Quarcino Como

This whole entry is dedicated to the 13 hour train ride I had to take from Barcelona to Milan.  It departed Barcelona at 8 am.  The first leg traveled from Barcelona to Montpellier, all along the coast of northern Spain and Southern France.  As we curved around the fingers of the French riviera, my jaw was dropped in awe.  Little houses perched on the side of the cliffs over looked the water.  At one point our train stopped in a small town near the border of ...

Aujourd'hui fut la plus froide des journee en italie jusqu'a present. nous avons visiter milan. une grande ville qui n'a pas autant d'eclat que les petites villes que nous avons vue jusqu'a presentl, Il y a l a cathedrale(duomo) qui est tres impresionnante, le chateau tres bien conserver et un cimetiere immense ou tous sont inhume dans des ...

... from the point there though which was cool.
Ferry back from Belaggio to Como was a lot quicker (and more expensive) and had some great views of the various places around the lake.

Back in Milan that night discovered the happy hour buffets that I'd read about - 6 Euro for a drink and all you can eat.

Buffet is nothing special, but ...

... even after all of the churches I've seen on this trip.
Went to the famous La Scala, but we couldn't go inside as they werehaving a rehearsal at the time and unlike the Vienna Opera House couldn't get cheap standing tickets for a performance and wander freely around the inside at the same time.

Wandered around town and stopped at what turned out to ...

... now, the police came, the residences came the ambulance was parked behind us, all this was going on in typical Italian high, draw out drama with up peeping out of the curtains praying not to be noticed! Amazingly they didn't even seem to care we were there so after the entertainment we knew we would probably be ok.

Since we have had no luck getting anyone to look at the van we have had to plan a route that will maximise our chance of finding a mechanic and not putting to much ...

... 20c coin, but was told that you had to throw it over your head, I had thrown it in a frisby like fashion.. fountain 1, me 0. I promptly moved the edge of the fountain, sat down and found an Australian $1 coin. I cast it in the fountain, over my head, but didn't hear a splash, the coin had landed on the rocks surrounding the fountain and not touched the water! Did this count! That was a gold coin! I figured that the fact my first coin went in and the second coin was over my head ...

... get it and you have to book in advance (Just call them)

Strong reco ... it you are in Milan plan to watch a football match. Otherwise headout to a lake nearby in Alps and stay there for the night.

If none of this is possible, than please go to Milan before you head anywhere else in italy.It will make the trip better and more worthwhile.

Hey... note all of above is subject to you not going to Milan for shopping...

... walking sticks is Mae at church, but we should find a pair when we return. People here can't get enough of them. Our main day trip on the lake was to Bellagio, a town made more famous by the Vegas casino that stole it's name. It was very quiet when we were there but Mom and Carolyn still managed to do some shopping. One bar we enjoyed a lot was owned by three friendly brothers. We tasted lemoncello ...

... across. Put cruise control on 150kph and go to sleep. Anyway, every time we emerged from one of those tunnels, which could be up to 2ooo metres long, there was a fresh view of Lake Maggiore, its shoreline and the islands. It was the clearest day ever. The peaks and the water sparkled. In the early evening, like now, the slopes were illuminated by the sun and the ridges were as if drawn with a sharp pencil. It was 6pm before we arrived. It had been a long day. We were ...

... better generally speaking. I understand that one reason may be due to the pressure at which the water is pressed through the grounds and that this may not be at the same standard used/allowed in the US, for example. I have not yet verified this point but something is definitely different. In the end, although I long for the ultimate cappuccino served up daily back in the US, truthfully I celebrate the fact that we cannot replicate certain things. I consider this a not-so ...