Bella Vita-Das gute Leben Part 4

Bella Vita - Das gute Leben Part 4

The main reason Donna and I traveled to Europe was to reunite with our daughter who was working with Virginia Tech and a NGO on a Study Abroad program, she and 3 others coordinators called themselves "House Moms"! We hadn't seen her since August and finally the day had come to join her in beautiful Lugano Switzerland. We hopped a train from Stresa to Milan, then another train to Lugano from there, all in all about 3 hours. When traveling by train it is important to really study the train schedules, from Stresa we were limited a bit and missing trains could add hours to our day.






The Lugano train station is right next to the Montarina Hotel/Hostel where our daughter snagged a very comfortable room for us with a balcony, nice! The Montarina is set up with the main hotel, hostel and the smaller units perched high above the city surrounded by palm trees and grape vines! The 3 buildings are all right next to each other, our daughters gang of 40+ were in the hostel building. Since we visited here 2 years ago it was nice to just start walking without trying to figure out where we were going. Halfway through our short walk the "house mom" came running towards us, awesome!







After settling into our room we met the ladies for happy hour at the Montarina bar, the bartender Guiseppe aka "Joe" was happy to meet the parents of his favorite patron! Can't beat $10 bottles of wine from the vineyard right on the property, nice! After drinks and a nice dinner across the street it was time for bed, we were beat!






We woke up and opened up the large 10 foot doors leading to the small balcony just in time for the sunrise. The warm glow shining through the palm trees didn't disappoint! We let our daughter sleep in a bit, but at 0900 the 3 of us strapped on the hiking boots and headed off in the direction of Gandria. Gandria sits peacefully along the shores of Lake Lugano at the base of Monte Bre. This beautifully preserved 16th century fishing village is just a stone's throw from the Italian border. The walk to, from and in the town was quite hilly which makes it a great car free zone. Once in Gandria the walkways narrowed and the tightly constructed stone buildings swallowed us up with towering walls all around us. We took a rest stop on the steps of the chapel San Rocco and enjoyed the chapel bells at the top of the hour. We spent several hours here under blue skies and temps around 70, stopping for coffee and wine periodically of course!






















Once back in Lugano we stopped in the piazza for pizza! They do make the perfect pizzas there!! Lugano is a lovely city with many modern updates, however the history surrounds you. Access to city center from the Montarina is very convenient, however we were always aware that the enjoyably easy walk down required a slower, but equally enjoyable walk back up! They do have a tram that will take you up to the train station, but that's cheating!!!











The following day was our much awaited family 3 night getaway to Tuscany! Our daughter had to work until 1100 so Donna and I took an early morning stroll back to Lugano's waterfront. We noticed some sporty little paddle boats and of course we rented one, thankfully the lake was flat!









Heading back to our hotel we made a quick stop in the Saint Lawrence Cathedral. The original church dates back to 818, now that's old! The current cathedral facade was completed in 1517 and what a beautiful cathedral it is! Back at the Montarina we gathered our daughter and small backpacks, leaving the larger backpacks in our daughters room, thank god! Tuscany here we come!!







To be continued.....ciao!

Once again great shots! I really like the b/w of your daughter.

Have you found hauling your camera on hikes a pain?
The pictures are worth it to me, but it can get heavy.
Do you strap carry or have a small pack?

Let's go to Tuscany!

Wonderful pictures! I wish I could follow in your steps, but I think that I will have to just follow along via pictures, as I couldn't do all that walking..

Thanks Tom! The camera and lens, as you know, get heavy! but I enjoy it. I usually carry my Overboard dry backpack for when my neck and hands are done! Tuscany part 1 almost done, deciding on 20max pics is challenging!

Thanks Carol! I'm thinking about adding some food pics to the next one for foodies like you! Cheers!

Ooh, goodie!! Looking forward to it!!!