_in the alpi_

Next city we hit was Trento, which is even more in the middle of the Alps. It was beautiful. It was positioned within a large valley between some very tall mountains, and of course some shorter ones. We actually got to take a gondola up to one of the shorter ones for the steep total of….90 cents. Score. It was actually a commuter gondola for the residents at the top of the hill, so it cost as much as a bus would. The view was amazing. I took a lot of pictures, but pictures cannot quite do it justice I think. Oh yes, we took the most roundabout way ever to get to the gondola. The bus, instead of going down a few blocks to the river and consequently the gondola station, decided to travel around the entire perimeter of the city. We were very confused. But it was absolutely gorgeous at the top. Totally worth it.  

you can see the market in the bottom right corner in front of the church.. 

the large triangular shaped building complexes are the new apartments by Renzo Piano,
and you can also see the gorgeous blue river. so clear.  

After we left the gondola we went back into the city for a lunch break, and we all went to the market! It was amazing! And huge! Yes, markets are probably my favorite part about Italy. And this one was nice because 1) it was mainly clothes, scarves, coats, and other warm things 2) it was really cold 3) we were in the middle of the Alps 4)…in Italy. So, I actually bought a coat! My last big purchase of the trip (my first being boots). But I love the coat. I saw it earlier when we walked through the market quickly, but I didn’t think we would have time to go back through. But I got it! And for 69 euro, which is really not bad, seeing how most of the coats I find are around 90-120. And it has a really gigantic hood. 

Viennese/Italian restaurant and microbrewery
 where we had some good tasty food. 

Other highlights in Trento include the micro-brewery we found, the castle (and the view from the castle)... and of course, sneaking out of touring a church to shop with Emilio. Also, the gelato in Trento was really good. Ah yes, and we got to see a new Renzo Piano project that is being built right outside the city limits - a natural science museum and a huge apartment complex/neighborhood.