Wednesday, July 18, 2007--Lugano to Zermatt--Day 10

What a tremendous day!! Just when I thought we had seen the most breathtaking views in St. Moritz and Lugano, we came upon the Swiss Alps. Amazing! But first………..

We left Lugano and re-entered Italy, passing by Bellizona, Switzerland, an ancient trade center. We stopped in beautiful Stresa, Italy, where we wished we could have wandered through its lovely streets. But our excursion today was a boat ride out to Isola Bella, an island off the shore of Lake Maggiore. We toured the gorgeous old Borromeo Palace on the island and wandered through some of the loveliest gardens I’ve ever seen. Then we left the palace grounds and found a place to have lunch in the tiny town on the island, stopping for a few souvenirs along the way. We bought handcrafted olive oil bottles for the kids and a pretty Murano glass charm for my bracelet. The proprietor of the shop had a photo of his dog, a 4-year-old Rottweiler named Luna. Of course, Tony and I had an extended conversation with him about the virtues of Rotties, and we told him all about our precious Lucy. We hated to leave this very nice young man who took an inordinate amount of time with us and made us feel so welcome.

After lunch we took the boat back to Stresa and boarded the bus to continue on to Zermatt, Switzerland. We crossed the Alps at Simplon Pass, where we stopped for snacks and photos. The innkeepers had two big dogs in a pen on the property, a St. Bernard named Tito and a brown mixed breed. More about dogs later on. We continued on, re-entering Switzerland and leaving Italy for the last time. We crossed over the amazing Ganter Bridge, photographing the ancient one it replaced as we crossed, and we passed through the city of Brig on the Rhone River, with its lovely Baroque Palace. A little further on, we really got into the Swiss Alps, stopping at the town of Tasch to board a mountain train to Zermatt, where no cars or gasoline-powered vehicles are allowed. It’s a small town where walking is a pleasure, and a few of the hotels have horse-drawn taxis or electric cabs, but most everyone just walks from place to place.

We checked into our most charming hotel in Zermatt and set out to explore. We wandered around a bit and bought a few souvenirs, then returned to the hotel for dinner. Back in our room, we just couldn’t stay inside. It’s unbelievable to step out onto the balcony of our room and be face-to-face with the Alps. They are beyond wondrous. Before the trip, Lisa and I mused quite often about Globus’ decision to have us spend two nights here in this smallest of towns. Now I understand. Two nights won't be enough.

Tomorrow we’ll see the Matterhorn for the first time.