Menaggio - 28 May 2005
It’s been over a week since our last update. We are still in Mennagio and enjoying the scenery and many laughs with our Visitors, Nira and Dani from Israel.
We have tried to plan our travels according to the weather. On a very rainy day we took the ferry to Varena across the lake and walked around this lovely town, which is beautiful rain or shine. We had lunch at a cute Café near the water and watched the rain and the wind rock the boats in the lake. After soaking this and rain we came back and started a fire in the fire place which was wonderful, and the first time Nira and Dani sat by a real fireplace. (Not many of these exist in Israel…)
The day after the rain was one of these glorious sunny and clear days and we jumped on the opportunity to take the Bernina express to St. Moritz which was absolutely fantastic. A 10!!! This short red train goes almost all the way up to the top of the snowy mountains, along jade colored streams, emerald lakes and frozen lakes and gives you a view from the top of the world. We stopped a strolled around the lake in St. Moritz and took the train back.
Since then the weather has been very warm and sunny but with extremely poor visibility. It seems like you’re looking through a milky veil. At times you can barely see the other side side of the lake and the boats seem ghostly. We decided to focus on places that didn’t require great visibility and visited a few old quaint hillside villages west of Mennagio, drove to Lugano and the back, and yesterday we drove to another lake, Lago D’Iseo where we visited an island which is really a huge mountain in the center of this deep lake, Monte Isola. It was very lovely and peaceful. The road back was longer than we expected as we tried to negotiate the Milano area freeways without adequate maps. We cannot get over the charm of the very very old houses, churches and farm buildings and towns, the old stone walls, the elaborate ornamentation of the facades and balusters, the many remaining frescos and statues, the grandness of the old palazzos with their beautiful gardens, many of which are still maintained as hotels, conference centers, and private villas.
One of the hotels we visited in Bellagio, elegant beyond belief, charges $500 per night including breakfast…
Today will be a down day to let us digest the last week and relax a bit from all this fun. Dani and Nira went to Milano, which we already explored for a couple of days. We will be leaving Mennagio in a week to bounce around for a month, so staying put for a bit is probably a good antidote.
We are looking forward to shedding the car and going by train as despite the freedom it affords, it also introduces a fair amount of stress because of the very narrow windy roads, in foreign territory. The roads however are quite well marked.
Our next update will probably be from Interlaken or Salzburg. I wish we had easier access to the internet. We have grown so accustomed to having it handy that we really sorely miss it. There are a few internet points here but we frequently find them in use and we feel pressured to end quickly because of the high cost. The hours of operation are limited with early closing in the evening and a long lunch break for siesta.
It would be so nice if there was a global subscription to an umbrella of wireless access wherever you are. I imagine this will probably happen soon but not soon enough for us..
Love to all you
Lance and Dahlia
We have tried to plan our travels according to the weather. On a very rainy day we took the ferry to Varena across the lake and walked around this lovely town, which is beautiful rain or shine. We had lunch at a cute Café near the water and watched the rain and the wind rock the boats in the lake. After soaking this and rain we came back and started a fire in the fire place which was wonderful, and the first time Nira and Dani sat by a real fireplace. (Not many of these exist in Israel…)
The day after the rain was one of these glorious sunny and clear days and we jumped on the opportunity to take the Bernina express to St. Moritz which was absolutely fantastic. A 10!!! This short red train goes almost all the way up to the top of the snowy mountains, along jade colored streams, emerald lakes and frozen lakes and gives you a view from the top of the world. We stopped a strolled around the lake in St. Moritz and took the train back.
Since then the weather has been very warm and sunny but with extremely poor visibility. It seems like you’re looking through a milky veil. At times you can barely see the other side side of the lake and the boats seem ghostly. We decided to focus on places that didn’t require great visibility and visited a few old quaint hillside villages west of Mennagio, drove to Lugano and the back, and yesterday we drove to another lake, Lago D’Iseo where we visited an island which is really a huge mountain in the center of this deep lake, Monte Isola. It was very lovely and peaceful. The road back was longer than we expected as we tried to negotiate the Milano area freeways without adequate maps. We cannot get over the charm of the very very old houses, churches and farm buildings and towns, the old stone walls, the elaborate ornamentation of the facades and balusters, the many remaining frescos and statues, the grandness of the old palazzos with their beautiful gardens, many of which are still maintained as hotels, conference centers, and private villas.
One of the hotels we visited in Bellagio, elegant beyond belief, charges $500 per night including breakfast…
Today will be a down day to let us digest the last week and relax a bit from all this fun. Dani and Nira went to Milano, which we already explored for a couple of days. We will be leaving Mennagio in a week to bounce around for a month, so staying put for a bit is probably a good antidote.
We are looking forward to shedding the car and going by train as despite the freedom it affords, it also introduces a fair amount of stress because of the very narrow windy roads, in foreign territory. The roads however are quite well marked.
Our next update will probably be from Interlaken or Salzburg. I wish we had easier access to the internet. We have grown so accustomed to having it handy that we really sorely miss it. There are a few internet points here but we frequently find them in use and we feel pressured to end quickly because of the high cost. The hours of operation are limited with early closing in the evening and a long lunch break for siesta.
It would be so nice if there was a global subscription to an umbrella of wireless access wherever you are. I imagine this will probably happen soon but not soon enough for us..
Love to all you
Lance and Dahlia
posted by Dahlia and Lance Riley @ 7:16 AM
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