S3 - Italy Recap with Samantha Stacks

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:12] Speaker B: Welcome. Welcome to Candidly 30. We have a very special guest on today. She's coming back for round three. I think this is our third podcast, or maybe four even. Did we do two on Peace Corps? [00:00:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:00:26] Speaker B: Samantha Lee Stacks is here. And as promised, we are going to talk about our Dolomites trip and our Italy trip a little bit. And Kate was so kind to write out this full intro question segments. Even wrote things for us to say in it, which is lovely. She is not here with us tonight, but, yeah, we just like scheduling conflicts this, that, and the other. She's a busy lady, so are just happy that we get Sam here and we get to catch up. I mean, I feel like I haven't. [00:00:59] Speaker A: Really, like, talked about the dole. [00:01:01] Speaker B: I mean, like, everyone asked, like, how was it? And that kind of stuff, but I. [00:01:04] Speaker A: Feel like I have, like, thank you. Thank you. [00:01:06] Speaker B: No one really knows what we did. You know what I mean? I'm sure that's how people, like, did feel. I don't know. [00:01:14] Speaker A: Totally. Yeah. Because it's like a little bit how to start. How to start talking about it, but. Or they've seen, like, the Instagram, like, pictures of it, but they don't know, like, that there is a trail or whatever. So, yeah, agreed. People are like, oh, did you do that thing? And I'm like, yeah. And they're like, cool. [00:01:31] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It feels actually very similar to Peace Corps when people are like, oh, wow, how was it? And it's like, where do I even start? Like, what? Anyways, way less dramatic than, obviously, but it felt like on the same level kind of people like, oh, you hiked sick. You went on vacation to hike. Awesome. I was like, yeah. [00:01:52] Speaker A: Yeah, 100. [00:01:55] Speaker B: So just so everybody knows, we actually hiked the Altavia one, which is, I mean, all props to Sam. 100. Because Sam was the master planner. I was just along for the ride. And it was. I mean, I. Yeah, I did not know. I mean, I knew what I was getting myself into, but I had no idea. Like, the history and the background. And I still probably couldn't tell you any of the history or the background really well, but I feel like we learned a lot. Like, we learned way more than we learned in school, that's for sure. [00:02:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. I still, like, even planning it, didn't fully know the history. So that was really cool to learn while we were there and actually see it. I feel like that's how you learn best anyway. Yeah. Experience. [00:02:40] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Correct me if I'm wrong. So basically, it was the like, it's like World War I. It's like the path that the soldiers were like, or they were like fighting on or hiking or all of the above. Both. [00:02:55] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. I think it was originally made because there's a bunch of different Altavias, but this is one of the most famous ones and it was developed as a pathway during World War I for supplies and things like that. [00:03:13] Speaker B: Yeah, it was cool. I mean there was. So I guess we should start from the beginning. So I've wanted to do this hike for, I don't know, a couple of years now. And obviously just from like the Instagrams and seeing all the like really cool pictures and videos and stuff. And so I had asked Sam to do it with me a while ago and like totally forgot about it. And so she's the one that actually like brought it back around and she's like, actually, let's do this, please. So we've been planning it for a while. We booked through, Sam booked us through through a like third party kind of like travel looking site I guess. And so they planned out our truck for us. And so it kind of just, it was easier for us. And what we found just like talking to other people who were doing the truck as well, that it was easier because we actually got like an itinerary and we got like a day to day, like how many miles we were hiking in the elevation and everything. And then what refugios we were staying at because a lot of people were just trying to work with the refugios and then having to make their own itinerary and just like mile wise and like trying to figure out that and talk to the refugios and everything in their off season seems really difficult. So I feel like we like would after talking to other people like 100 recommend going with a company to book the trek in general. Like Sam said, there's like parts of it that you can just walk to and get to from like tram and trolley or whatever you want to call it. What are they called? Gondolas, I guess. And so that was kind of disheartening and we'll probably talk, get into that a little bit deeper later. But yeah, we were, we hiked from start to finish the whole 75 miles, 120 kilometers. And we followed the eight day trek model that our company had set up for us. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Yes, agree with everything you said. I was deathly ill with the flu when I started looking into what the Dolomites was. And then I remember texting you and being like, oh hell yeah. We gotta do when I, when I'm off my deathbed, we gotta do this. But yeah, it seems like the more common thing to do or like one of the more traditional ways to do it is like the 11 day itinerary. And there's a book that I did buy that details that the cicerone book. But our company was called Book a Trekking and highly, highly recommend because we had a lot of other parts of Italy we wanted to see. And I honestly think that I would have been tired at 11 days. I would have been like, okay, like I could have done more each day. I wish we would have like packed it in a little bit closer. So I really loved our route. I really loved our company. They made it really easy. Very stress free compared to a lot of other people that we ran into. [00:06:02] Speaker B: Sorry, I wasn't really following Keith's itinerary of what we're supposed to be talking about. They though. Yeah, okay, so I guess like pre planning. Let's talk a little bit about that. I watched a lot of videos on Tick Tock obviously of like other people that have done the trek and then what they recommended and then online just has like a bunch of stuff of what people recommended. We went at like the beginning of this season and so a lot of people recommended like warmer clothes and rain gear and things like that. But we were there I guess apparently at like an unprecedented time because it was so stinking hot and it did like, we did have some thunderstorms and everything. But we, yeah, definitely did not need all of the extra layers and stuff that we brought. [00:06:49] Speaker A: Yeah. What was really nice about this type of backpacking was that you're only carrying your clothes, the toiletries and then just like some extras