Day 16: Canazei

Day 16 · Canazei

I slept like a brick for almost 12 hours last night, and still decided to take today off. I woke up without the headache and feeling much better, but still just very fatigued. I think my two weeks on the road have caught up to me, and then I overdid it with a crazy hike.

So today I largely laid around finishing book number 6, but some of that time I spent at a corner cafe enjoying a cappuccino and a pastry + lunch. I haven’t really had the chance to linger for a few ours at a European cafe yet, and it was nice to do today.

I’m a little bit bummed to miss the famed Stella Rossa loop I was supposed to do today, but I needed rest more than I needed to enjoy beautiful roads. It also felt a little like squandering what may be my last sunny day for a few days, but again – I needed the rest. And my next few days are on the move, so my rest day options were looking like today or next week. I think I made the right choice as I’m ready to go to bed early again despite the lazy day.

I did head out again for dinner, this time uphill and had one of my better meals of the trip at a small and rustic restaurant a few blocks off the main drag. I had some really exquisite carpaccio, and snails in a wine sauce over polenta. Both dishes were really fabulous (which cannot be said of my lunch risotto, which was cheap and not great).

I’m also about halfway into my trip (2+ weeks), and so I’m starting to feel a little homesick. I miss my little Pinto Bean (he’s having a great time with his auntie Avory and cousin Sterling), my bed, my garden, etc. Probably to be expected that a day of stillness brings a longing for home.

Tomorrow I have 3-4 hours of riding ahead of me in possibly drizzly weather, so I’m grateful for the chance to rest up and enjoy some sunshine on my skin today. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the alps, there’s another beautiful road coming tomorrow lol.