Yesterday, GP and I hiked up Monviso, the tallest, pointiest peak in our neighborhood Alps at 3841 meters. (That's 12,601.7  feet.  I checked.)  Monviso, or Monte Viso, is where the the Po river begins.  The source runs out of a crevice in the rock at Pian Del Re, 2020 meters up.  Grace stayed behind with the grandparents and studied for upcoming exams.  She told us that after this year she has become "profoundly against the idea of walking" unless there is a destination in sight.  We have dragged her up or through too many mountains, castle steps, parks and gardens.  So we left her to study, packed a picnic lunch and headed off.  The Po river is the major river in Northern Italy and runs west to east, emptying out into the Adriatic Sea south of Venice.  It is said all northerners must make a pilgrimage to Monviso to see "the source" once in their lifetime.  Sort of like Mecca for Padani or people from the Po Valley.  It is also said that if Napolitani, people from Naples, get too close to the source they shrivel up like vampires in sunshine.  We drove to Pian Del Regina, about 1700 meters, and parked.  The road was closed past that point and doesn't open until June 1st.  From there we walked up to Pian Del Re, and then continued another 200 meters or so to the snowline.  It was sunny and clear but cold, cold, cold.  We bundled up and ate sandwiches perched on a rock looking down over the valley.  There were hawks circling all around, hunting for marmots that have just come out of hibernation.  There were also way too many crazy people who hiked up to the snowline like we did and then continued up on skis.  Let me repeat.  UP ON SKIS!  Then there were all the cyclists with their amazingly firm buttocks who passed us going up!  What is wrong with these people.  We were huffing and puffing the whole way.  I felt like I was going to faint from lack of oxygen and I though GP was going to have a coronary he was so red-faced.  It was lovely.  We were tired.  Ate a big dinner to make up for all of the lost calories.  Wouldn't want to waste away.   xxoo me

view of Monviso from highway

starting out

getting higher

it may look flat but it's not!

never know when you'll feel the need to pray

that's it - the source of the Po

view from lunch

heading back down.  you can see the road meandering.