like first aid and stuff to do while you're bored. But the you're staying in huts every single night and so they obviously have the beds for you there with all the linens and stuff. You do have to bring like a, a sleeping bag liner or something because they don't wash the sheets every single night at some of the refugios. But you arrive and like your food is made for you, your bed is already there, a lot of them. You can have a shower, sometimes a hot shower. So that was really, really nice as far as like prepping a lot less things than a traditional backpacking trip. [00:07:35] Speaker B: The one thing that I wish that we brought more of was snacks. Probably just like we did bring goos and I don't know, we had some nuts and like you had some clif bars and whatever meat Sticks and things like that. But I do wish we had a little bit more snacks because I feel like I was just hungry like literally the entire time. So we're on. It's really lovely that they make you meals and everything, but you're on someone else's timeline. So, like breakfast was at 7 or 7:30 in the morning, and then dinner was at like 6:30, 7, 7:30 at night. And then you had to kind of figure out your lunch in between. Either get a packed lunch or get lunch at the refugios. So food was like, not scarce in any way, shape or form, but like, I am just like, like to eat when I like to eat and I don't like to eat on someone else's schedule. And so that was like, probably the hardest part. Like, there were some days where Sam was like, Kelly's gonna lose it if she doesn't, like eat dinner. Like, I was so hungry the whole time. [00:08:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. Like, it was funny that they were all different. Like they would all be off by like half an hour. This place served breakfast at 7. This one, 7:30, this at this, dinner at 6, this one at 7, whatever. But I still like, loved that. I loved that you could arrive and get a little snack or a drink. I agree with you. Like, we could have brought more snacks and I do feel like that would have lessened some of our stress because you. We didn't know. We knew how far we had to hike in one day, but we didn't know all the other things that were going to be in between the refugios that we were staying at. So there are many, but we only stayed obviously at like eight or seven of them, but we didn't know what we were going to come up upon in between. So I think I'm so glad that you brought the amount of snacks that you did because I wasn't worried about it at all. Leading up to it in the planning, it felt like everyone was like, oh, your food's gonna be fine, don't worry. But yeah, I do think just for peace of mind, it would have been better to have like little bursts of energy throughout the day too. [00:09:38] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. And just in terms of like training and stuff wise, I feel like we did pretty good. I think that like, I. We were coming out of winter, so like, how good could you really be? Because we couldn't really hike actual mountains. So I feel like I was doing a lot of like gym training and stair stepping and like heart stuff and so. But it was still a decently hard hike. Like I don't know if it was just the, you know, the accumulation of everything of, like, sleeping in the dorms and having a lot of elevation gain every day and, you know, this, that, and the other, it being so hot, which was, um, just, like, not what I'm used to like, up here. If you're going up into the mountains, typically it's, like, pretty, like, temperate weather. Um, and it was so humid. And so I think it was just like a. All the things added up together to make it a little bit harder of a hike than I was expecting. Were you expecting it to be that strenuous, or were you way thinking it was gonna be way worse? [00:10:38] Speaker A: Um, I think in different ways. Like, by the middle part of the hike, I was like, okay, we got this. We're fine. And then the ending parts with so much downhill were really, really rough in different ways. But I'm. Yeah, I definitely don't regret any of the training that I did. Like, we both were starting, like, in January, February, and, like, I am happy for every single stair stepper that I did because it really made a difference compared to previous years. I feel like I'm in decent shape by the end of the summer, but definitely not at the beginning. And so, yeah, I do wish I had been able to, like, hike more outside with my pack, but it's still. I still feel like we both were in pretty decent shape. But, yeah, the elevation changes were all, like, kind of. At one time, it wasn't like, oh, you are going 10 miles, but it's like, a gradual uphill. It would just be these, like, really big up, down, up, down. And that was a little bit more brutal than I was expecting, but agree that the temperature was also a big factor. I think if it would have been, like, 10 degrees cooler, it would have been easier in a lot of ways, but it was still great. Like, I'm glad we weren't freezing. [00:11:50] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. Yeah, same. I guess that would have been a different challenge if it was cold, for sure, as far as, like, getting there. So just a little backstory on, like, our trip in general. We flew. We got to fly together. I flew to Salt Lake to catch the next few flights with Sam, and then we got to go back to JFK together, which was very exciting because that's where we officially met, like, a million years ago. So crazy that we got to be in that airport together again. And, yeah, so we flew to. From Salt Lake to JFK and then JFK to Venice, and we got into Venice at, like, 9:30am or something. And took a bus over to the main part of the city from the airport. And so we, like, tried to power through and just, like, stay up because it was, you know, like, we went forward in that much time. And anyways, not to belabor this, because we're kind of talking about the Dolomites more on this podcast. But, yeah, so we just had, like, kind of a rough transition. Not transition, but just a rough, like, time change kind of start. [00:12:55] Speaker A: And so I feel like that may. [00:12:56] Speaker B: Have added to the Dolomites as well. But, yeah, we just, like, had a struggle bus the first two days in Venice, but Venice was super cool. And then we got to. And then we took a train or a bus from Venice to Cortina, which is the. Where the Olympics were held in. What was it, 1955, Sam? Is that right? [00:13:19] Speaker A: Yeah, 50 something. I don't remember. [00:13:22] Speaker B: Yeah, and then they're going to be held there and in Milan this winter as well. 2026 Winter Olympics. So that's very cool. But it was, like, pretty busy. There was also, like, a huge run that was happening there. What was it, 50k or 100k or something crazy. [00:13:38] Speaker A: Yeah, it was an ultra marathon, So I think 100k. [00:13:41] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah. And so Cortina was pretty popping, but it was really cool. It was like, definitely