Isola Bella

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Geo: 46.1445, 8.72654

After a few days of fairly miserable weather, we woke to a decent looking morning, so quickly got going to take advantage of it. We hadn't planned it, but decided over breakfast to go to the Borremeo Islands, near Stresa in Italy, as this was the "#1 must do" on our list of things to do in Ticino.

We drove down to Italy, to Verbania Intra – we could have caught a boat from Porto Ronco, but it is a 2 hour trip by boat, and whilst the kids like being on a boat, this would have been a bit too long! We are truly lucky – we arrived, found a carpark, and before we paid for the parking, we went to ask when the next boat was. The answer was two minutes (and then Steven found he had no Euro coins to pay the parking meter, so we (successfully!)risked the parking fine. Then I had to use my broken Italian to tell the man at the pier that the boat had to wait for my husband, who had the tickets, and he was paying for the carpark but that we were getting on the boat – lucky also that it was on Italian timing, and not Swiss precision. And the man at the ticket booth was also very kind – when we asked for a ticket for the five of us, and told him the ages of the kids, he looked at Matthew and said “Today, he is 3 and a half. And now, he is without charge!”

The sun was shining, though we could see dark threatening clouds on all the mountains surrounding the lake. The boat ride was very picturesque – wonderful clear water and one pretty pastel coloured lakeside village after another. We sat out the front of the boat until the kids got cold, then moved to the sunshine at the back of the boat. First stop was at Isola Pescatori (Island of the Fishermen) – a tiny island, about 50m wide and 200m long, full of tiny lanes with shops (mainly tourist stuff, which I confess, I love looking at!) and restaurants, with little houses above. I love looking up, and seeing loads of washing being hung from these tiny picturesque houses – though living there would drive me crazy (I've established that with three kids, apartment living in a two room house is NOT for me!) We wandered the streets, enjoying the pretty church and the shops. The lady at the bakery thought she misheard Steven when he bought out the shop by buying 8 panini (breadrolls) for our lunch!

We then boarded the boat for Isola Bella, where there is a magnificent villa. This island is also only about 100m wide and 300m long – mainly taken up by the villa and the gardens, but with one street of shops, houses and restaurants. The villa (built for Isabella, hence the name) was owned by one of the Borremeo family (St Carlo of Borremeo is the #1 saint around here, having come from this area). The motto of the family is “Humility” – the house doesn't show much restraint or humility, but it is magnificent. We arrived, had a great Italian coffee and gelati for the kids and at the pier, I found a stall selling a scarf that Rita had admired and mentioned – perfect for Mothers Day. Then we had a picnic in the sun, on the stairs of the villa leading down onto the water – we are living on a staple diet of bread, cheese (great cheeses!) and ham when we are alone for lunch.

Into the villa, just as light rain started to fall. The inside of the villa is beautiful, with rooms decorated in Baroque style. One of the rooms was used for the Conference of Stresa, which was held in 1938 in an attempt to stave off World War Two (the leaders of England (Chamberlain), Italy (Mussolini) and France were there – can't help feeling they forgot to invite someone else who played a big role in WWII – where was Hitler?) Another room was slept in by Napoleon and Josephine, when they had stayed as guests of the Borremeo family (the Borremeo count was a French diplomat to the Holy See, when this area of Italy was conquered by Napoleon). The ballroom was wonderful, and it was lovely to watch Steven and Georgia waltzing around the gilt room under the beautiful Murano glass chandelier. Then downstairs were the grottos – dozens of rooms, vaulted like a crypt, but decorated with sea shells and rocks, and with views out onto the lake. It was like being in the Littlest Mermaid book! One room had an interesting display of Etruscan and Roman finds (including a boat/canoe from the Etruscan period) from the area – there have been people on this island for thousands of years.

When we finished the tour of the villa, we found that the rain was just stopping. The gardens are AMAZING – you cannot believe the tropical feel to a garden when you can see the snow on the mountains around you. The garden was shaped like the bow of a boat, with enormous statues and statues, and there are dozens of white peacocks – I've never seen albino peacocks anywhere else in the world. The azaleas were slight past their peak, but were still beautiful, and I loved the dogwood tree, with its pink and white blooms. You can see why this area has the perfect climate to attract European tourists – there was quite a display of the citrus fruits and banana trees, which you wouldn't really expect to find this far north. The peacocks, however, were the stars of the show for me!

We wandered through the gardens, and were able to step straight onto a boat when we finished. Because the kids had been so good all day, Steven left the children and me at Pallenza, the village before Verbania intra, so that they could play on the park equipment whilst he went to get the car. A good solution all round – he got ten minutes peace too! We even had time to walk around the town, when Steven returned – it was very cute, with a pedestrianized area, though the kids will remember the town for a toy shop that was closing down, where we bought some Pinocchio souvenirs and a toy car for Matthew and a Lego rip-off helicopter for Tom.

We headed back to Zia Natalina and Zio Luciano's house for dinner –the kids enjoy going to this house as there is still a large basket of kids' toys for them to play with. The village is so small – we met Elio as we were arriving – he was with his brother Marcello, looking at his garden, and so we arranged to meet them after dinner to drive them home.

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Comments

[Marguerite Vetterli]

Compliments Kaylene and family, you are super, you are a genius. Rerally very interesting.Have a wonderful week, without rain.Tanti saluti e baci Marguerite

[Siobhan Healy]

I've seen a white peahen (female peacock) but it is incomparable to the albino peacocks in your pictures. Those pictures look like they're from a fairy tale! I think Isola Bella is now near the top of my list of places to go to in Europe.

[Bridget Mandikos]

How are you planning to readjust to life in Brisbane? Looks like a pretty good trip. Still think you have a calling as a photographer.

[Julia]

This is fantastic - a great photo for the wall!