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Viva Italia: Skiing the Italian Alps
Italy remains one of the best kept skiing secrets in Europe, but perhaps that’s how the Italians like it. Though often overshadowed by France and Switzerland, Italy offers skiers some of the finest resorts and hotels in the Alps.
Italia has a relaxed charm and a unique Italian ambiance that is not found in other Alpine countries. With its excellent cuisine, fine wine, chic boutique shopping and sophisticated après ski night life, it's no wonder that the Italian Alps are a popular luxury winter holiday destination for the discerning skier.
And off course, skiing and snowboarding aren't the only winter sports on offer; increasingly more people who prefer not to risk life and limb by hurtling down a mountain at break neck speed are enjoying more sedate winter holidays. Snow-shoeing for example, makes for a relaxed walk on the white side; technology has come a long way and snow shoes no longer resemble unwieldy tennis rackets. New modern designs mean light weight manoeuvrable shoes, perfect for exploring snowy forested trails.
Or if you want a real work out, why not give cross-country skiing a go? This sport is the oldest form of skiing, and is one of the best forms of exercise possible. These narrow skis use soft, comfortable boots which are attached to the ski at the toe only, allowing uphill travel as well as down. The sport is good for all levels of ability, and a great way to get out and enjoy the snow at your own pace.
As hosts of the 2006 winter Olympics which took place in and around Torino (Turin), Italy has proved itself worthy of competing as a ski destination in the international arena, and for many clued-in Brits, Italy's laid back attitude to life, love of fine food and wine, good value for money and beautiful mountains are an ongoing draw.
Italy has over 100 resorts scattered over the northern part of the country, in the Italian Alps and the jagged Dolomites. The mountains of Piedmont, where Pragelato and Sestriere are located, hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics and are a particular favourite for ski holidays.
Pragelato is set within the Chison Valley between two spectacular national parks, the Val Troncea and Orsiera-Rocciavre. Swathed by larch and fir woods, wide alpine grassland and glaciers, these natural sanctuaries dominated by silence, are ideal habitats for an array of wildlife, and the area offers some of Italy's finest skiing and snowboarding.
With a flight from the UK taking under three hours, Italy is just as accessible as other Alpine nations and generally considered slightly better value compared to other British favourites such as Switzerland and France. So, maybe it's time you tried skiing the Italian way.
About the Author
Elisha Burberry is an online, freelance journalist and keen movie-goer from Scotland. Her interests include travelling, cooking and photography.
How did Ozzie get the White Sox to turn around from last year?
Or was it Kenny William's trades and know how of his farm system?-Gavin Floyd and John Danks?--I guess Jon Garland was not that great of a pitcher compared to these young guns!
Carlos Quentin???-wow,talk about some magic out of nowhere? I'm a Tiger fan,but if my boys can't win,I wish for an all Windy City World Series.What a blast it would be in Chi-town!!-Viva Venezuela,Ozzie!
I don't think Ozzie changed anything from the way he has been managing since 2005. He does have some different players to work with this year (such as Cabrera, Swisher, Quentin, and Ramirez) but I think the main difference is that the Sox have been fortunate (so far) with to injuries and the hitters simply have been producing more and having better at bats than last year.
Even though they lost tonight's game againat the Rangers because the bullpen collpased, the Sox still came back in the 9th and had the tying and go-ahead runs on bases when Thome and Konerko struck out to end the game. The offensive is much more in-sync this year than last. And if the pitching can keep them in the game, the Sox hitters have enough confidence and pop to win the close ones.
Quentin has been a great surprise and Cabrera has started coming on strong of late. Even Thome is showing signs of breaking out of his slump. Dye has been excellent like he was in 2005-06. And, Crede has been healthy. Crede and Swisher carried the Sox at the beginning of the season and even though Swisher tailed off a little, he's starting to bounce back.
Crede's been a key because even though he still has too many (throwing) errors, he has stabilized the left side of the infield with Cabrera and also has provided some very clutch hitting.
The only problem so far has been Konerko. He can't seem to shake the slump he's been in the past few years and he's been injured. He's a really good player when he's on but maybe it's better going back to Swisher at first and Anderson/Wise in Center field for a while. Thome's hitting really well now and when Konerko was on the DL that line up did really well.
I think the only major move that Ozzie has made this year has been moving AJ to the number 2 spot. That seemed to really get both AJ and the Sox going. AJ is not the ideal hitter for that spot in the batting order, but he is a producer and he's been having a very solid year at the plate.
The Sox only lost Garland from last year's starters so they are basically the same. Danks and Floyd just have an extra season of experience which has really helped them. Both have been very solid all season. Buehrle, Contreras and Vazquez has been pretty good too but they do seem to have tired a bit lately so the All Star break should give them some needed rest.
The bullpen has been really good up (until the last few games at least). Dotel and Linebrink has been nice surprises. Dotel in particular has settled down really well after those first couple of rough outings. Jenks has been good but he might need to drop some weight to relieve some of the stress on his body. It's kind of good that he's out now because the Sox are really going to need him in August and September. The other relievers too seem to have bounced back from their horrible 2007 seasons and are starting to pitch with more confidence.
That's the key I think. The Sox are more successful this year simply because they have more confidence than they did last year.They really believe they can pull out every game. There have been some times this season where the Sox, after suffereing a few bad losses in a row, could have collapsed. But, they always came back and won the games they needed to turn things around. Their longest losing streak was 6 and they've had a few bad runs, but everytime they've bounced back with a mini-win streak to get back on track. Even after losing 3 in a row to the Cubs they bounced back and swept them the next weekend.
The Sox are won of the more balanced teams in the league, they are also a team of very good players and not jsut a few superstars. I think Ozzie and Kenny deserve alot of credit for finding players to fit into Ozzie's system but it has been the players that have been producing this year and keeping themselves in shape and staying healthy. When players are confident and believe they can win games, they usually do win more often then not.
Coldplay - Viva la Vida (Thin White Duke Mix)