just like a little mountain town. Everyone was wearing patagooch and. Yeah, it was cool. We had lunch there. It's kind of like, has a little bit more German influence, that area. And so Sam took me to. What is it called? Like, a. Like a German place. And I had a burger, and she was very affected. [00:14:09] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Correction. Okay, so there was 20k, 50k, 80k and 120k. I hate that. But, yeah, we did. [00:14:17] Speaker B: We were. [00:14:18] Speaker A: We were in, like, the formerly Austrian part of Italy at that point. So, yeah, a lot of German influence. A lot of German language was spoken. And yeah, we sat down for a beer and Kelly got a burger. And I hope, you know, whatever. Whatever you need before you start your hike, that's fine. [00:14:35] Speaker B: Yeah, Cortina was very cute, though. I definitely would have loved to spend more time there if it wasn't, like, so busy and crazy. But then we took another bus to another, smaller town where we are getting a little bit closer to the trailhead to the Lago de Breeze Braise or something like that, where we started the actual hike. And that town was super cute, too, and really cool. Very German. Like, they didn't even have Italian on any of the signs or anything. They did speak English, but Yeah, they just had a completely different. It was. Yeah, it was a completely different, like, vibe. Completely. And so, yeah. Then the next day we took a bus in the morning and. Oh, my gosh, I have to say that I. I just remembered when we, like, got on the call that I lost your hiking poles or Josh's hiking poles, and I'm still so sad about it. So Sam was carrying them and she was. She was trying to do something, and so I was like, let me carry them, like, no big deal. And I'm just not used to, like, having poles. So I put them down on the bench when we were at the bus stop and I just never picked them back up, I guess. So that was not a great start. [00:15:46] Speaker A: Sam was so many things on this trip. [00:15:52] Speaker B: She was holding her cool, like, very well because we hadn't even started hiking and she didn't even have hiking poles. So, yeah, there's that. [00:16:01] Speaker A: Nah, it was fine. It ended up honestly being better. I feel like I read a lot of things that. That's the other thing. Like, all the research that I did, like, everybody has so many different opinions. It did feel a little bit like prepping for Peace Corps again, where it's like the perfect packing list doesn't exist. Like, you're looking at all these different peoples. So anyways, I read, like, a lot of people recomm hiking poles, and I do think maybe in a couple parts it would have been helpful. But overall, I did not feel like we needed them, so that was better. I think if I had been, like, crashing, falling down the whole time, like, maybe I would have been a little bit more upset, but it was fine. [00:16:38] Speaker B: Anyways. Yeah, so we were hiking with this girl that we actually slept with in the dorms that night. She was another American living in Spain. So we did get to start the hike with her. And that was really nice to, like, talk to another American. Come to find out there's tons of Americans in the Dolomites, literally, mostly Americans, so we couldn't really escape them. But yeah, so we started from Lago de Brais, as. I feel weird saying that. I don't know how to say it. Anyways, we started from that beautiful lake. I'm sure if you've ever googled the Dolomites, that is the lake that pops up. It's everyone, like, sitting in those little boats and stuff. It was very picturesque, very cutesy, very demure. We loved it. It was very pretty and a very cool way to start. But you literally just started hiking straight up out of the lake and it was very, like, Enchantment, like, and Sam and I were having some flashbacks because from. I don't know if you're anyone's familiar with the Enchantments hike, but from the, like, main lake that everyone takes pictures in front of to go up, like, the pass behind the lake there, it was very similar. Like, most. Yeah, the most similar thing I've done to that. [00:17:42] Speaker A: So, yeah, it was a lovely walk around the lake and then, yeah, instantly up and. But the hike was beautiful, and the payoff that first day was so good. Like, that was maybe one of my favorite moments, was, like, coming up on that ridge and just seeing everything for the first time. Like, incredible. So it was worth it. Yeah. [00:18:01] Speaker B: Really cool. It was a really cool first day because we get there, and then there's a refugio right there at the top. And so we got to have lunch there, which was awesome. And so just sitting there and getting to. Yeah, just being like, wow, this is what refugios are like, this is what the food is, like, that we're getting. Like, we got to have a beer after hiking up straight uphill for a couple hours. So that just, like, was a really cool, like, you know, moment that we're, like, sitting in and being like, whoa, like, we're actually doing this. I mean, for me, anyways, it was, like, a pretty rad start to our trip and everything. And then that night. So then basically from there, though, we, like, hiked downhill the rest of the day. We passed by another Refugio, which is where the girl that we were hiking with, she was staying at, and then we kept hiking down to ours, and that refugio was so incredible and had the best food and. But it, like, was kind of more like hotel ish. It wasn't really, like, Refugio, like, and there was a road straight to it. So that was, like, my first indicator. I was, like, interesting. Like, everyone's just riding bikes up here. Like, wow, okay. Like, what is going on here? [00:19:06] Speaker A: Um, but yeah, yeah, yeah. That was the most surprising thing for me, I think, was, like, how accessible some. Like, some of them are really off the beaten trail. Like, the one that we stayed in our last night, that Refugio was what I was expecting the whole time. So, yeah, the fact that there were so many roads that people could just like, drive to them or take the gondolas up to them was really shocking to me because it kind of brought you out of, like, the experience a little bit. But I will say that that meal was maybe the best meal that I had in Italy, I think, like. Or at least it. Yeah, it was incredible. It was like this traditional, like, beet pasta ravioli with, like, goat cheese or something on the inside. It was so good. And we had this great charcuterie board, and we had wine. Like, everything was so, so lovely. [00:19:55] Speaker B: Yeah, it was really. Yeah, it was cool because we got to get all these local cheeses because, I don't know, the cheese platter was like €12 or €14 or something. And I was like, okay. When it said, like, local cheeses. And I was like, when else are we going to have, like, a charcuterie board in Italy? Like, in the Dolomites? Like, let's just do it. Like, let's just send it. And it was so good. But then we asked the kid, like, the waiter or whatever. We're