Lugano, Switzerland and Venice, Italy

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Friday March 18th, Linda left school at noon in order for us to catch our 3:30 flight, first to Atlanta, then on to Paris, and arriving in Milan, Italy at 2:30 Saturday afternoon! We were off to visit our friends, fellow Saskatoonians Marie and Bernard who are in their second year of teaching in Lugano, Switzerland. Marie and Bernard had warned us that we should pack several days clothing in our carry-ons because quite often when they travel from Canada to Europe, their luggage is delayed. Being forewarned we arrived in Milan on time, but with no luggage. Delta kindly gave us little travel packs with the essentials including t-shirts that got us through till our luggage arrived via courier on Monday. We had booked a shuttle van to take us the hour and 15 minutes from gate 7 at the airpot to Lugano, however, no Starbus van was to be found despite the help of several locals. So, we tried to use the payphones to call Marie and Bernard, and were finally able to get in touch with them and they came and rescued us! We arrived in Lugano in time for a snack of Italian bread, Swiss cheese, olives and of course Italin beer and wine! Delicious!

Sunday morning, we were off to tour around Lake Como, Italy. Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction. Currently, many celebrities have or had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Branson, and Ben Spies. Lake Como is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy and we can attest to that. With lovely spring weather and the sun shining, we took a ferry across to Bellagio. The lake is shaped much like the character "Y" and Bellagio is a famous town at the junction of the three parts. We strolled the streets which were full of exotic boutiques of all kinds, and enjoyed a lunch at a street cafe overlooking the lake. Then, on our way back to the ferry, we had to stop and take a picture of the Lamborghinni and Ferrarri in the parking lot. Lugano, also known as the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland" has 55,000 inhabitants and even boasts a Ferrarri dealership. We then crossed on the ferry continued on around the lake and back towards Switzerland. Crossing the border here between Switzerland and Italy involves slowing down at the crossing so that the guards can see the mandatory EEC sticker on the windshield, and check to make sure you have winter tires on your car at this time of year. Bernard and Marie say they have never stopped or spoken to the officials. They then decided to take us to the top of Mount Bre, which overlooks Lugano. The drive was interesting as the road narrows as you climb the switchbacks to get to the top. The view, however, makes the drive more than worth the effort as we looked out over the town and the lake and communities scattered up the slopes all around.

Monday morning, Marie and Bernard were off to school. The courier company called speaking Italian of course, I asked if he spoke English? No! Did he speak French? No! Spanish? Si Si and so we were able to make arrangements for the luggage to be delivererd to the school so that we could go and wander around Lugano. Linda and I walked down the hill with a stop at the Plazzio Leopoldo, a 5 star hotel overlooking most of Lugano as well as the lake. Then, we strolled on down the rest of the way, walked along the shore and found a spaghetti factory to have lunch and a beer of course. 11 a.m. and out of 20 or so people lunching there, not one coffee to be seen, and everyone had either beer or wine with their meal. Gotta like that, we fit right in! Afterwards, we took a turibus tour of Lugano, and then strolled the streets and admired all the boutiques and narrow walking streets. We found the "funicolare", a cable trawley that takes you up the hill to the train station, and we bought tickets for the next morning at 11 direct to Venice, Italy. We then managed to decipher the bus system with much help from the locals, and took a bus the rest of the way up the mountain to Marie and Bernard's. They took us to their favorite pizza restaurant which is by the apartment they were living in last year and then we headed back so we could book a hotel in Venice and made a few phone calls to Saskatchewan.

Tuesday morning and we are off on a 4 hour train ride direct to Venice. The train was quite comfortable and very quiet because it runs on electricity and also because the tracks were so smooth, there was no sound from the wheels at all. It stopped every 15 minutes or so as we passed through towns along the way, but only for a minute or two. Every half hour or so the conductor would come through and check tickets. They offerred snacks and coffees, for quite a price though as we found out. Then, we were travelling across the Adriatic Sea into Venice which is a couple of miles off the mainland. The rail line ends in Venice as does the highway. The cars park in the parking lot as there are no roads to drive on it Venice. You either walk, take a gondola ride, a water taxi or a vaporetto, the public water bussing system for travel through Venice or to the other islands. Marie had printed off the top 10 things to do in Venice, and and the top thing to do is to wander and get lost in the tiny narrow streets, some which dead end at canals, others that twist and turn seemingly forever. We decided to wander a bit and followed the graffitti signs that said "San Marcos". Along the way, we stumbled upon a large church and we had to check it out of course. It was ornate and reminded us of the great cathedrals here in Mexico. We landed up walking all the way across Venice and found San Marcos Plaza, right on the opposite shore from the train station. What grand buildings around the large square surrounded by the Basilica, Dogge's Palace, the clock tower, museums, and restaurants. We then made our way to Hotel Alla, which, surprisingly, we found with no difficulty at all, thanks to the several maps we purchased on the way! We settled into our very comfortable room (heated towels) then wandered more and found a nice restaurant for supper. The next morning, our hotel served a wonderful breakfast buffet included with the room and then we were off by water taxi to the island of Murano, famous for it's blown glass. Our taxi driver gave us a lot of history as well as informing us how the sea channels work, kind of like lanes on a highway complete with police enforcing speed limits to prevent huge wakes. We toured a glass factory and marvelled over the process of creating such ornate and beautiful pieces. They then took us through the gallery where they displayed the chandeliers, vases, art decor, tea sets, chess sets, bowls ... all out of blown and colored glass. It was magnificent, though pricey! We were done early enough that we then took the public vaporetto to another island, Burano, famous for its small brightly colored houses and lace making as well. Again, we strolled, enjoyed a gelati again and lunched outside in the sunshine. Then, vaporetti back to San Marcos, supper and call it a night, early, there is no night life at all in Venice, the local bars close about 11 and everything is quiet. Thursday, after buffet breakfast, we visit the grand Basilica of St Marcos, which is very large and grand, with much gold leaf and immaculate tile work both on the floor and on the ceilings. We then found our way through Dogge's Palace. The Dogge was like the prime minister of the day with little power other than presiding over functions. The government proceedings including finance and justice funtioned from here, and one of the features on the tour was a visit to the dungeons in the basement, reached by crossing the "Bridge of Sighs".
It was finally time to head to the frantic comings and goings of the train station where we had difficulty deciphering which of the 6 or 7 trains we were supposed to get on. Our tickets said to Lugano, however the trains are indicated by their final destination, which we did not have a clue about. We had trouble finding someone to ask, and finally the information lady told us which one, and we ran and just made it on before the doors closed and we were off, arriving back in Lugano about 9 at night.

