Hotel Du Lac-Lugano Paradiso

... 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!!!

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 ...

... another according to the train website the day before, but apparently not everything you see online is true. I had to make a transfer, but luckily, it turned out well. The ride into Brescia was stressful, the ticket man (I don't know his official title) was coming around to check our tickets but the man in the seat next to me didn't have his. A little argument commenced, then some all out shouting, and fingers being pointed and scary looks in angry eyes. I was a ...

... quaint with beautiful villas. We walked the gardens of the Melza Villa. The canons in the photos are not toys....they are from the Napoleonic period...used to defeat Milan. The keys are to the city of Milan from the 1700's.

The food here is terrific. We travel back to Milan tomorrow to pick up our friends and head to the villa in Montanione. Forecast is for thunderstorms...yeah!

Love,
R ich and Kara

Hi Everyone,
Today Alan and I took the ferry to Lenno, another beautiful town on Lake Come. This town is known for the Villa Balbianello. The gardens were amazing and we dedided to take the tour of the Villa, which is usually not such a big deal. We were surprised to find that the past owner of this villa, Guido Monzino, had ...

... The balcony where Romeo and Juliet declare their love is a magnet to tourists and they allow people to write and pin love notes to the wall which are cleared every three months so the process can start again.

The relevance of Como for me ended up being from my childhood when Dad subscribed to a weekly series called the History of World War 2. I couldn't wait for each series to arrive and I remember one story of how ...

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 ...

... Back to life- aren't l living right now? What is it about travel that makes people think like it's a time (for me a year) where your life is frozen and then will melt back to reality once you return home? Let me say- lam still living and breathing, lam experiencing more in each place l go, feeling more emotions, meeting more people and doing more than l have in the rest of my 23 years! I am definitely not frozen- in fact lam living more than l have in my entire life. So please don't ...

... like the French side of Switzerland I lived in, nor the German side I visited semi-regularly.

But, looking harder, the streets were free of potholes, the lakeside was completely free of rubbish and there was a general feeling of orderliness that could never be confused for Italy. This really was still the same country I lived in.

The difference was obvious as soon as we crossed the border. The autostrade was a little bumpy and the fog became smog as we passed ...

... to the Internet cafe, we walked to countless outdoor bakeries, butchers and seafood shops. I am really loving this trip so far. Each town that we visit, we are able to stay for as long as we like and usually after a day or two, we are able to get the general feel for a place and are ready and excited to move on and see what else Europe has to offer us. Its so incredible because out of every city we have seen, we can only think of one that has been somewhat ...