 |
| Ready to Ride |
 |
| yes, that is a boude |
 |
| Tiny shower, but at least it was hot!! |
After the factory visits, we arrived at our hotel San Giacomo. It felt more like a very homey bed and breakfast, doubling as a spa. Yes, that means we had free access to the pools, steam rooms and saunas - Perfect cure to rejuvenate our bodies after being on the slopes all day.
I shared a cute room with Brenna – the bed was unbelievably comfortable and warm, and it was soooo nice to finally be able to take a long and very hot shower. Since energy costs in Italy are something like 3 times that of the US, I have to watch my shower time and it is only kind of warm-hot. I’ve simply been glad it hasn’t been cold. Also, Italians don’t heat their houses that much, so when it’s been snowing, it has been freezing inside too… So it was so nice to not be cold while I’m inside for once.
 |
| Magico Camilo, our magician.. |
All the dinners we had in the Alps were amazing. I had a different type of meat and pasta and veggies every night. One of the nights after dinner, there was a magic show (grant it, geared toward the children, but it was still entertaining) and we later had our own wine and cheese night with the group. We also had a bingo night the hotel put on and then we had the discoteca to ourselves.
I was pretty rusty on the snowboarding, for one, and then I’m going down icy black diamonds… Oh boy, it was terrifying. I was on my butt quite a lot… so when I fell, I just enjoyed the view of the Alps. The mountains were just magnificent. Incredibly beautiful.
 |
| Relaxation Room |
 |
| Post steam room/sauna relaxing |
The second day of boarding was significantly better. Honestly, I think it might have been some of my best runs ever. The day before, I did a LEGIT BELLYFLOP onto the ground. No, I did not just face plant, I FLEW through the air, and came straight, on my stomach, knocking all the wind out of me. It took me a good minute or two of heavy heaving to regain my breath. I definitely racked up quite a lot of bruises on my knees as well. The second day, though, my falls never stopped me; I essentially fell but kept going. So eating it quite less. Well, minus the time I DID A FRONT FLIP – it was crazy. I caught my edge really hard and flew up a large mound of snow and did a legit front flip, but then somehow miraculously landed on my board and still kept going. #professional
It is incredible to snowboard in the Alps. Not only are the beautiful and the largest mountains I have been on, but the runs are also very long too, making your rides all the more enjoyable. After returning to Siena, I was still hurting for a few days, but totally worth it. One of our professors is a yoga instructor and she had a yoga class for us each morning on the gita and that helped significantly. Besides that I love yoga anyways. It was the perfect break after our Corso Intensivo before starting all our regular classes.
