Hotel Primavera Stresa

Lake Como photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album. php?aid=163676&id=613699523&l=b 0c583d265

Friday caught the train out to Como for a day trip.
Wandering around Como is really nice and can imagine it would be awesome in Summer, as well as being incredibly busy and crowded.
Caught the funiculare up to Brunate and walked up the ...

... 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!

... a long time about that. Eventually we fell asleep, and I felt refreshed, it's amazing how much I rely on friends, and she has truly become a very close one.

The next day the son drove us to the train station, where Meghan and I said our goodbyes. I don't think it's the last time we'll see each other, but it was still sad. The ride into Milan was short and uneventful, but once there, I had a frantic time. I had planned all my train and bus schedules around ...

... 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 ...

... 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!

... it was potentially the most beautiful place ive ever been to. como is the largest town on a huge lake. I got an all day ferry ticket from Como and went exploring. it was great beause you could hop on and off as often as you liked and the ferries were pretty regular. they did stop in the middle of the day for the bloody siesta though!

It is postard-like scenery the whole way - huge tree covered mountains stretch down to the lake, which looks surprisingly clean ...

... sidewalk cafes lining the piazzas, and sparkling lake nestled between two lush mountains make it a dazzling city. We really didn't do much other than sit outside in piazzas and terraces watching the world go by while we ate delicious food. And I love the Italian language. It is so enchanting. I was tempted to ditch my life in Basel and move to Lugano so I could give up learning German and switch to a much more delightful sounding language ...

... Milan. What a change from what I have been seeing. 6 & 8 lane roads-tons of nre high rise apartment buildings going up everywhere. On one side of the train you see what I guess to be old Milan and on the other-construction cranes. So we are riding through farm areas and then a treed area and the BAM-Lake Maggiore. It's huge and beautiful. The Alps are to the north but can't be seen due to haze. I ...

... to pay my first ever speeding fine in twelve years of driving with an attitude of taking it on the chin (actually, it turned out to be the second – in the post soon after I got a far less serious fine from the day before. One of the new permanent speed cameras on the autoroute somewhere around Lausanne had snapped me for presumably not having slowed down fast enough in a 100km/h zone in an area where the speed limits change constantly between 120km/h and 100km/h), and I ...