like, what kind of cheeses are these? And he's like, I don't know. Like, okay. [00:20:22] Speaker A: Well, yeah, he was just like, they're just local cheeses. Like, I don't know their name. [00:20:28] Speaker B: Okay. For people who don't know, Sam and Josh are cheese connoisseurs. Sam is the starter of this cheese endeavor that they have gone on. And so throughout their trip in Italy, they were looking for specific cheeses and things like that, but Sam just likes cheese in general, so it was cool. I mean, we. I guess we didn't really have that many different cheeses. We had a lot of the white cheese, like, for breakfasts and things. [00:20:50] Speaker A: But, yeah, yeah, agreed. During the rest of the trip, there wasn't that much at the other refugios, so I don't know. We got lucky at that first one, for sure. [00:21:02] Speaker B: Okay, let's see. Where should we go in Cave's thing? What surprised you? Okay, we're gonna look at Cave's questions. What surprised you most about staying in the refugios and the accommodations? I think it was really cool. And something that I really liked about the refugios was that everything was, like, family style. Sometimes it was a little much, like, in the morning. So when we were having breakfast and things, having to talk to people and be social that early in the morning. But it was really cool at night just getting to meet different people from, like, all different backgrounds. We ended up hiking or talking to, like, this Canadian kid and this Australian guy and a Korean girl and the South African guy and some random Americans. And, yeah, we just, like, kind of made a little, like, posse, and we ended up hiking with the Australian for a little bit, the Korean girl for a little bit, and the Canadian kid. For like a few refugios. But yeah, so that was kind of cool. Just like getting to have some camaraderie with other people that you're hiking with and kind of like get some familiar faces and then. Yeah. Finding out if you're sleeping in the dorms with them that night or not. So I think the refugios were just cool where. Yeah, a lot of them did. Like we had a few private rooms at some of the places. Like the third night. The first night we definitely did and we knew that was happening because they didn't have any dorm space left. And then the third night was unexpected. Protected. They just put us in a private room. And then like on the fifth night we got a private room but not our own bathroom anyways. Yeah, so we got a few private rooms throughout our, our time. But yeah, just like sleeping wise. I was struggling a little bit with loud people by the end. [00:22:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you though. I think like the family style eating like did force us to. And that's not something I would normally do. I wouldn't normally like go up to people that much, but it was really, really one of the best parts about it. So that you were forced to chat with people at dinner. But yeah, those same people, like in the dorms when people are like snoring or like making a lot of noise really early in the morning or refusing to open the window when it's 100 degrees in the room, that was pretty rough. But overall I think like it was such a great. Yeah. Experience. And it was so cool to hear people compare other hikes that they had done. Like a lot of people have done Tour Mont Blanc or had done different, like the Camino in Spain or a couple people had done Patagonia. So it was really interesting to hear them compare this trail to those as well. Very inspiring. [00:23:40] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. We got, I got very into like through hikes in other countries now. So yeah, Sam and I are. We're on the move. Don't watch out. No, I'm just kidding. But we did also learn Sam was saying throughout the trip, she's like, this is just a practice to see if we can actually do the like JMT together. So more on that TBD on that. Little spoiler alert coming up. [00:24:08] Speaker A: Yeah, that was funny though too, telling people that we were planning on doing that. And they were like, are there huts? And we're like, no. You just. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Yeah, terrible. When you sleep in a tent, we're like, yeah. And you carry your food like, yup, yup. That's how that works. Yeah. But also just fascinating how the States doesn't have that. Like, it is interesting that. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:32] Speaker B: So many other countries decided to do that and we didn't. Yeah. It'd be very cool to start one. [00:24:37] Speaker A: Agreed. That would be rad. [00:24:40] Speaker B: Yeah. Anyhow. [00:24:41] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:24:42] Speaker B: Okay, let's see. What. What would you skip next time about the refugios? [00:24:53] Speaker A: I would say staying at the more. Less accessible refugios would be my preference, but I still, like, there was always something great about each one. Like, if we hadn't stayed at Lagazui, like, that view at sunset, you can't get anything like that. That's the highest refugio that you go. That was the end of day two, and we were exhausted and grumpy, and there were so many people when we arrived there, and it felt like they were kind of trying to nickel and dime us for things. Like, you had to pay for the shower. You had to pay extra for this and that. But the view was spectacular, and I wouldn't ever have wanted to miss that. And when we were in Stoliata. I forget. No, not that one. The one before that. [00:25:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:42] Speaker A: Salonza. That was the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. So, yeah, I want to miss out on that. Like, I don't know. So I don't. I don't. Like, if I was gonna go back, maybe I would try different ones, but I definitely don't regret any of the ones that we stayed at. Like, everything was. [00:25:57] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. I would agree, though. I think our second day was one of our longer days, and there was a lot of elevation gain that day. And so I think just also, like, we were getting our feet under us. Like, we were getting used to our pack still. Like, our. My hips were really sore that day, and, like, our feet were just a little more sore than, like. Like Sam said on, like, the third and fourth day, we're, like, starting to, like, get our stride and, like, be stoked about hiking. But, yeah, the second day was pretty long, and it was a lot of elevation, and the end was just straight up elevation, and. And we could see everybody at the top, and we're like, why are there hundreds of people up there? Like, that is so confusing. And then we get up there, and there's a gondola to the top. So not only were we overstimulated, we were exhausted, and all these people are standing up there getting the same exact view, and they didn't have to hike their asses up that hill. And so that was a little Frustrating. A little tough, but, yeah, like Sam said, it was the coolest refugio. The views were incredible. Like, everything about it was just so, so cool. But, yeah. And then. So we just kept going. The next day was kind of a shorter day. The next day was, I don't know, like, a medium day anyways. They kind of all started to, like, blur together. Like, we couldn't even remember, like, what refugios we had stayed at, like, the day before. We were like, what is time even? Like, we're, like, trying to figure out life. But, yeah, I think by the end, definitely by day. Day seven was pretty tough. