A few days have passed since my last post.
Some good walks from the Lagorai Hotel through beautiful Cavalese down to Lago di Tesero.
Walking through the park at the lower end of town with the most beautiful church, very pretty in the very deep snow! Then dropping down in the Alpe Cermis telecabine to the bottom of the valley, and walking alongside the XC trails. Stopped in Masi for coffee on day 2, waded through deep snow, and finally arrived after an hour or so, better for the exercise! The villages in the bottom of the valley are real, lived-in farming areas, with a delicious smell of cows and woodsmoke.
Some more ski jumping, and on Tuesday a really enjoyable dinner in Predazzo with all the ski jumping judges, accompanied by an outstanding opera singer from the Milan Opera House whose name (I was assured) was Giuseppe Veneziano, but may not have been.
Many more Norwegian medals, another medal ceremony in Cavalese along with hundreds and hundreds of people. Fast getting the hang of the NOR national anthem. Sverre Seeberg one of the happiest guys around!
Enjoyed the spectacular arrival last night of the King of Sweden to our hotel in a cavalcade of six cars with a shed-load of luggage, had wondered why there had been a young man hanging around outside my door. The King is sleeping just along the corridor, and my room is under guard all night - presumably to stop him entering! His daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, has been here for two days, with husband and baby.
A good dinner with Ivo Greger, vet / SJ Asst TD from Liberec last night - very pleased that I know so many of these guys now. Everything seems a whole lot easier!
Hard to believe that there are only two more days before I leave, the whole thing has been just magical! Very much helped by the fact that the medical guys are always in the right place, and that they have had very little to do! I took Nicoletta to the top of the high jump, all she could say was 'o, mamma mia'! Dr Nardelli has been great, friendly and helpful, and very (exclusively) Italian. A couple of rides with Sarah Lewis have put some GBR skiing issues to rights!
View from the window of my room in the Hotel Lagorai, looking towards Lago di Tesero:
Will post pictures and some amazing video when I get home!
