Alexandra Paris

Hello everyone!

When we had to think of a picture which represented ourselves I immediately thought of a mountain scenery. As you know I was born in South Tyrol where you can admire marvellous worldwide known mountains - the Dolomites. When I was a child and lived there I used to hike with my parents in the summer. But it was tiring and annoying, as it was not as funny as playing at home with friends and what is more it was not an activity I had chosen so I had to be against it. When I grew up I started to refuse to go with them and they let me stay at home. So I used to spend my summer holidays with friends going around in town, at the swimming pool, at the cinema... But last summer things changed as I felt I had to do something different. After doing some shopping - I bought a big rucksack, trekking shoes, a helmet and a map - I called a friend of mine, who is really fond of the Dolomites, and we started to organize our journeys. At the beginning I had great difficulties because I had to strenghten my muscles as I was not accostumed to do such physical activity. But I improved quite soon and now I can say that it was the most gorgeous summer I ever spent! So when my flow of thoughts goes back to that time one of the most beautiful days I keep in mind is August 13th, 2006 when we went to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. It was really cold as it had snowed in the night but the weather was wonderful and we enjoyed playing with the snow; but that is not all because when you reach the top of the mountain all efforts made - getting up early during your holidays, walking the whole day with a quite heavy rucksack on your shoulders, smelling unpleasantly, being tired - are worth because you can enjoy fantastic landscapes and dominate lower tops. I love the silence of the places, the sounds of birds and streams, because they are so far away from the hectic life of the city. It is a great sensation as you feel to be part of nature and share with it its immensity.

photo from flickr