Valle d'Aosta - Italian Alps

The next stop on our journey was the Valle d'Aosta or the Aosta Valley. This is an area in the Italian Alps that is not very touristy and was a real treasure to visit. Aosta is sometimes referred to as the Rome of the Alps and we now know that is because of all the ruins that still exist from Ancient Roman times.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast call Lo Teisson(the badger). There were six rooms in the house that was once the families farm house. The granddaughter runs the place and we were treated to lovely breakfast and fun broken Enlgish/Italian conversation. There were many places we visited and ate at that did not speak English or Spanish, our two go to languages so our Italian phrase book got a workout!

Although Italy proved to be about as easy to eat gluten free as France, on our first night we had a recommendation from one restaurant of a local joint that made GF pizza. Welcome to Ristorante Pizzeria Caesar - we dined there 3 times in 4 days!! The food was great, both GF and non-GF, and they also served GF pasta that Pete was very impressed with. We had the same server each time we visited and he was a great host for us. 

We returned to the original restaurant that gave us the recommendation and let the lady (we think she is the owner) know about our success at Caesars. She asked if we were newlyweds, and after ten years we will take that as a compliment. :) She gave us a heartfelt goodbye when we left, rubbed the baby and wished us La doce vita, the good life full of pleasure. How much more pleasurable travel can be when you go off the beaten path and experience true hospitality!

Lo Teisson

downtown Aosta

GF Pizza at Caesars

GF tiramisu too!

Arch of Augustus

A little piece of road that has survived for centuries.

One of the cathedrals in Aosta

Praetorian Gate

Roman Theater

Main square in Aosta

Fenis Castle

Sarre Castle

Cogne Valley

Cogne, Italy

A house we saw along our hike taking advantage of a huge boulder as one wall of the structure.

Enjoying one of the many trails around Cogne.

A cow with a real cowbell - you would hear the tinkling of these bells from cows and sheep in every little town.

Getting as close as I dare to the cow on the trail.

Checking how cold the mountain stream is.

A shot at our turnaround point after a lovely picnic lunch along the stream.