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed on day seven. And I don't know why, but I was just, like, having to talk myself down, like, from the ledge real hard. I was like, you're in Italy. Yes. You're hiking. Yes. Everything hurts. But, like, you're in fudgeing. Italy in the Dolomites is what you've always wanted to do. Like, shut the fudge up. Just, like, walk. And I think there's, like. There's a lot going on in my head that. And so we did actually end up hiking it pretty fast for how far it was, because you kept being like, we're doing great. Like, we're already halfway. Like, whatever. It's fine. And I was like, oh, my God. [00:27:54] Speaker A: Wait, no way. [00:27:55] Speaker B: Okay, we're fine. Everything's fine. [00:28:00] Speaker A: Yeah. I just remember asking you, like, what do you think about when you're hiking? Because I just always have songs stuck in my head. This whole trip was like, Sound of Music because we were, like, up in the Alps, and it was just like. Like, operatic. Like, climbing. Like, the whole time in my head, it was, like, a lot. And you were like, nothing or just like, be grateful. Be grateful. Be grateful. Stop it. Be grateful. I was like, oh, okay. That's a little different. Yeah, definitely. [00:28:28] Speaker B: Lots of Sound of Music references, for sure. [00:28:31] Speaker A: Yes. But, yeah, I think we were. We were hurting by the last couple of days. We had some issues with, like, my shoes were giving me a lot of blisters. I lost the ability to pick up my feet for some reason and tripped over every single thing that I possibly could. My ankles welled up. Your heel? Why? You got a crater in your heel? Like, this underground blister that was just so deep that we couldn't even pop for so long. Like, things just started to wear on us by that point. Like, I think in some ways we had gotten much stronger, but, like, we were. We were starting to break down A little bit. [00:29:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. It was, like, one thing to, like, carry the pack and, like, be used to that and all, but everything. But also just, like, being on your feet every day, knowing you have to hike every day is, like, kind of, like, mentally a little challenging after a little while. But also, it's so cool because then you get to see all these new experiences and. But I definitely, like, it's funny because at the beginning of the hike, we, like, were taking so many videos and so many pictures, and, like. Like, we're doing all this stuff, and, like, it was very cool at the beginning, but, like, we definitely, like, tapered off, like, very quickly on all the, like, video and picture taking and stuff, because, I mean, it did kind of look very similar. Like, a lot of it looked similar. But also. Yeah, we were just like, okay, we're just, like, walking and we're doing this and whatever. Here we are. And. Yeah, so I think that was really funny, too, of just, like, it's crazy how fast, like, the. What's it called, like, the shiny newness of everything just, like, wears off super quick. [00:30:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And I think also, like, it is a. It is kind of a lot. Like, we had been adjusting to jet lag, which surprised both of us quite a bit. Like, I hadn't experienced it quite that bad before. And then just, like, language. I mean, everybody spoke English, but there was still just, like, you have to really pay attention with the accents or, like, you're just, like, meeting a lot of people. You're, like, feeling, like you have to be, like, kind of careful around a lot of people all the time. Like, being in your own space in this little bunk bed, Like, I was worried about, like, smelling constantly. There's just, like, a lot of things, whereas I feel like normally on backpacking trips, it's a lot more quiet. It's a lot more, like, time to decompress when you're done at the end of the day. And it felt a little bit less like that. Like, we had to be, like, okay, tomorrow, like, we have to, like, be ready and not wake people up in the morning, so I'm gonna unpack this a little bit. So it's here. It's just, like, a lot more strategic about, like, packing and repacking and timing and where we're gonna stop for lunch. Do we need to ask them to pack us a lunch? So, yeah, that, like, lack of control over certain things was kind of weird, too. [00:31:12] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I think just the. Yeah, day seven was pretty tough, and then we got to the, like, most remote. Like Sam had said, the most remote refugio that we had stayed at, like, there was. There was power, but they had, like, gotten struck by lightning the day before, a few days before, and so they didn't have a lot of resources. They wouldn't have had WI fi or they did not have hot showers, like, in general. But, yeah, we was kind of. We were just like, all right, we're drinking a big German beer tonight so that we sleep well, and we're gonna eat some. Drink some grappe. Delicious, the grappa, but also grappa. Yeah, that. It's crazy. I keep talking about it, but we would have, like, a liter of wine, like, every night and be fine. Like, not wake up feeling shitty, not wake up with, like, any sort of lingering anything. And, yeah, you just, like, felt so good on their wine. It was so confusing. [00:32:09] Speaker A: Yeah, like, definitely something to that. Definitely. Like, just. And throughout the trip, even after that, like, there were days where I had no business feeling okay, and I just felt fine. Like, yeah. Yeah. So they're doing something right with their wine over there. Yeah. [00:32:28] Speaker B: Okay. Let's see. Let's do some of cave's, like, funny questions. What was a moment that you were most proud of in the hike or on the trail? [00:32:37] Speaker A: I wrote down in my little notes playing cribbage with you. I finally feel like I understand almost all of the cribbage rules, and I was not. [00:32:46] Speaker B: Oh, nice. [00:32:47] Speaker A: And I was like, yeah, we can do this. So I feel. I mean, I know that's silly. I was really proud, like, finishing and getting to the top of Lagazui. But then, yeah, like, I was really proud that we made it up, that. Because it felt like a really big day, a really big accomplishment because we had a huge downhill, like, a thousand feet of elevation loss or I think more, and then, like, thousand feet back up or something. It was crazy. But, yeah, I'm trying to think if there was a specific moment. What about