Mon-Desir Hotel-Pension Locarno

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 ...

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 ...

Ciao Bello,

We have finally hit a day of rain...so we thought we should stop off at the nearest internet site to say hello. We have visited a few of our neighboring communities in the last few days. Varenna, which claims to be the diamond of the lake, while Bellagio is only the pearl of the lake. No George Clooney sightings. Varenna is a cute and quiet town with steep hillsides and walkways. Bellagio is also ...

... the world as an explorer and mountain climber. Through his travels he had collected art from Africa, Asia, South America and other parts of Europe. The Villa was a museum dedicated to his travels and collections. Very interesting!
Tonight is our last in Lake Como. We had originally planned to stay the last night in ...

... be a 4 or 5 hr trip home. We would be falling asleep, but they were undaunted. We had a wonderful time with them speaking Italian etc. They seem very happy together and it is very good to see that. We bid them adieu with the hopes of seeing them next year.

Tomorrow we will spend our last full day in Italy, perhaps going to see the most famous villa on the lake at Balboniello (forgive me if I spelled it wrong).

Love

A and L

... 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 ...

... overload.

We toured Villa Melzi and its beautiful English-style giardini (gardens) with groves of azaleas, gigantic rhododendrons and perfectly manicured hedges all which sit on the lake's banks. We enjoyed a panini on the waterfront, lemoncello on la terraza, and just took it all in... this is a place one must experience ...

... 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 ...

... It was a fantastic escape from noise, computers and pretty much the world. I slept incredibly well. Came home today and was surveyed by a guy from die Bahn. (translation of the first minute, my favorite part) "I saw you sleeping earlier. ICE trains are GREAT for sleeping, aren't they?" "You saw me with things in my ears and something on my face because there were very loud children. I never found true sleep. This situation seems to ...

... 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 ...