The Italian Lakes - Lago Maggiore

Lake Maggiore is one of the lesser touristy lakes nestled in the foothills of the alps, north of Milan. From west to east there is Lake Maggiore, Lake Como and then Lake Garda. Each is quite different. Lake Garda is like the Surfers Paradise with theme parks and lots of holiday parks, Lake Como is swanky, good looking and very expensive but probably the most idyllic. Lake Maggiore is the poor mans alternative but is still pretty nice, way less busy but the towns are still interesting the very traditional Italian.


We spent a day to the north checking out Cannobio just short of the swiss border. We were going to go the next 10km to Locarno on the swiss side, but you need to buy a permit to drive in Switzerland which costs $40 Euro. We had no other intention of heading to Switzerland so reckon will save it for another trip. We also went south on a different day, checking out Orta which is a tiny lake behind Lake Maggiore and then the town of Stresa on the shores of Lake Maggiore. Stresa was nice and another spot for an afternoon gelato, this time Chocolate and Banana and Blueberry and Lemon. Stresa is flanked by some huge french styled hotels and loads of private villas. Rachel spotted perhaps half a dozen, castle like villas that had been abandoned and left to ruin. Probably the effect of hefty inheritance taxes like in parts of France.

We also headed up to the top of the hill behind Stresa, which had some nice views and not much else. The cable car needed a bit of the work and the restaurant we found for lunch was run by three grandmothers who struggled like Faulty Towers. Today we drove into the alps to a huge waterfall. It must be a bit of a local attraction as there was lots of italians there in the car park. I underestimated the length of the drive and also the altitude. It was only 70km but took 1.5 hours up this windy valley, and at nearly 2000m high it was a little bit cold. We did a bit of a walk around tried to find a toilet with no avail and just headed back. The valley was really pretty with lots of old stone houses that were left to ruin scattering most paddocks, some good photograph if you had the time to stop, and were without a child who was getting bored.


In a few days we head to Chamonix to stay with friends for a bit, and that we be the end of another jaunt through continental europe. We then head to the UK for two weeks mainly staying with friends and family. We both reckon the strategy of staying in a place for a 5-7 days at a time whilst having a child in tow. We have left most mornings for an drive whilst Finn is grabbing his morning sleep and drive home in the afternoon after which he quickly falls to sleep. Campsites are better than hotel, as you at least have a kitchen, plus also playgrounds, swimming pools and space to entertain a kid. Three days in a hotel in Verona was just enough, so seven days in a central London apartment will be interesting.

The problem is spending seven days in a place is choosing the good locations in the first place. Most places have a few days of excursions but not many can stretch to a week. Tuscany was great and we did seven different things throughout the week. The alps was good as it was such a change and the accommodation was felt homely. Lake Maggiore is nice but think we should have done five days here and spent more in the Alps.

The excuse of the long post, is that the Tour de France is on TV, plus Diamond League Athletics and Finn is having a big afternoon sleep :)

The Italian Alps - Vale di Sole

A couple of years ago we spent a great week in Chamonix, France up in the alps. The weather was so good and not so hot, plus there was lots of outdoorsy things to do. So this trip we decided to find the Italian version of the Alps. We headed towards the Dolomites which are two separate ranges of peaks located in Northern Italy towards the Swiss Border from Verona. We scored some good chalet styled accommodation in some campground and luckily were in a nice valley. Vale di Sol is an alpine valley that is famous for mountain biking and skiing. Therefore there we lots of good trails for walking and running, a free train that went up and down the valley and a dedicated asphalt cycle path linking everything together. It was rather devoid of tourists; maybe we were a bit early.

We spent the first day on an adventure to Lago Tovel which is perched in a amphitheatric type valley surrounded by the Brenta Dolomites. The drove in was a bit traumatic, skinny and steep but the walk to the lake was easy and revealed the most spectacular view. We had lunch by the lake and dragged a sleeping Finn around the remainder of the lake for another half and hour.


