Sun Ranch - Wiessen, Switzerland
There were two possible routes, one that would have taken us most of the way on the freeway but was rather indirect, and the other that was more direct and also more scenic and that would require us to take a car ferry to get to Bellagio. We opted for this route, which meant very little time left in Switzerland. This would have all been fine and good, except that Maddie did not yet have a snow globe from Switzerland. We made multiple stops looking for a snow globe, but since we weren’t going through any large or touristy towns, we met no success. Our last hope was a town called Splugen. We stopped at the tourist information center to inquire and were directed to a shop we could not find. After wondering around and getting some more diesel for the car, we finally found it and Maddie actually got here Swiss snow globe! Afterward we drove up yet another winding, twisting road over Splugenpass. These types of roads make me nervous and are basically a repeat of the parking garage dynamic previously described. Beautiful but a bit nerve wracking.
Beautiful mountain view near Splugenpass
At the top of the pass, we crossed the border from Switzerland into Italy, and once again not a border control agent in sight. We have not needed to show our passports even once to go from one country to another over land.
Once we began the descent from Switzerland into Italy, there was a definite change. The first thing I noticed was that the dramatic mountain vistas were much more obscured by haze. As we descended further, the architecture began to change subtly and the air became more sticky and humid. As we got closer to Lake Como, which is not that far from the Swiss border, we actually began to see palm trees. Such a marked and amazing change in such a short time and distance!
As we got closer to Lake Como, I was disappointed to find that the air remained very hazy. The Lake Como area is beautiful, but it was somewhat ruined for me by the haze that diminished the views. Not sure if this was due to the humidity or whether it was smog from Milan, which is only about 40 miles south. Regardless, we got on the car ferry with no problems and arrived in Bellagio shortly thereafter.
Looking back at Verenna, Italy from the car ferry headed toward Bellagio, Italy
As I had read and as I anticipated, parking in Bellagio is a problem. We drove to a free parking lot (with a 30 minute time limit) in a pretty little church plaza, where there were no available parking spots. So I jumped out of the car to go try to locate the apartment we had reserved, while Jim circled around. I found the apartment and came back to meet Jim and the kids in the church plaza, where he finally found a place to park. We unloaded and pulled our suitcases quite noisily over the pebbled street to the apartment.
The stairs up to our apartment. The first of many stairs in our future.
I have to pause here to say what a little trooper McIntyre has been with all of this. Everywhere that we’ve asked him to, he has pulled his little suitcase along, just like the rest of us (minus his backpack, which Jim usually carries).
Mac doing great after a long day for travel
Anyway, the streets in Bellagio are tiny, and appear to be for pedestrians only, but cars are allowed. You have to enter a code to raise a gate and drive to the area where we unloaded. By the time we got into the apartment, which was in a great location in Bellagio, it was time for one of our favorite activities, dinner. We ate at the restaurant where our apartment was located and had a nice meal. Jim and I ordered the house white wine, which is sold by the glass or in ¼ or ½ liter carafes (usually a small pitcher). Perhaps because it was our first meal in Italy, (or in retrospect, probably not), the wine was outstanding.
Restaurant below our apartment
Restaurant below our apartment
Ahh, the house wines in Italy are amazing!
No comments:
Post a Comment