Sole Stories in Belluno, Italy. Photo © Deja’Vu Gallery

We are so excited to share our first Sole Stories with you from Italy! This is an idea I have been dreaming and planning for awhile now, thanks to my very first Sole Story in 2011. It is an answered prayer to witness my dreams come to life!

When Jess and I dressed for the day, we knew we were seeking adventure. Thing is… When you set out to have an adventure you have no idea what is in store for you! So keep this subtle hint in mind. We threw on boots since we knew we would be trekking somewhere in the Dolomites and we weren’t sure about the terrain (plus it rained the day before). I chose to wear a recent thrift find – a pair of dark brown, leather boots from Plato’s Closet in Franklin, TN. ($16! Oh, yeah baby!) Jess chose to wear her favorite American Eagle boots, which almost reach her knees and seriously give her a pirate look (in my opinion).  Argggh!

We hopped onto autostrada (highway) A27 and drove past a few cities (more like cute, charming towns) within the mountains, ooing and ahhing at different stores, abandoned buildings, scenic views, and people. We caught a glimpse of a gorgeous view over-looking a river with a very old bridge in the far off distance, and Jessica quickly reeled the car off the road and parked. It was worth it.

We stopped to look over a cliff by Autostrada A-27, towards Belluno, Italy. Photo taken by Trina Otero.

We stopped to look over a cliff by Autostrada A-27, towards Belluno, Italy. Photo taken by Trina Otero.

We stopped to look over a cliff by Autostrada A-27, towards Belluno, Italy. Photo taken by Trina Otero.

We continued up A27 and noticed a tall cliff with a castle-like building on top of it, so we kept riding on the autostrada until we got closer… Then, as we neared the cliff we realized the castle must be in the town Belluno. We followed the signs for the town exit and cruised around for about 15 minutes trying to find parking. I was very surprised because all the towns and cities I’ve seen thus far are very quiet, and sometimes empty. But Belluno was bustling — traffic, people walking everywhere, families at parks, people shopping…

After we found public parking we picked a random road and began walking! This… I absolutely love to do this with Jess. We usually never have a set destination, we just have a shared idea and then we go with the flow. Well, the flow took us down a charming, narrow cobbled street where we looked at the view of the winding city from a higher altitude and then we started playing around with the camera.

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We didn’t get far… We decided to climb some steps to take us to a road higher up (the city is in the mountains so the roads literally wind up and down). Then it began sprinkling. The light rain shower began to get heavier… And heavier…. So Jessica and I dashed from the police headquarters building to a walking path across the street that ran up a hill into a wooded area. For the most part the trees sheltered us from the rain, but then the downpour came.

I will tell you right now that I expected to trek through this unknown town and share all of our finds with you, but the rain caught us off guard! We had checked the weather online in the morning which had indicated there was only a two-to-three percent chance of rain! Jess and I looked at each other as we were being soaked in this random rain storm and we burst into laughter. I mean.. like.. deep-belly, what-the-fuck type of laughter. Instead of becoming disappointed and upset, we danced in the rain, and we whipped out Jessica’s camera equipment to capture the moment. And.. Although I wanted my very first Sole Story in Italy to be travel-centric, this is one of the best things I could ever offer you — and that is to advise you to enjoy yourself in the moment you are in. JUST BE. Be in the moment and love it. And… That is just what we did!

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We can’t wait to share the adventures we had in Slovenia and Croatia over the weekend, so hang tight and we will have more Sole Stories for you! 🙂

Ciao!