From the Plains: April 2010

Howdy do.

Alex and I went to Milano (Italy) for a rest day.... it was amazing. Europe never ceases to impress.

This guy made amazing art out of vegetables.

I really liked this store's sign. I'm pretty sure they sell glasses.

The Galleria near the Duomo. (You'll see the Duomo in a sec.. just hold your horses)

The entrance to said Galleria

I want to have this bike, and ride it in Italy.

A statue of Da Vinci.

Vertical this time.

Bentley, and a converse advertisement.

A castle.

THE DUOMO

Look at the detail... it took over 400 years to build.

Brilliant.

Back to Switzerland... It's been pretty hot here lately. Trying to finish up some projects before we move on to magic wood. I've been spending my days reading, taking pics, and laying in the sun. We start climbing around sundown, and continue into the night...

Nighttime at the Salamandre boulder. (photo by Alex)

Found this guy on top of this cairn by the river.

Cairns by the river.

This is on the way to Brione, it's home of the 007 goldeneye bungee jump (the second highest bungee jump in the world)....

Check it out. (Thinking about doing it.)

Behind the Dam

A little bridge on the way to Brione...

look hard and you might see Alex.

Switzerland is a dream world.

Andrea climbing at Brione

The climbing here is world class, the rock is immaculate, and the landscape is breath taking. For me, life does not get much better.

Lake Lugano (you must click to see a larger version!)

We've been climbing a lot lately. Going to new areas and seeing some of the best boulders in the world. We even found (and did) the best boulder in the world... as far as I can tell. We got really good video of Alex doing it so expect a video in the future. He's been absolutely crushing the boulders here in Switzerland. I think he's found a really cool project for himself, Freak Brothers (8a+) at Chironico. There are two lines that I've seen this trip that make me wish I could climb better, one being Partage at Font, and the other being Freak Brothers.

Alex working Freak Brothers

The climbing here in Ticino is really cool. It's so varied, every area has slightly different stone. The scenery never ceases to amaze, and for the most part neither does the climbing. I cannot imagine a better bouldering area than Ticino.

Doug on Black Mirror (6b+) at Brione

Andrea on Black Mirror (6b+) at Brione

Doug warming up at Brione

A pleasant view at Chironico (click to make larger)

Other than all the amazing climbing we have been doing, we've also been relaxing... a lot. Every night we play cards, listen to music, and eat well. We bought some easter eggs for our land lady and she brought us a bottle of Port. As she handed it over she stated with her limited English, "Port, I am from Portugal."

Homemade pancakes with fruit and yogurt topping! Thanks Doug!

Quiche, pear salad, and garlic toast... thanks A Hah!

Port, from Portugal.

We made a day trip to one of the three castles in Bellinzona, which consisted of a whopping 30 minute walk from our house... pretty cool. We topped that off with pizza and gelato.

The view from the watchtower of the castle.

So nice.

The view from the side of the castle

The watchtower.

And last but not least, we spent a day about 25 km south of Bellinzona in a town called Lugano, hanging out by the lake, people watching, and of course eating gelato.