The next day dawned with mint blue skies, so we went up to one of the skifields and up a chairlift to the snow to check out the view. Not everything was open, but we decided between the Pasole Tonale lift and the Peio Skifield. Both at the top of the Vale di Sole. Pasole Tonale would have been a bit more spectacular as it accesses a glacier at the top which is used for summer sking along the border with Switzerland. In any case Peio was pretty good and went up to 3000m so, a cold Finn could have a quick play in the snow. Chairlifts to any peak in Europe seem expensive, this was a pretty simple ride up two lifts for $19 Euro or $40 each.

Later in the week we did a long drive out of the valley to the city of Bolanzo which is the last big city in the Trento Valley before you hit the Austrain Border. We were trying to find the Mountaineering Museum in the Firmian Castle dedicated to Reinhold Messner. He became famous in the 1980's for being the first person to summit Everest without oxgyen and then went back a few years later to do it again solo. He is perhaps the only person to summit all 14 peaks over 8000m without using oxygen. Anyway we finally found the castle and museum, we could see it from the motorway but couldn't find the signposts within the labyrinth of on ramps and off ramps in the spaghetti junction. It was a very good museum and slightly different, it was a labyrinth of staircases, ramps and paths within the castle that was supposed to make you feel part of his journey. In any case it was a good was to spend the day and had a great cafe for lunch. Finn was a hit with the bus loads of tourists as I think we were the only English speaking people around.


We spent the last day driving lazily up and over the hill from the campground to the big ski resort town of Madonna di Campiglio. It was a bit of ghost town but would certainly hum in winter. About four sets of chairlifts leave from the town up into the hills. We decided to check out another lake which was perched above the town. There was a huge school group walking around the lake, which made us glad we were on holiday.

Verona and the italian city life

From Siena we had a few days to kill before heading to the Alps. To break up the long drive we opted to stay in Verona for three night with the intention of doing a side trip on the train to Venice. Our enthusiasm was started to wane and Finn was having trouble sleeping and having some reaction to the milk formula that we had dragged all the way from Singapore. In any case Verona was a little gem of the place that was not very touristy, modernly developed yet historic and full of hundred of good shops, cafes and gelato vendors. We splurged on the nice hotel that was located between the Roman Arena, which is the main attraction beside the Romeo and Juliette balcony and the main shopping treat.


We grabbed the hotel the week before on booking.com at under half price which was good. Pity the cost to park the car was so extravagant. $20 Euro a day but we didn't have any alternatives. We did manage one excursion around Verona looking at a castle above the town but other than that kicking around town was entertaining for a few days and we finally visited Shakepheres inspirational veranda on the last day.

Siena and some luxurious accomodation

We arrived at a stunning B&B that was more suited for a honeymoon than a family holiday with a 7 month old baby, just on the outskirts of Siena. Any closer was stupidly expensive. Our place was a very modern and stylish and even had Kartel designer furniture, like Rachel had seen in Singapore. We spent the first afternoon walking around the old city streets after spending an age finding a carpark. The highlight was a nice lazy Italian lunch on a street off the main square away from the crass pizza places, Rach had some great ravioli and me some fancy courgette flowers stuffed with cheese.

The next day we adventured back into the old town and checked out the main church. Included in the ticket was chance to climb to the top of one of the old walls to check out the panorama. Back in the 14th century they had some ambitious plans to build the world largest church in Siena by adding a long wing to the existing church, they got as far as building the grand end wall before the plague killed off their ambition. Siena was a nice place and the accommodation, breakfast spread and swimming pool all very nice. Siena would be a nice base to explore more of southern Tuscany if it wasn't so pricey.

Florence and the hoards of tourists

Last time Rachel was in Florence she was accompanied by 26 St Mary's College students. It was nice for Rachel to finally see this city on her own terms and at a lazy pace. Who thought she would next return with husband and child in tow, five years later. We drove to Piazza Michaelangelo that overlooks this spectacular city and parked up the car for the day, the drive in wasn't too traumatic despite the warning of the crazy traffic. The GPS in the car was a good send again, makes travelling around so easy, Andrew took some fantastic panoramic shots of Florence. We then walked down into the main tourist area. Hoards of tourists!!

