Lugano

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We arrive by car to Lugano, on our way we drive through one of the longest tunnels in the world. We are so impressed with the engineering that went into building this tunnel. Lots of moutains and waterfalls on the drive here. Lugano is a Italian speaking area. So we now say ciao (hello) and grazie (thank you). This area not only speaks Italian the architecture is more Italian than traditional Swiss architecture and the people look Italian. Lugano is located on Lake Lugano, Italy is only a stones throw away. We have rented an Airbnb two blocks from the lake. There is a heat wave going on and it is 95 when we arrive. The first thing we do when we arrive in a new city is grocery shop. Switzerland is the most expensive country we have ever stayed in so we have been cooking breakfast and dinner in our apartment or house and packing a lunch. Our apartment has no air conditioning so after shopping we head to the lake for a swim. The water is not too cold and we watch the sunset while we swim.

It is too hot to go sight seeing so we drive to Lake Maggiore, a 40 minute drive. We pay 18 francs to enter Lido Locarno a swim park. We spent the entire day here until 7:30 pm. These kinds of parks are common in this area, there is one a block from our apartment but it does not have a lake beach and we want to swim in the lake. The lakes around here do not have sand beaches but the swim parks do. This park has three water slides, about three stories high. There is a pool with different hights diving platforms. There is a lap pool and two indoor pools. There is a hot pool with jets, some at foot level, some at thigh level and some hit your neck. There are pools for toddlers and children, a place to play soccer and volleyball. Lots of lawn and you can rent chairs, we found a spot under some large trees. There is a blow up play structure out in the lake. You try to run or jump across the opening in the structure or you can try to climb up to the slides. We enjoy swimming out there and watching people fall in while trying to navigate the structure. We brought our lunch but we are here so long we have dinner here. There is a restaurant, a outdoor cafe, desert cafe and a bar. We swim and read with occasional naps. Great place to spend a hot day.

Today we drive twenty minutes to the Town of Gandria and park in a lot above the village. From the parking lot we follow the signs to the Olive Walk. The walk is along the lake and passes through the cute village of Gandria which has restaurants if you want to eat. We brought our lunch and stop on a bench with a view to enjoy our lunch. The walk takes about one hour forty five minutes one way with stops to enjoy the sites and read about olives. We take the quick way back by following the road so we can beat the rain. This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs or strollers. If you don't want to walk back the number two bus will return you to Gandria or Lugano. We enjoy our time here and we use it as a jumping off spot for Italy, Lake Como area.

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