Switzerland for a Day

Sun. 23^rd June :

After four delightful days in Italy, two days each in Bevano and Cannobio on the shores of Lake Maggiore, where we spent our time swimming in the lake, exploring the towns by foot and by bike, catching ferries to other lakeside towns, relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere, we drove to Locarno in Switzerland this morning, a mere 17 kms away on the northern end of the lake.  On arrival in this very busy and attractive town, we parked Boris at the railway station and bought tickets to Verdasio in the Centovalli.  The train we caught terminated two stops earlier at Intragna and we spent an hour roaming through the very quiet town, stopping for a cool drink at a local restaurant where we were serenaded by a singer/accordion player, before strolling back to the station to catch the next train to Verdasio.  From there, we boarded an automatically run cable car to Rasa, a small, old, car free village with magnificent views over the valley.  It was quiet and peaceful there and on our walk, we met and chatted to two Swiss couples, one of whom had just arrived at their holiday house on the edge of the village and told us that their fathers had both been born there. Back down the mountain to Locarno and Boris, then one and a half kms to our overnight stopping spot.  It has rained a few times, brief showers only so we’re hopeful that the morning will be fine and we can go for a bike ride before we leave.

Buon Giorno!

Tues. 25^th June :  We’re back in Italy after our brief but enjoyable 24 hours in Switzerland.  It was a beautiful sunshining day yesterday (Mon. 24^th) and before leaving Locarno, we cycled along the lake near our camp and then along the cycle way into the town, a short distance away and a very scenic ride.  On checking out the ferry timetables, we found that the free ferry to Tenero was to leave at 11.10am so we rode back to camp, quickly packed up and drove to the railway station, parked Boris and walked down to the ferry port…too late…missed our ferry by about 2 minutes.  As the next one wasn’t for another hour or more, we decided to move on, but on our walk back to the railway station, we noticed a funicular station so bought tickets and went for a 365m ride up the mountain to Madonna del Sasso at Orselina, a magnificent church with panoramic views over Locarno and Lake Maggiore. 

Leaving Locarno, we passed through Lugano, travelling along the shores of Lake Lugano and back into Italy to Menaggio on Lake Como, found a camp site which is a bit rough and ready, but the location makes up for that, and the amenities, while getting on a bit are clean.  It’s a five minute bike ride into the centre of town, so we’ve ridden in a few times and today we bought a mid lake shuttle ticket each…12 euro all day senior pass which entitled us to ride on a series of ferries to visit Varenna and Bellagio on the other side of the lake, and then Lenno, on our side but a little further south. 

We spent an hour or two in each town, each has its own charm, we had an absolutely fabulous day and will be extremely sorry to leave…but…there are other places to go and hopefully, we’ll be back!

Thurs. 27^th June :  An early start yesterday for the 200kms autostrada drive to Lazise on the shores of Lake di Garda, recommended to us by our German neighbours in Menaggio.  Arrived about 1:30 and booked in. It’s lovely here, different from the Maggiore and Como villages in that it is more open and quite flat, no mountains on this, the eastern side of the lake, they’re only on the other side. 

 On our bike rides and leisurely evening stroll along the lake, and into the town, which is walled, we found loads of cafes, shops etc. and many, many people, mostly northern Europeans.  As our German friends said, it is only a 3 hour drive on the motorways for most of them…a bit further for us!   So far today, we’ve done very little…a load of washing, a visit to the shops and not much else…a slow morning but hey! We’re on holidays!

We have limited wifi so trouble uploading pics. Will add them when we can.