Wow - what an amazing day! No need to mention the annoying helicopter that flew over us umpteen times in the night! We've had a fabulous day on the Lago Maggiore Express. This meant an earlier start than usual and a 2 mile cycle to Arona waterfront to the ticket office. There, the very animated lady who spoke no English took a little while to agree to selling us a ticket because we still had our cycle helmets on and eventually we understood that to her that meant that we wanted to take our bikes on the boat! After we'd convinced her that we were locking our bikes up and leaving them, she came out of her office and showed us where to put them - er, where we'd left them yesterday to go to Angera. So the first stage of our big trip today was a just over-4 hour cruise the full length of Lake Maggiore - into Switzerland to Locarno. The weather has been absolutely perfect, so we spent the whole time on the top deck, managing to keep tabs on our 2 plastic chairs throughout. This worked better than rows of seating because we could turn to face any direction whenever. It was just one beautiful village after another, backed by wooded mountains, themselves backed by snow-topped rocky mountains. (We promise we shall delete some of the many photos before we get home!) A highlight was passing close to our grandson Adam's Kingdom - 2 years ago when we camped with Peter and family at Feriolo we spent a day out from Stresa to the Borromeo Islands and Adam fell in love with Isola Bella and wanted to become King and live in the palace.
At Locarno we had 1 hr 20 mins to kill, so we found a delightful bar on the waterfront with a comfy sofa under a shade to while away the time.
Then we walked up to the train station to catch the Vigezzina-Centovalli - one of the most amazing railway journeys in the world. It's an electric train that winds its way through the two valleys, high up on the mountain sides, often with a sheer drop down, over bridges and across ravines. It gradually climbs to 830m and then wiggles down to Domodossola (back in Italy) at 267m. This was just over an hour and a half of more beautiful scenery. No time to spare at Domodossola as we changed trains onto the Trenitalia line for a faster journey back to Arona, then the cycle back to our campsite. A long day but brilliant.
Views from the train:
That looks absolutely stunning - enjoy your weather! We were going to the Devon County Show today as Emma is working there. However, the rain is beating down and the wind is blowing so it would be extremely unpleasant. Thankfully the BBC have a big marquee, so they won't get wet.
ReplyDeleteBusy weekend as seemed to be down at church a lot. Yesterday was Christian Aid coffee morning then a visit by a prospective minister. We don't know yet if he will be coming to Horsham. Today was an AWE service, a discussion + lunch regarding provision for young people on a Sunday. This afternoon a drama workshop which went well. Now relaxing!! Carry on having a great time xx
ReplyDeleteHi John and Ann
ReplyDeleteYour trip on the Lake Maggiore Express sounds amazing, loved the photos! We did the Centovalli trip from Locarno to Domodossola when we stayed in Ascona on the Swiss side of the lake, it is certainly a wonderful trip!
This morning we seem to have some of your sunshine, but sadly I won't be able to go out with the North Horsham walkers; I have to look after Mum in Dorking while Dad goes to an RSA Pensioners' lunch somewhere in Clandon. Hope he doesn't get lost!
I managed a few walks last week; around Billingshurst with a friend, finishing up at 'The Limeburners' for lunch and then on Tuesday, Keri and I did a walk around the hidden passages, alleyways, courts and mews near Piccadilly Circus. After lunch in Green Park, we carried on walking, first back to Victoria, then through Hyde Park to Lancaster Gate tube, so certainly did our 10,000 steps that day!
A busy weekend at Church followed: the Christian Aid coffee morning was well attended, with many delicious cakes and then on Sunday, I went to a lunchtime meeting with Waseem and the young families after AWE - more cake was consumed!
We had a quick chat with a rather spotty Tilly yesterday afternoon! She has got chickenpox, just in time to be looked after by Joy and Nigel so that Craig and Demelza can go to Barcelona for a few days (to celebrate Craig's 30th birthday on Thursday, would you believe it!) Although obviously itchy and off her food (very unusual for her!), Tilly doesn't seem too distressed, thankfully!
We also had a quick chat with Andy, who seems quite relaxed about the group project work. He is coming home in the middle of June, so will be back before you!
Carry on blogging and having fun!