An entrance to the San Gottardo railway tunnel
In what turned out to be a blessing in disguise, there was a terrible traffic jam on the approach to the San Gottardo Tunnel (at nearly 17 km long, it is one of the longest mountain tunnels in the world). As such, our trusty navigation system directed us off the A2 and onto a small sideroad...that eventually took us up and over the incredible San Gottardo Pass. It was kind of like missing Eisenhower to go over Loveland Pass, only steeper and lusher and in Switzerland. Interestingly, both passes are watersheds for their regions, but I digress. It was dramatic and breathtaking and if we had known, we would have planned our route this way on purpose.
Troy at the top of Passo del San Gottardo
After stopping briefly in Andermatt, we came down the other side of the pass into the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. From there we crossed the border and made our way to our home for the next few days: Cannero Riviera. At the risk of sounding like a travel advertisement, we do need to say a word about the Hotel Cannero and their fantastic staff. The hotel occupies a c1700 former monastery and an adjacent villa (a beautiful restoration and adaptive reuse, which I loved!) It was lovely. In addition to being located in a completely charming village, the amenities were great, the lakeviews were tremendous, and the staff was really superb. It was one of our favorite places we have ever stayed!
Cannero
Hotel Cannero as seen from the water
One day, after bicycling through the little village, we decided to take the hotel's rowboat out to an island to see the Castelli di Malpàga, a Renaissance-era fortress now in ruins. It was quite the row, through considerable chop from several other, much larger boats, but we made it. Troy rowed and I supervised, which is quite the fair division of labor, n'est-ce pas?
Castelli di Malpàga
That night there was a great village-wide market, complete with dancing to the polka band in the square by the ferry landing-stage. Cultural geography note: The Italian Lakes lie in the northernmost part of Italy, and the Swiss-Italian border even cuts through a couple of the lakes. Whether it is this cultural proximity or just a practical response to the mass quantities of German tourists in the region, the German influence is quite obvious. We particularly noticed this in relation to the food -- more butter, lots of fried meats, fries as an acceptable side dish.
Another day, we took the ferry to the pretty town of Cannobio to check out their market. We spent hours at this market, and kept finding great deals. A funny one worth mentioning was our extreme excitement at finding super huge umbrellas for cheap. (If you could see the size of the raindrops hurtling themselves past my window as I write this, you might appreciate our response.)
In what turned out to be a blessing in disguise, there was a terrible traffic jam on the approach to the San Gottardo Tunnel (at nearly 17 km long, it is one of the longest mountain tunnels in the world). As such, our trusty navigation system directed us off the A2 and onto a small sideroad...that eventually took us up and over the incredible San Gottardo Pass. It was kind of like missing Eisenhower to go over Loveland Pass, only steeper and lusher and in Switzerland. Interestingly, both passes are watersheds for their regions, but I digress. It was dramatic and breathtaking and if we had known, we would have planned our route this way on purpose.
Troy at the top of Passo del San Gottardo
After stopping briefly in Andermatt, we came down the other side of the pass into the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. From there we crossed the border and made our way to our home for the next few days: Cannero Riviera. At the risk of sounding like a travel advertisement, we do need to say a word about the Hotel Cannero and their fantastic staff. The hotel occupies a c1700 former monastery and an adjacent villa (a beautiful restoration and adaptive reuse, which I loved!) It was lovely. In addition to being located in a completely charming village, the amenities were great, the lakeviews were tremendous, and the staff was really superb. It was one of our favorite places we have ever stayed!
Cannero
Hotel Cannero as seen from the water
One day, after bicycling through the little village, we decided to take the hotel's rowboat out to an island to see the Castelli di Malpàga, a Renaissance-era fortress now in ruins. It was quite the row, through considerable chop from several other, much larger boats, but we made it. Troy rowed and I supervised, which is quite the fair division of labor, n'est-ce pas?
Castelli di Malpàga
That night there was a great village-wide market, complete with dancing to the polka band in the square by the ferry landing-stage. Cultural geography note: The Italian Lakes lie in the northernmost part of Italy, and the Swiss-Italian border even cuts through a couple of the lakes. Whether it is this cultural proximity or just a practical response to the mass quantities of German tourists in the region, the German influence is quite obvious. We particularly noticed this in relation to the food -- more butter, lots of fried meats, fries as an acceptable side dish.
Another day, we took the ferry to the pretty town of Cannobio to check out their market. We spent hours at this market, and kept finding great deals. A funny one worth mentioning was our extreme excitement at finding super huge umbrellas for cheap. (If you could see the size of the raindrops hurtling themselves past my window as I write this, you might appreciate our response.)
Cannobio
That evening, we stumbled across the best restaurant of our trip: Il Cortile. As the name suggests, the albergo and its eponymous restaurant center on a lovely courtyard. There were only a couple of tables, and really great modern art pieces were everywhere. We scored a primo table even though we did not have a reservation, and met a very nice English couple. The maître d'/owner was a charming Swiss man who insisted on my speaking Italian, much to the amusement of our fellow patrons. (I only know about three sentences in Italian, though I can say those three pretty well.)
After a couple of sunny, lovely, relaxing days in Cannero, we set off for a planned two-day stay on Lago d'Orta. But, before going to Orta, we spent the day on the Golfo Borromeo, the central part of Lago Maggiore, visiting the Isole Borromeo (Borromean Islands): Isola Madre, Isola dei Pescatori, and Isola Bella. We island-hopped, touring palazzos and their spectacular gardens.
Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Madre
In the garden - Isola Madre
Isola dei Pescatori with Isola Bella in the background
In the garden - Isola Bella
Il Giardino del Amore - Isola Bella
Stay tuned for our next installment of Italian Holiday: 24 Hours on Lago D'Orta, or A Dreadful Night in Pettanasco Turned Happy Ending on Lake Como
After a couple of sunny, lovely, relaxing days in Cannero, we set off for a planned two-day stay on Lago d'Orta. But, before going to Orta, we spent the day on the Golfo Borromeo, the central part of Lago Maggiore, visiting the Isole Borromeo (Borromean Islands): Isola Madre, Isola dei Pescatori, and Isola Bella. We island-hopped, touring palazzos and their spectacular gardens.
Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Madre
In the garden - Isola Madre
Isola dei Pescatori with Isola Bella in the background
In the garden - Isola Bella
Il Giardino del Amore - Isola Bella
Lago Maggiore, and the northern part of the lake in particular, was incredibly beautiful. It made you feel like using old-fashioned poetic words like 'untrammeled', 'exquisite', 'delightful'. There were fewer tourists, the local people were kind, and there was a wildness to the scenery. As you can imagine, everywhere you looked was a picture.
Click Here - Lago Maggiore Photo AlbumStay tuned for our next installment of Italian Holiday: 24 Hours on Lago D'Orta, or A Dreadful Night in Pettanasco Turned Happy Ending on Lake Como
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