On Friday, Linda joined Marie and Bernard at school for the morning, and I joined them for lunch at the school cafeteria. After school, we went for another drive, Marie and Bernard served us a wonderful spaghetti supper. Saturday morning, we were off to hike the Swiss Alps. Our first stop, the Chocolate Factory of course, we need fortification to climb, and best of all, the samples of which there were many, were free. Laden with chocolate as gifts, we hit the highway, next stop is the Golden Eye bungee jump, off a huge hydro dam. GoldenEye bungee jump was used in James Bond films and drops 220 meters. Wow, one of Linda's "bucket list" items is bungee jumping, but I think she breathed a sigh of relief when we discovered it was closed. Our next stop was a picturesque river rushing through large rock formations and with a footbridge above. What beauty! After climbing over the rocks, we refortified with good Italian beer, and started driving up the mountain. When Marie and Bernard first arrived in Lugano, their school took them mountain hiking the first week they were there, and incredibly, they were able to find the spot again. We drove up as far as the road went, then set out on foot for another 45 minutes. Along the path, we passed through an occupied yard complete with solar panels and through what used to be small villages with buildings hundreds of years old and roofs of slate rock. At last, we came across a waterfall, and settled on a huge rock to enjoy our picnic of Swiss cheese, Swiss bread and Italian wine and beer....and olives. Then, as we made our way down the trail, rain threatened to make the path slippery, however, we made it down without getting wet, and the sun reappeared as we returned to the Lugano. Our final stop was to visit a castle, how can you go to Europe and not visit a castle. In Ticino, there are 3 of them situated in one location, and we drove to the uppermost one, but, being now a museum, it was closed due to off season. We were able to wander around and take pictures. We ended our final day in Europe with a supper at a "grotto", which are small family owned restaurants in an isolated areas that serve predominately local foods, and this one was no exception. While the fire in the large stone fireplace crackled, we enjoyed fine dining with our gracious hosts Marie and Bernard. So Sunday morning, they drove us downtown Lugano and we were able to catch the Starbus back to Milan airport which was nice, as it saved them the 3 hour trip. We bid them a fond farewell and look forward to having them visit us here in Mexico City. By the way, check out the final 2 pictures to see what the prices of coffeee and gas are like there. Brunch was $74 Canadian consis 2 beer, 1 wine and 2 specials.

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Photos

Ready to Go
At the airport in Mexico City, we are excited

Marie and Bernard
After retiring from teaching in Saskatoon, they went to Lugano and are now in their second year teaching

Hit the Road
Leaving on Sunday morning to tour around Lake Como, Italy

Lakeside Restaurant
We have to stop and taste the local wine

Spectacular scenery
The weather was springlike, 17-18 degrees and sunny, we brought the nice weather with us

Bellagio ferry
Lake Como is shaped like a Y, and Bellagio is a famous town located at the junction of the three parts of the lake. We took the ferry to get there

Streets fo Bellagio
Lots of small exotic boutiques, and of course the gelato the Italians are famous for

Lamborghinis and Ferraris
The playground of the ultra rich and famous. This was in the parking lot on the way to the ferry.

Driving up Mount Bre
Mountain overlooking Lugano, Switzerland, this is two way traffic, so we drive slow

Towards the top
The now dirt road gets narrower and if you meet someone, one car must back up to a pass spot

The View
Pictures cannot capture the beauty

The Restaurant with a View
Luckily, there is one of these at the top, so we must indulge. Salute!!!

On the Tour Bus
The train took us by the lake, then up the hill a bit, around city hall, past a couple of parks and recreation centers

The train at Lugano
These are not the high speed ones, these stop at towns along the way and travel maybe up to 110km an hour

On the train
quite comfortable, the train is nearly silent as it runs on electricity, and we did not hear any clickety clack from the tracks either

Just about in Venice
a couple of miles separate Venice from the mainland, the train goes to the station and the cars to a parking lot, there are no roads to drive on in Venice

We have arrived in Venice ( Venezia)
getting our bearing just outside the station, we are beside the Gran Canal which flows through the city

The Gran Canal
Winds its way through the heart of Venice. Vaporettis use this canal and the Adriatic Sea to get around Venice and to another 6 or 7 islands

Gondolas
The smaller channels are used by gondolas and smaller motorized watercraft of all types

See the sign?
We followed graffitti signs such as this one and got all the way across Venice

Water taxi
Another boat, another channel and another bridge

Comments

[Rob]

Lovely countryside. Old buildings, history, fabulous. Expensive, WOW.