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Italy 2026
  • Rudi Marich
  • Lara Marich
  • Rudi Marich
  • Lara Marich

Italy 2026

A 68-day adventure by Rudi & Lara Read more
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  • Italy 2026
    Love the dog above the dairy, greeting us!The cheese caveThe dairyA music festival in townOur lovely little room at Albergo Fontana1

    Day 10 GTA ITALY 🇮🇹

    July 5 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today was our shortest and easiest day so far. As we were leaving our accommodation we stopped by a local dairy and purchased some delicious local cheese to have for lunch on the mountain high pass. There's a large fire burning in the alps and there has been some doubt about whether we can continue the trek.
    We received advice this evening that is should be no problems to continue🤞    Read more

  • Italy 2026

    Day 11 GTA Italy

    July 6 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Another slow start as we left the atmospheric Albergo Fontana.
    We had established the night before that it was safe to continue on the trail. Initially conditions were clear but very quickly the smoke filled the valley once again....lots of plane spotting as the water bombing continued.
    We had a lovely short stop at Rifugio Obru Huusch where the owner allowed us to hotspot to her phone and gifted us with delicious apple & cinnamon cake.
    When we arrived at Rifugio Alpe Baranca we were greeted by a sweet border collie...so similar to Mia.
    The Nonna here has been delightful and prepared an incredible dinner for 7 of us, all with their produce.    Read more

  • Italy 2026
    Our lovable Nonna hostOur attic room2Smoke filled skies

    Day 12 GTA ITALY 🇮🇹

    July 7 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We had a great night at Rifugio Alpe Baranca with other hikers and the hilarious Nonna.
    Nonna was up at 6am to milk a cow for our coffee and cereal.
    The weather was great and the smoke had cleared as we headed to Carcoforo. The fire water bombers were still hard at work and it wasn't long before the smoke once again settled in the valleys. It was definitely the biggest Donkey 🫏🫏🫏🫏day of the walk so far😆Read more

  • Italy 2026
    1

    Day 13 GTA ITALY 🇮🇹

    July 8 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Another beautiful day and another high mountain pass with a ascent of only 1200mt!
    The scenery was fantastic and with no smoke in the air today the walk was definitely more comfortable. Once again we came across more donkeys 🫏 which always makes Lara's day. Our accommodation tonight is in the scenic little village of Rima.
    Once we settled in Lara decided we should go for a swim in the nearby river but the water was just too cold 🥶 - it was beautiful just relaxing on the warm rocks with quick dips of the feet in the water.    Read more

  • Italy 2026

    Day 14 GTA ITALY 🇮🇹

    July 9 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today was our last day on this amazing trail. We decided to finish at Riva Valdobbia where we had a wonderful B&B booked. The decision to finish was mainly due to the weather forecast, thunderstorms and lightening which was to continue for a number of days and a very difficult high pass to conquer the next day.
    All the advice we were given said this should not be attempted if wet.
    We head to Arona on Lake Maggiore to rest and recover from a hard two weeks on the trail😁    Read more

  • Italy 2026

    Day 15

    July 10 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Our last and best breakfast on the trail at the delightful Tre Alberi b&b where everything was homemade, even the yoghurt (and we had a spa before breakfast to soak aching bones).
    We had a smooth running trip down out of the mountains by bus and train.
    We did however completely miss our stop and had to change the route completely yet arrived at Arona 2 hours earlier....un buono sbaglio 🤣
    We enjoyed a moody stormy sunset over Lago Maggiore.    Read more

  • Italy 2026
    Making a small party whilst waiting for the ferry - the Italians were very impressed!
    1The rare white peacockAperitivo on our terraceWe had to take all our supplies onto the island by ferry....and it was quite a lot!Steak night, cooked 'at home'Our lovely apartment had 3 levels and was beautifulStorm rolling in - the first rain they'd had in weeksThe magnificent palace gardens without all the other tourists!

    Isola Bella

    July 14 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We have spent the last few days relaxing and exploring the beautiful Isola Bella (on Lake Maggiore) with our great friend Cyril.
    He drove all the way from Belgium (9 hours) to spend two days with us.
    Isola Bella is one of the 3 tiny islands that make up the Borromeo Trio - flooded with tourists through the day but then magically quiet as soon as the last ferry leaves at 6pm, when you have this entire island (and the magnificent palace gardens) all to yourselves.    Read more

  • Italy 2026
    1

    Isola Bella to Orta San Giulio

    July 18 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Today we travelled from Isola Bella to Orta San Giulio. Lake Orta has definitely been the most pristine northern Italian lake we have seen.
    We have really enjoyed the wonderful swimming opportunities in the unusually warm conditions 😀Read more

  • Italy 2026

    Porto Ceresio and Lugano

    July 20 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We have our last stop at Porto Ceresio at the southern end of Lago Di Lugano. We have been exploring Porto Ceresio and today decided to catch the ferry to Lugano across the Swiss border

    Trip end
    July 22, 2026