Visiting Fénis Castle at the Aosta Valley

Castello di Fénis

City of Fénis

Finding worthwhile museums to visit has been always in our interest when traveling in Italy. And so it was for this holiday.

For the last full day of our winter holiday we chose to visit in the mediaval Fénis Castle (Castello di Fénis), which is one of the most famous castles in Aosta Valley. Driving to the city Fénis took about an hour (50 km) from Antagnod and Monte Rosa.

Finding the Fénis castle wasn't difficult once we arrived to the small city of Fénis. The gray towers and castle's battlemented walls stood on a top of a hill where it can be seen easily. The castle looks exactly what a castle should look a like in an alpine environment. Castle with strong towers surrounded by two layers af walls around it.

Fénis castle is old and it has been mentioned already on 1242 and from 1320 to 1420 the castle was expanded to the actual appearance. Visiting the castle was limited so that guests were allowed to see only the outer parts of the castle on their own. To get inside into the actual castle building we had to wait for a guide to walk us through the courtyard and rooms of the castle. Of course taking photos was not allowed from the inside.

For us one of the most noticeable detail was the courtyard.  The yard was like a real life scenery stolen from fantacy movie. It had still the glow of the old glory days of the knights and nobles. Surprisingly lot of the internals of the castle were partially renovated and decorated with the era's furnitures.

Fénis Castle if definitely a worthwhile place visit if you travel nearby the Aosta Valley or if the weather in Cervinia or Monte Rosa is not suitable for skiing.

Read more:
Wiki - Fénis Castle
Fenisweb

Fénis 19.3.2013

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Taste of a fresh snow at Antagnod

Antagnod after snowfall.

Weather forecasts were right and we got new snow for two days in a row. When we arrived to Antagnod on Thursday the weather was sunny and nice but snow had already partially melted from the bottom of the mountains. But this changed almost overnight.


For the first snowfall day the amount of the snow was reasonable but the off piste routes were far from being ready for good skiing. Luckily all of the new snow was left on the slopes as is. During the slow season this means that all lines from blue to black are enjoyable to ride, even on regular slopes. And on the sides of the slopes there are always potential fresh snow lines to ride. During the day there was only a handful of skiers at the slopes, which made the experience even better. Of course weekends are more popular, but popularity during March means that you might see few other skiers. There is no rush.

The fun part was the the snowfall continued from Sunday night to Monday morning. And on Monday morning the whole resort was looking completely different. Nice blue sky and snow covering the mountaint from peaks to valleys. Great! Still during the total amount of new snow was between 20-30 centimeters, which is not plenty, but not enough for letting us ride on the open fields or actual off piste routes. Still both, Antagnod and Brusson ski are potential small resorts to visit. Both are especially worth to ski on a better snow conditions when all the off piste routes are accessible.

Antagnod 17.-18.3.2013

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Sunny Saturday at Brusson ski

Brusson ski, Estoul

Brusson ski / Estoul

Saturday's weather was excellent and we decided to take a look on another part of the Monte Rosa. Our destination for the day was Brusson ski that is located in Estoul. Brusson ski is yet another of the several skiresorts beloning into the Monte Rosa ski. 

Getting to the Brusson ski goes through a small Brusson village that is located on 1330 meters. To get to the actual resort we had to drive up to 1800 meters into Estoul. Driving up to Estoul is easy on a sunny day when the road is dry. But things can get tricky after a snow dump on a slippery and narrow mountain road.

Crowded?

Saturday noon seemed to be a popular time for families to spend time out. Because of that sides of the roads were reserved for parking, legal or not. But there was a more convenient free parking just 500 meters further from the center of Estoul.

When it comes to slopes and lifts Estoul is similiar to Antagnod, except that the there was no black slope and generally all slopes were slightly easier. Brusson ski has two chairlifts for the red and blue slopes and two baby lifts for the easy beginner lines.

2235 meters.

For our surprice the resort didn't felt crowded at all and most of the time we just walked straight into the chairlifts without any waiting. Snow conditions were also great for March and the overall atmosphere was relaxed. Brusson ski has also some potential for easy off piste skiing when there is more snow. Most propably these are the hidden places where you can find your own untouched lines when the powder dump hits.

No powder.

Brusson ski 16.3.2013

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Antagnod and Monte Rosa

 Antagnod

After recovering few days at Como we decided to head up to the mountains to see if my knee can handle snowboarding. But my knee wasn't the only issue, Heta's flue was also slowing her down. So we decided to spend the whole Thursday for traveling to Monte Rosa and spending the rest of the day for additional recovery.

Antagnod and Champoluc.

On Friday it was finally time to ride on alpine slopes. For the test ride we chose the nearby Antagnod resort (part of the Monte Rosa Ski resort). Antagnod is a small village nearby Champoluc that is the center of the Monte Rosa Ski resort. Antagnod resort has only 4-6 different slopes or slope variant from easy blue to a short black slope and you can get about 700 meters vertical.

Friday's weather was excellent for a easy warmup ride. Great, but slightly chilly spring weather, temperature was around -10 celcius degrees. We headed to the slopes at noon and hoped for the best. After a few carefully chosen lines I came to the conclusion that I can handle the blue and red slopes with the broken knee if  I'm not jumping or riding switch. Not bad, at least it is possible to enjoy the weather and great mountain views.

Testing the broken knee.

Best part for the spring skiing is that during the weeks slopes are almost empty. Of course there is not enough snow for a good off-piste skiing, but otherwise snowboarding was great. No waiting to lifts, no rush and you could pick your lines freely. And on top of that slopes were actually enjoyable and not too icy.

Right now the weather forecasts are looking promising, we might get some new snow soon! In a best case scenario there will be an opportunity to ride on a soft snow on an empty resort on Sunday or Monday. We shall see.

Antagnod 14.-15.3.2013

Heta riding an easy red.

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Here we are, again!

Less than six months ago we we enjoying the beaches of San Vito Lo Capo. Now it's time for something different. It's finally time to see Italian alps during the winter. Our idea was to go to the alps and enjoy warm spring weather and get some tan to our pale faces. But due the recent snowboarding accident we had to re-organize the trip plan. Instead of snowboarding we decided to spend few days at the beginning in Lago di Como to recover.

So due the knee accident our target was Como, an old city in Lombardy. Weather wasn't perfect on Tuesday when arrived to our recidence, it was raining and cold. Getting to Como from Milan was easy but driving the narrow mediaval streets in the old city area was a minor challenge with our wagon. And of course parking in the city is not the most obvious task.

One of the most remarkable things was that for the first time ever we are in Italy while conclave was electing a new pope. It seems that the election of a pope is a true spectacle because every potential TV-channel was broadcasting news about elections before and after pope Francesco had been elected.

And that leads us to the next big thing; Easter. Stores were full of Easter decorations and  huge chocolate eggs in numbers and sizes. A total must to see and taste. Smallest easter eggs were ~100g but largest were between 1kg up to 8kg.

Easter eggs werent the only thing to see during our short visit in Como. As usual we were able to find something free and interesting. During the day we visited in an art exhibition, duomo, piazas and of course  in local sweet stores.

But Como has more to offer than just that. For example there are more than 1000 rock climbing routes  waiting there for visits in the future. Recommended if you like culture and sports.

Read more:
www.comotourism.it/
http://www.climb-europe.com/RockClimbingItaly/Lake-Como.html

 

Como 12.-14.3.2013

Art exhibition.

Mediaval street.

Nice wall paintings.

Happy face!

Cupola

Italians are not poor.

Duomo

Duomo

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