The Rest Of The Week... Almost Completed!!!!!
Trip Start
Aug 04, 2010
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11
12
Trip End
Aug 31, 2010
Lugano, Swiss Alps, Switzerland
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday...
We went to the Swiss Miniatur, which is a park full of (to scale) miniature replicas of Swizterland's most famous landmarks. It was very cool to be walking through these mini-monuments... we felt lke a bunch of King Kongs... and it was hilarious to see the birds and little salamanders sitting on roofs or crawling over the mini-people! From there we drove around to the other side of the peninsula to Morcote and walked along the Lake, peeked into the shops and sat ad enjoyed the scenery and a drink!
Tuesday...
We walked 5 minutes from our house in the hills to catch the Funicular that goes down the mountain into Lugano. From there, we walked through the city park and along the harbour to catch a the tour boat that makes stops at the little towns along the shore. Our destination was a town named Gandria... and our hike (yes, hike) through the town was very cool! It's amazing how the houses are built on these steep hills and you meander down narrow walks that weave between the houses like mazes! Wow!
Wednesday...
Giuseppe drove us up into the mountains and down through a valley called Val Colla... OMG... talk about insanely snakey roads! To top it all off, they're also insanely narrow!!!! We stopped in one of the small villages along the way and explored the local ambiente... narrow pathways, beautiful buildings houses that are several hundred years old and, of course, the requisite church. It was crazy... the town might have only 50 or so people in it, be tucked in the middle of nowhere, clinging to the side of a mountain, but there`s always a church!!!! The drive was beautiful and I think it was one of our favourite days!
Thursday...
After our usual breakfast of cereal, bread and cheese, we were up San Salvatore Mountain for a trip to Carona (where we first thought we´d stay). It is still unbelievable to me that there is so much beauty everywhere you go, and Carona is just another slice of this remarkable vista! The town is carved out of the mountain side and as you walk along it´s cobblestone paths and peek down the tiny sidewalks, you really feel as if you have stepped into a completely different world!
From Carona, we drove down San Salvatore to Morcote where we enjoyed a much deserved coupe... a big dish of ice-cream with a cookie and whipped cream... and a glass of wine. After that, we drove around the peninsula to the base of San Salvatore where we took the funiculore up to the top of the mountain (approx. 3000ft). The view of the lake was fantastic and we hiked (just a little) to the VERY top where there was..... can you guess????? ...... a church! We tried to go up to the bell tower, but were chased down by a swarm of little black flies that crawled into eyes and up noses. The boys were the brave ones (daring each other to run through them) and ran up but soon came screaming down the stairs with these bugs clinging to them! After that, G and I decided we didn`t need to go up that badly.
There is also a restaurant up there, but it wasn`t open, so I suggested we should try out this little "pizzaria" and the end of our street. We`d driven by and the courtyard of De Raffaello and it looked very pretty, but it was always closed! Thank goodness, tonight it was open! Although it turned out that the menu didn`t have anything resembling pizza on it, we all enjoyed one of the BEST meals in Switzerland... bar none! The boys had schnitzel (the real thing) and Giuseppe and I shared the most mouth-watering pasta that we have ever encountered! He got cheese and spinach ravioli and I had pasta with broccoli. Cooked to perfection, the ravioli melted in your mouth and had such a delicate balance of flavours!!! The broccoli in my pasta was more of a pureed, slightly creamy sauce and it was heaven!!! The boys ate every bite and then shared our pastas with us... Jon loved the raviloli and Thor prefered my broccoli dish. We left, very happily stuffed and raving about the food!
By the way, I do have to reccomend this restaurant to anyone in, or going to, Lugano. It has, by far, one of the lovliest courtyards, truly exceptional service and food that will tease you in your dreams for years after you`ve been there! Osteria De Raffeallo (full info to come)
Friday had a slower pace as we took the boys to go swimming at the Lido, or public `beach`. There isn`t any sand, just two large docks with chairs and a floating dock farther out. There was also a diving board that the boys made good use of! Thor picked up a sliver and spent a little time getting to know the lifeguard (with J and G) and later had a run in between the ladder and the back of his heel that required some TLC... and some anti-bac, gauze and a few band aids! Happily, neither interfered with his ability to eat ice cream and he has mended completely!
After our day at the beach, we wandered through the center of town. This whole area is soley for pedestrians and lined with shop after shop of high-end goodies... and yummy goodies, too! The boys got some runners and we stopped for pizza at a little, sidewak pizzeria. I have to tell you, I am so in love with the pizza here! Thin crust, fabulous toppings and melt-in-your-mouth gooey-ness! I could stay here for the pizza alone!
Saturday meant it was time to pack up and head back to Uzwil. Our trip back was over a different pass, the San Gottardo, and G was given a heads up about traffic on the autobahn... thank goodness! Traffic on this particular pass means that 4 lanes have to converge down to 2 lanes to get through the Gottardo Tunnel (14 KMs long)... during the last weekend of summer holidays... to AND from... which translates into a wait of at least 5 hours!!! As we cruised along the old roads, we passed all those poor folks, STANDING outside their cars, chatting to each other, just waiting to start their cars to move an inch. Holy!!! SO glad Giuseppe knows the areas and chose to take us along the old route which went over the tunnel.
The funny thing is that over the tunnel meant a different challenge for us... an engine light that kept climbing until it buried itself in the red zone! This forced us to stop twice so that it could cool down and we could make it to the top of the mountain and get down the other side! We shut off the air conditoner and were successful at reaching the summit at 7000 ft... had a snack and a beer (whew!!!) We made it... and it was beautiful! This route is the scenic route and, although it took a few more hours, it was fantastic!
That was our week in Ticino! Gorgeous.... everything from our food to our vistas was absolutely gorgeous!!! Just check out the pics!!! Don`t you think so??? :-) (More will be added... ran out of time!)
