Hey buddies!
Another day in the mountains yesterday, destination Cogne, 1600 meters above sea level, beautiful village at the foot of Gran Paradiso National Park. Together with my future wife, my mother and a couple of friends with their dog, we went to visit the Lillaz Falls, a hamlet few kilometers walking distance from downtown.
The valley to get there is passable by car in narrow streets, it is impressive when you get to the top and you are in front of a total mountains opening surrounding the village and giving a breathtaking view.
Our very nice friend, Mina, who loves water and who has never barked once in the whole day, really good company. Everything about rivers, streams and waterfalls fascinates me a lot, we were all thrilled in this oasis of peace.
On the way, not very impervious, we saw three waterfalls, one very close, the others only in the distance, but there are many more. The one underneath which we were able to go was of an impressive grandeur, the water, coming down from the mountain, broke on the rocks below making a crazy thud and raising in the air what looked like a very thin drizzle.
We did not meet many people during our way, also because in Italy you can get out of your region in days, usually these places are very coveted, especially by tourists. After having lunch in the middle of a meadow we went down to the village. I had already been there more than 15 years ago to work for a friend in a tobacco and newsstand shop for three months, but on my day off I always came home and I never had the chance to see everything around.
What I remembered very well and what impressed me even then is the accuracy in having diligently kept intact the houses rurality, almost all made of stone and wood. Unlike some of the most famous places in the valley, such as Pila or Cervinia, where the houses are quite vintage and in my opinion they are not very suitable for the surrounding landscape. A place instead that impressed me a lot, almost like Cogne is Courmayeur, also masterfully maintained.
It looks a lot like a Swiss country, I don't know if you've ever been there but there everything seems to be clean and tidy, even here I haven't seen a piece of paper on the ground around the village or in the woods, which is strange because often in other countries the incivility and not respect for nature are lacking.
Among breathtaking landscapes, endless water, paths, stones, tree houses for the park rangers who usually keep watch with binoculars in case of emergency, we spent a very pleasant day finished in the ice cream shop and then we went home tired and happy.