you? [00:33:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like, day seven, getting to the top of that. It was, like, a pretty big elevation. Like, we were just looking at it, and we were just like. We ate lunch at the bottom of it because we knew we needed, like, energy to get up it. And it was kind of like a cumulation of, like, us being, like, wow, the trek is almost over. Like, we really only have tomorrow, like, hiking out, mostly downhill. We, like, knew that. And so getting to the top of that, like, last peak of the last, like, almost end of our trip, was just like, whoa. We, like, Actually did it. And, like, we can hike for this many days. And it was just like a crazy feeling of, like. I mean, there was a bunch of us getting to the top of that peak at, like, the same time. And so it was kind of just like, whoa, like, everyone's here and we're all just, like, doing this thing. But then it was very proud moment. But then looking down the other side and having to walk down. That was fucking atrocious. [00:34:12] Speaker A: That was the worst. [00:34:13] Speaker B: It was insane. [00:34:15] Speaker A: That was the worst. That was the worst thing we did. [00:34:17] Speaker B: Like, that was literally. [00:34:18] Speaker A: Absolutely agree. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:21] Speaker A: And it was so long, and you could see where you were going for quite a long distance. [00:34:25] Speaker B: Although the wildflowers were incredible. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Oh. The whole time. I think that was definitely one of the highlights of the trip is just the wildflowers were insane. Just so many things I had never seen before. Colors I had never seen before. Like, magical. Yeah. [00:34:39] Speaker B: It was crazy because, I mean, you always see wildflowers in the Sierras or up here in the Cascades, but you see, like, five, and that's, like, the most that you see. And it's like a white one, a yellow one, a purple one, maybe a red one, another white one. You know what I mean? But, like, these flowers and the Dolomites were unreal. Like, they were every color of the rainbow. There was so many different varieties. There were so many different shapes and sizes. It was like, like the craziest wildflowers that I had ever seen ever. Like, it was so, so, so cool. Like. Yeah. Anyways, we even, at one point of the. One of the days, like, looked up all the different flowers in, like, the. The area, and we're like, we haven't even seen this one. We haven't even seen this one. Like, what the heck? Like, we've seen so many already. Like, what is happening? [00:35:23] Speaker A: But, yeah, very. Some very Dr. Seuss, like, flowers. [00:35:27] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Another thing I wanted to mention was on day two was where the, like, tunnels were located. We didn't end up going in the, like, official tunnel trail. Apparently. It's like you wear a helmet and you kind of have, like, climbing gear. Ish. And so you kind of were, like, hiking down and through this tunnel that was, like, part of the World War I situation. But we did go in some of, like, the bunkers and stuff that were in the hill and read, like, some of the placards and stuff. It was very interesting just to see, like, it was gnarly up there. Like, they were living in these conditions, like, through the winter. And Stuff I could only imagine because we were there when it was like, pretty warm and it was still really windy and really exposed and just like really intense. So, yeah, I feel like I wanted to learn more about history, just like seeing, you know, seeing it firsthand, obviously, like we said before, but yeah, that was like a pretty cool day of just getting to like, actually see all the, like, history and everything. [00:36:21] Speaker A: Yeah, agreed, that would have been pretty rough, but, yeah, they have a little museum set up there and they have like, kind of what the bunker would look like. And they had like some wooden planks for beds and. Yeah, not luxurious conditions for sure. And we were like, looking out and we're like, wait, were they shooting up? Were they shooting down? Like, what? Who was shooting? [00:36:43] Speaker B: Yeah, who was shooting at who? What was happening? [00:36:47] Speaker A: So, yeah, we had a lot to learn. We did a lot of Googling about World War I after that. And was it still very confusing? [00:36:54] Speaker B: Yeah, because, yeah, apparently Italy wasn't a country until like 70 years ago, which I have united. [00:37:02] Speaker A: And definitely that part was not owned by Italy at that time. And it just seemed like everything was a powder keg and everybody wanted to fight with everybody. And this gave them an excuse too. And so then we still don't know who. Yeah. Why they were shooting really started. [00:37:16] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. But anyway, so we get to, like I said, we hiked all the way down like seven miles on the last day out. And we. That was like, not too bad actually. Like, we were very much dreading it because it was like 4, 000ft plus of elevation loss. And we could see like, we're, you know, we're standing at the refugee and we're like, we need to go down there. Like, how the heck are we getting down there? And so it was just confusing. We ended up having to go up over one more path bus in order to like, get down. But so, yeah, just like getting to the bottom was like semi anticlimactic. I was like, low key bummed about it a little bit because there was no like, sign like, congratulations, you're done. There was nothing like, it was just like, okay, now we need to find the bus stop because we're like on. [00:38:02] Speaker A: A roll sticks, like. Yeah, I agree. I thought there would at least be a sign or like, congratulations or something, but there wasn't even like a trail marker, anything that said what it was. So that was really weird. But yeah. Oh, well. [00:38:19] Speaker B: So, yeah, we ended up getting to the bus station and it said it was supposed to be there in like 10 minutes. And then it Came like an hour and a half later or something, which is totally fine. We were chilling. But that morning when we were hiking down, I like went to the bathroom at some point in. In the lake. Bushes a little bit. And so we're sitting. After we get off the bus, we go to the train station. We're sitting at the train station and I'm like, I feel something crawling on me. And I had tickets. Ticks, literal ticks. Crawling all. I mean, I had like five, I think. But yeah, I was like freaking out. I was like, they're definitely my butt crack in my vagina and everything. Because that is what was touching the grass. So that was a little panic inducing for sure. So, yeah. Anyways. But we get to the bus stop, we get to Balluno. I'm. I think a lot of people know where Boluno is. And so then we took the train from Buluno back to Venice to pick up our bags. And the. Our hotel where we stayed at before we left had kept our bags for us, which was so