Anyway we toured around the usual spots including the Ufizzi Museum, the Cathedral and down and across the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. We didn't spend any time in the galleries, and will save it all till next time when it will be a bit easier. Reckon it would be nice to come during one of the quieter months and wander around and stay in the city.

The hometown of Leonardo de Vinci

Vinci, is a very cute little town that was the birth place of Leonardo De Vinci. I think this was my favourite places to visit so far. This entire town is devoted the Italian master and most of his inventions. The museum was interesting and it was located in two parts, the second being situated in the castle tower. So, you could climb the tower then be rewarded with some of the most spectacular views of Tuscany. Then we stopped for a drink at cafe Leonardo which was right next door to the information centre. To be honest it barely needs an information post as the town is very well signposted and it is very little. Andrew and I have taught in schools that are bigger!.
Anyway it was a nice slice of Italian life without many tourists in sight. The view from the tower was really spectacular and a hidden gem among dozens of other tuscan villages. Funny that Vinci is not mentioned in the lonely planet.

San Gimignano - the tuscan town of towers

This was a must see as the brochures had said the the world champion gelato makers are situated on the main piazza, plus there are some famous towers that rise above the tuscan countryside.

As we drove on the twisty italian roads, a lovely little town situated on a hill appeared. We manage to find a park and walked up to the piazza right in the top of the village. So walking up allows you to work up an appetite for gelato. This town is famous for having over 70 towers which demonstrated wealth and power, prior to the plague but now only 14 remain.

It is a bit touristy, large tour groups again, all lined up to buy gelato of course. This town had a Harry Potter village feel to it with the narrow cobblestone streets some which looked out to some amazing views. I am pleased to say that it was also stroller friendly. We walked up then down the other side with no problems at all. The only real problem we had was trying to choose which flavour gelato to have. I ended up with Pastasio and Chocolate but I had gelato envy when Andrew got The Pink grapefruit/champagne and passionfruit. yum!

Lucca - the tiny walled city

Well, what a stark contrast from yesterday. Lucca is a very pretty walled town with only a few tourists in sight. It was a bit closer to the accommodation and down the same motorway as yesterday.

We walked the 4 km along the tree lined wall around the city before venturing inside to check out the shops and find some lunch. We were not disappointed. We strolled through the narrow cobbled streets and looked at all of the quaint shops, we got a little disorientated and had to get out Lonely Planet to find our way back to the car, fortuitously we stumbled across a bakery just as Finn was falling to sleep. We bought some tasty morsels including some canolli's. I have wanted to try one of these Italian sweets ever since I saw them on the Cake Boss TV programme. A deep fried hard shell containing a chocolate mouse like filling, what could be wrong about that?! A really lovely day. Culinary high of the day - a spinach feta quiche/pie thing with short crust pastry, yum!

Off to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa

I never thought that I would ever see the famous tower, as it is a bit off the beaten track. It was a short hours drive from the holiday park where we are staying.

We parked the car and headed towards where we thought it was, then we saw the tour buses and tour group so we guessed we were headed the right way. Who thought finding to tower would be difficult. Then I looked up and I could see the top of the tower. It really was on a lean. That first sighting of such an iconic feature always surprises me, it is almost magical. it is a bit like 'wow it really does exist!' We knew we were getting closer as there were more and more crowds. We then had to run the gauntlet of tacky tourist stalls before entering the grounds where this beautiful building stands.


The tower is magnificent but the hoards of tour groups is very unpleasant. This is the reason why I try to avoid tourist hot spots if at all possible. It is not the tourists that I dislike. (actually that is a lie, I really dislike the stereotypical loud brass American tourists) But it is the tacky tourism stalls and the guys who hunt you down to try and sell you fake watches and sunglasses. I hate it! So to be honest, I am glad I got to see this iconic cultural feature but I wouldn't have been too upset if I had missed it and the tacky tourism either. Pisa really is a one hit wonder town, the remainder to the town is as unremarkable as the leaning tower is remarkable. Culinary high of the day - dinner including the yummy tomatoes and feta.