

Sadly, this was our last adventure with our dear friends, Mike and Mary.  They have since moved back to the states and are settling into their new lives in Atlanta.  We will miss them dearly but are happy to have had one final epic adventure together.

“Hello.  It’s me.  I was wondering if after all these…” months.  Adelle has never been more right.  It’s been months since our last post, and, as you can imagine, a lot has happened since then.

We will attempt to bring you up to speed in a four-part series, titled Catching Up with the Milnes (not to be confused with the lesser known Keeping up with the Kardashians).  For part 1, we actually made a video of a long weekend during which our buddy, Mike Fletcher, visited.  Enjoy.

Euro Adventures Video