Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees - A Summit Hotel Stresa

... hill to the Volta Lighthouse. If it wasn't for the foggy view we would have had a great panoramic view of Lake Como and it's surrounds.
After walking back down to Como we caught the bus out to Belaggio which is at the furthest point on the lake. Town was completely dead. a couple of cafes and post card shops open and that was it!
Some nice ...

When I finally found Lake Como (after a train, then a bus, then a ferry and then a very confusing walk) I was surprised that it was so empty. It was raining (I think the rain is following me around Europe) and there was no one about so I was able to do my exploring easily. Lake Como is a very small place with not too many things to ...

... and drove like hell to the main church there. I thought maybe the dad drove like that cuz we were running a little late, but I found out the next day that that's just actually how he drives. Typical crazy Italian driver. Anyway, so Meghan and I were by far the youngest people there, and it was actually an organ/flute concert, but I liked when only the organ was playing. We came back home around 11 and I was so exhausted from the trek over Milan that I fell asleep ...

... Mussilini was ousted and arrested by his own party, the Germans helped him escape and set up a puppet regime in the north of Italy. When all was lost, and German troops were retreating, Mussulini and others tried to escape and were captured by communist partisans . They kept him and his mistress overnight then decided to execute them. There was a photo in the series that I will never forget of their mutilated bodies hanging ...

My friend had the fabulous idea of going to Lugano this weekend and I am not one to turn down great ideas. I still had my Canadian friend staying with me as well and he was ready to move on, but I convinced him to wait until he sees Lugano before he moves on to the next country on his list.

So we made a three-day weekend out of it and had a fabulous time. Lugano is so beautiful! The winding streets, steep hills, charming shopping ...

... with the Italian as to who could reach the top first. Today, 150 people per day make the climb,during the climbing season, at a price of 998 Swiss Francs per person.

Our route to Italy took us over the Alps via the Simplon Pass. Those who know Agatha Christie’s, Murder on the Orient Express, will recognize the Pass. The Swiss love to dig tunnels and the Simplon Pass has both an auto pass and a train pass. The train ...

... were in the Italian part of Switzerland. I’m continually amazed at the diversity within such a small country, so much so that I really don’t know how the 26 largely autonomous Cantons, each distinctly parochial, influenced in part in food and customs by their nearest bordering countries and divided by the use four official national languages, has ever been able to function effectively as a unified confederation since the original Cantons first joined together in 1291 ...

... was offered. Before we get to the top, I must comment on the ride. Cable cars are not extremely dangerous, nor are they thrilling. It's a slow moving car up a cable, with a few bounces here and there at the poles in between. They can be a bit uncomfortable as the ride includes you and about 30 other people, but are not unbearable. I have had worse rides on the San Francisco MUNI. Trust me. But mom, was nervous, and when she is nervous ...