Grand Dino (Lake View) Baveno

... good for what you pay!! And awesome for a backpacker!!
Went for drinks at Frank's Bar which Patrick who owns the hotel recommended. Turned out to be a pretty trendy cocktail joint
where you pay for your drink at 1 place then get it at another. 10 Euro for a beverage no matter what you had so naturally I ordered a long island ice tea!!!

... but it was nice to be able to relax and have a quiet walk around the villages. I needed to take a lot of ferries as this is the quickest way to get between each town as they are all placed at different points around the lake. A very nice place that I would love to visit again in the Summertime.

Next stop is Venice, Italy!

... is that? I'm naming my next dog that, no offense to him, he's a great guy, but I think as an American I could get away with naming a dog that, but not a child) had to work, so they dropped Meghan and I off at a little town called Orta on their way to work. Orta is on Orta Lake, a tiny lake in comparison to the others (Luisa didn't even know it existed), and is also freakin adorable. We got there early-ish, and as we were walking to the center I decided I needed to ...

... down in a square. The tour guide told the story of this event which was in fact played out around Como with the bodies being hung upside down in the nearby city of Milan.

As with everything these days I was able to retrieve the picture from the internet and have included it to reinforce the adage that violence begets violence - and on a smaller scale even the young love in Romeo and Juliet is destroyed by family conflict ...

... featuring some very pretty gardens and fountains. We enjoyed some gelato as we walked along the lakeside gardens. After an hour break here, we took the short drive to Como. Como is also another beautiful lakeside town. We shared dinner and enjoyed a nice conversation with Stan and Johanna from Colorado. We are now in Italy and we are looking forward to the next seven days in this country.

Took the train from Milan to Lake Como - short 1.5 hour trip. The lake is beautiful and there was a speed boat race going on when we arrived. We took the funicular (tram) which has a charming little town at the top and a great view of the lake. We stayed on the south side of the lake (where George lives) and then took a boat north to Bellagio. Quaint town with steep streets filled with great shops. Can understand why George bought a house there!

... Every now and then there is a little town of brightly coloured houses, a beautiful church or an extravagant villa. I met this cute old ouple from australia on the first ferry and bumped in to them on my last ferry.

Highlights would have to have been Villa Olmo at Como which was a stunning cream coloured villa with ridiculously over the top interiors (gold everything!) and villa Carlotta at Tremezzio. the villa was a popular stopping place in the 18th century ...

... Italian. Eventually I did return to reality, but not until after we visited Swiss Miniatur and San Salvatore. Swiss Miniatur is more or less self-explanatory, but I will say it was really cool to visit as a Swiss resident. It gave me and my friend some great ideas for future trips in the country. There are so many castles we never even knew existed! They really captured the great sites and monuments of Switzerland, including mountain ...

... is a very long and very large lake that straddles the border of Italy and Switzerland. We stayed in a beautiful village called Baveno, and our hotel (Hotel Rigoli) was right on the lakeshore. In our planning stages we were not sure what to expect from the area, but we were really surprised at just how beautiful the area was with its lake islands, immaculate villages, snow capped peaks, and lush forests.

The villages along the ...

... respected that they did not try to lecture me at all about breaking the speed limit by 25km/h either. After swiping my credit card and giving me the receipt the policeman warmly wished me a good journey and gave me two tins of lollies to take with me. Despite the fact they were by far the most expensive sweets I’ve ever bought, they tasted very nice.

Once past Disentis/Mustér we turned south, and the place names and changes in architecture immediately proclaimed ...