nice. So we had just like our other clothes and things that we didn't want to carry on the hike in those bags. And they wouldn't even take, like money for us to hold our bags or anything. They were like, so sweet. The lady was like, please just like donate it to charity. She was like, so serious. [00:39:34] Speaker A: I still need to do that. I'm glad we're talking about it. This needs to go on my to do. I have every intention of doing. Doing so. [00:39:42] Speaker B: Okay, great, great, great. [00:39:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:45] Speaker B: Actually, after last weekend, I was at the Oregon State parks and like, we need to donate to Oregon State Parks. Like, holy moly. Anyways, but that's a whole nother note. But yeah, so we get to Venice, then we get our bags and we hang out for a little bit. We had some gelato and stuff and we had a lot of aperol. And then we get on another train over to Florence. And we made it all the way to Florence that night. So that was a wild day. It was just like we did it. Like, I felt very accomplished about that as well. Like none of the trains were late or anything. So we just like got there. [00:40:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. That was very jarring to get to Florence. I mean, in Venice, I think I expected there to be a lot of tourists and there was. But at night it cleared out. But Florence, I was not expecting there to be so much going on. And I loved where we were staying because it was so close to the center of town. But that's also where like a Lot of people hung out. So we get in at, like, 9pm and we walk out and there's just, like, sea of people everywhere. Like, someone playing music, like performers, like, jugglers, all this stuff. We just have all our bags. We just got done with this huge hike and we're like, what is going on? Like, what is happening? [00:40:56] Speaker B: Yeah. At that point, I was just so overwhelmed. I was like, I need to lay horizontally. Like, please. That would be great. And take a shower. Very much take a shower. That would be great. And not wear the same clothes for the last few days. That would be fantastic. But, yeah. So we spent two days in Florence. Florence was very cute. Very. Yeah, it was very walkable. Very. Yeah. We went on the most amazing wine tour in Tuscany. We met the best of friends. We had the best time. That was actually, like, one of the highlights of the whole trip, I think, was just getting to, like, the wine tour was just unreal. Just, like, so funny. So many memories. And then the friends we made on the wine tour was very rad. What was your favorite part of. [00:41:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. I think. I think between the wine tasting and then afterwards, like, the rooftop bar, that was. That was very fun. Just, I. Yeah, I feel like that's the best part about traveling, is talking to people. And everyone was so lovely that we met. [00:41:54] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. And then we met up with Josh, and he made it to Florence to hang out with us, and so he went. And then we all, like, went to Rome together. And so we did all of the, like, touristy room things. But I really liked Rome a lot. I think I liked Rome maybe the best out of the three cities. [00:42:17] Speaker A: Yeah. I think both of us went in not really expecting to like Rome, but it was. It was very, very cool. And all of the things that we did were, I guess, touristy, but, like, there's a reason, like, they're, like. Seeing the Coliseum when we arrived at night was, like, breathtaking. [00:42:35] Speaker B: Yeah, it was so, so cool. Yeah. Very cool moment. And then, yeah, the Vatican was way cooler than I thought it was going to be, because I'm not Catholic and I know nothing about it, but it was very rad. Getting to go to the top of the Duomo and then getting to go in the Sistine Chapel was really cool. There was a lot of people. It was kind of like herding cattle through some of the tours and things that we did. But, yeah, it was a very, very cool experience. Like, definitely, like, necessary and happy that we got to do all those things. For sure. Yeah. And then I was ready to not walk for a very long time. [00:43:13] Speaker A: I know. Yeah. Even. Yeah. So we got got back, and we weren't really resting. We were still walking, like, at least 20,000 steps a day. And so Kelly and I's feet were unhappy. We were, like, struggling to find shoes that did not give us blisters or make us hurt in some way. But we made it through. [00:43:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. It was definitely. That's one thing to know. Like, even if you think you're bringing the comfiest shoes, like, you need to go 10 times comfier. Otherwise, you're done for, like, no dice. [00:43:43] Speaker A: Should have brought a lot more. Like, I should have brought a lot more. I should have brought a stronger stool softener. There are things I would do differently. I don't think I told you this, Kelly, but everyone who travels, like, I. I don't know you. Italy, it was hard to find vegetables. Like, it was tough to stay hydrated. Oh, my gosh. So hot all the time we were sweating. We were outside all the time. We were hiking. Blah, blah, blah. So we were like, we're getting ahead of this. We're gonna take, like, a supplement to help us stay regular. Sorry, listeners, if this is too much. We can. We can cut this out. But no, it's. [00:44:20] Speaker B: No, it's very. [00:44:20] Speaker A: Still taking that after you left and the situation got very dire, and we had to, in Naples, go, and I had to get a stronger laxative, and the pharmacist is like, this is, like, really strong. Like, I think you should try something lighter beforehand. And it's like. I was like, I need it. [00:44:37] Speaker B: Like, yeah. You're like, I know what I'm doing at this point. Let me tell you. I've taken three of these. [00:44:45] Speaker A: She was like, maybe the diet is different. And I was like, yes. I would say. [00:44:54] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah, that was a great impression also. I love that. But anyways, overall, I just made it to northern Italy. I would love to. To go back to Italy. It's so easy to travel. It's so easily accessible. It's so easy to get around the country. Sam and Josh were able to go to the south and spend 2 more ish weeks there. And do you have any, like, takeaways and, like, favorite. You don't have to go too much in depth, but just, like, favorite places you guys go to? [00:45:21] Speaker A: Yeah. After Rome, we went to. Oh, man. It's like, all blending together now. We went to Naples, and that was really cool. We got to try a ton of the pizza, and it's the birthplace of pizza. So that was pretty amazing. We got to try some more unique, like, types. One was like a stuffed crust with, like, ricotta in the crust. One was like a deep fried pizza. Like, so that was really, really cool. And Naples very much felt like a place that people really, like, live. It was like very. It was a