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Published: September 11th 2011
Our last day in Stresa was misty and sad to leave. We had more dramas with the new local sim which I won’t go into, we are all sorted now after nearly 2 full days of working on it and speaking to different people, and translating txts from the provider.
We had organized a private transfer from Stresa to Cadenabbia on Lake Como, which we were thankful for as it was a convoluted train trip with several changes, and it was a good chance for us to learn about the toll roads and road rules (or lack thereof) from Fabri who had also taken us on the 3 Island Tour a day or so earlier. It was misty/foggy when we left Lake Maggiore and even more foggy at Lake Como (2 hours drive away) when we arrived. Our first impression of our accommodation was disappointing, though we have a lovely room with a view of the lake. It is a very very large hotel full of Brits, which is fine, but the meals are very mass produced, and corridors a bit smelly and musty. We were so tired last night by the time we got back at about 7.30 from
our afternoon at Menaggio (next town) that we braved dinner in the restaurant here and regretted it (even thought it seemed to be free- as most people pay ahead for what they call full board (all meals included), and no-one seemed to be checking off who was prepaid and who was not.
We have noticed the same with breakfasts in all hotels, no-one checks off your room number, so we have decided we could go up the road to the Grand Hotel and enjoy their breakfast far more than the powdered OJ here! We are wishing we had chosen Menaggio for this leg of our stay as there is much more to do, and nicer restaurants and shops than here in Cadenabbia.
Today we have taken it easy as my feet are still not fully recovered from the flight, though after a hard massage this morning the swelling is not as bad, so we headed out at about lunch time on the ferry to Bellagio, directly across the lake from where we are staying, and had a casual walk around and shopped in the lovely boutiques.
We had the best lunch since we arrived at a tucked
away restaurant recommended by a boutique owner, called Far Out. We both ordered the plate with prawn, octopus, calamari and small lobsters. It was the most delicious meal I have had in ages, and the 'small lobster' looked exactly like a prawn with claws, but tasted sooooo sweet. I did the Bowdens proud and tried to get everyscrap of meat out of those lobster claws that were smaller than the size of Bella's pinkie finger. Mmmm
The 'season' is long here, from Feb to October and shop/restaurant owners work 7 days a week up to 12 hours (some areas like Stresa and Bellagio don’t close for siesta) so they say they close up shop and go on holidays for about 4 months. Too bad for those who travel to Italy in Nov Dec, as everyone tells us there is just nothing open. Not sure if this is just up in the north or all over Italy.
We found many local handcrafted souvenirs today and even bought in the Missoni boutique at Bellagio (important Italian design family who make their own fabrics) I was wishing that weight was not an issue as there was a beautiful Missoni bathroom mat!
Who know they do homewares?
We have been fascinated by the streets, so lots of photos of cobbled little lanes will appear on the blog. They are in amazing condition for their age, compare to modern materials of cement or bitumen. No pot holes and very smooth. Paris was the same, the streets are still the cobbled stones.
Tomorrow we will maybe do the ferry journey and jump on and off at a few towns, and perhaps revisit Como town. There is a beautiful art gallery there of a Canadian painter in an impressionist style. I am working on John for a little one (very little) of his works!
Happy Happy birthday to Sophia!!!!! Love you.
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