Located in Italy’s northeastern corner, bordering Austria, the Dolomites have a distinct landscape, culture, and cuisine that’s completely different from what you’ll find elsewhere in Italy. Up there, rolling hills and olive trees are replaced by jagged limestone peaks and alpine meadows where cows graze. Weathered Mediterranean buildings are replaced by wooden alpine chalets. And pasta is replaced by… just kidding, there’s still pasta!

When I was an English teacher in Rome right out of college, my students from well-to-do families always talked about going skiing in the Dolomites for their Christmas vacations. It took me a long time to get there, but Marco and I finally visited for the first time last year and loved it so much we went twice—once in January and once in November.