little grittier. It was like people like old grannies, like, smoking on their balconies the whole time or yelling at people across, like, the apartment buildings. There are, like little buckets that people use to, like, if somebody's delivering groceries or food to them, they drop their buckets off their balcony and then they, like, pull it back up with a rope. So everybody's balcony has a bucket attached to it. So we were just like, watching and that was really, really cool. And everybody's laundry is, like, out and drying everywhere, all over the apartment. So that we really liked Naples. But, yeah, we went to the Amalfi coast. Stunningly gorgeous. We did Pompeii, which was very, very cool. I had very low expectations for Pompeii, but just seeing the city, what? I don't know, it was very, like, one of my favorite experiences in Italy. That was great. Yeah. We did go down south to Reggio Calabria, which is like the tip of the toe. And we went across to Sicily just for a day. And that was a nice experience too. We did a little cooking class down there with somebody in her home, which was cool. But yeah, yeah, we had such a great time. Like Kelly said, it's, like, very lovely to be able to get around so easily with public transit. Things were late at times, like, and there were strikes that were happening. So that was a little bit stressful, but still just like, being able to travel by high speed train is chef's kiss, like, so nice. I do think I would go back another time of year. I would not go in the summer. It was very, very hot. Yeah, absolutely. But, yeah, still, overall, like, quite like an incredible once in a lifetime experience. It was awesome. But I still think my favorite part was the Dolomites. Like, that it was really special. [00:47:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, that's very sweet. Yeah, it was very cool. I'm so. Yeah, I guess I'm just like, overall, like, proud of us that we actually did it. Like, people are. Yeah, like I said at the beginning, people were like, wait, you're going to hike something? Like, that's very confusing. And I was like, yeah, it's like a thing. And like, people, they're either you've, like, totally heard of it and you, like, are totally in on it, or you Know nothing about it. Basically, like, through hikes in other countries and, like, the Refugio hut to hut situation. But then coming back, I met other people who had, like, done Tour de Mont Blanc and stuff, and I'm like, oh, my God, like, what the heck? Now I need to do that one. [00:48:09] Speaker A: Yeah. Definitely gave us just more things to add to the bucket list. But it was. I'm so. Yeah. I'm so happy that we did it. I'm so happy it's made it out of the, like, the group chat or whatever. I'm so happy that it actually happened because. Yeah, I met somebody. Somebody at work yesterday, and she's gonna do it with her husband next summer. And I was like, I'm so excited for you. Like, it's gonna be amazing. Yeah. [00:48:34] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Also. Okay. [00:48:36] Speaker A: We. [00:48:36] Speaker B: We're kind of cracking up too, though, because we. There's a lot of people that were there, like, on their honeymoon and were like. Like, we would not want to do this on our honeymoon. Like, what? [00:48:45] Speaker A: Yeah, Yeah. I don't think I would want to be that. There was a lot of couples honeymoon, but, like, I mean, it's. I feel like, if anything, do it before you get married because you'll know that you travel okay together and you can do hard things. I don't know about right after. [00:49:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, also, just, like, you would think. Well, I think of honeymoon as, like, relaxing and whatever. [00:49:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Not sharing bunk beds with, like, 20 other people. [00:49:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:11] Speaker A: I don't know. [00:49:12] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, totally. Because, yeah, like we said, there's a few private rooms, but I don't think all the refugios had private rooms, so. [00:49:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:19] Speaker B: Anyway. But I think that. I think we got through a lot of K flare's questions. Italy. Yeah. Is incredible. If you haven't been, please go. It's very cool. Let us know if you have any other questions that we didn't really touch on. We didn't go, like, day by day because, honestly, it's like kind of a blur. Like, I'd have to look back through my pictures and be like, oh, yeah, that's what we did that day. But, yeah, obviously the things that stick out most were, like, the Lagazui day and then the seventh day because they were both very hard and very trying on the brain. But, yeah, overall, it was a very cool trip. I was very happy to get home, though, to, like, have my own car again and get around whenever. That was, like, one thing when I got out of P Score, too, that I was like, oh, My God. Having, like, freedom of, like, going wherever I want, whenever I want is, like, so wild. Yeah. You don't realize you don't have it until you don't have it. So. [00:50:14] Speaker A: Totally. I. Yeah, I agree. I was shocked at how ready I was to come home. Like, I. Which is great. Like, that says a lot. But I. I just felt like younger Sam would not have felt the same way. Been, like, low. Let's keep going. And now I'm like, yeah, I'm ready for, like, my routine and my bad vegetable. [00:50:34] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. 100. Well, as always, thank you, Samantha Sax, for coming on the pod. And I can't wait to get some feedback and hear from everybody once they listen. So we appreciate you. Thanks for getting on and it. I feel like our lag, like, got so much better. I don't know what happened, but it. [00:50:55] Speaker A: Did get a lot better. I hope that makes editing easier. [00:50:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:50:58] Speaker A: I was gonna say at the beginning, like, my goal was to not sound so similar when we're talking because we got that feedback before that. Our voices sound too similar. So I was gonna talk in the lower voice or, like, throw my voice, but figure it out if you don't know who's who. [00:51:13] Speaker B: Like, really? We. Yeah, we don't know what to do for you, so whatever. [00:51:17] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sorry. But anyway, thank you. It was a pleasure, and I'm so happy we got to do this together. And I just love you so much. And we didn't kill each other after our time together, and we want to still hang out. I feel like it was success. [00:51:29] Speaker B: Successful all around. Yeah. Thank you so much for coming on and thank you so much for hiking with me, and thanks for being candid with us. We love you all so much. Bye. [00:51:40] Speaker A: Bye. That's all for today's episode. [00:51:53] Speaker B: Hope you enjoyed listening as much as we love you. Follow us on Instagram Candidly30. See you next week, Sam.