Lake Maggiore

Observations:

Italians are very expressive and really do use their hands a lot when talking; many Italians speak at least some English; french fries are frequently served when 'potatoes' are listed on the menu!

We spent the last two nights in Laveno on Lake Maggiore at a family-owned hotel which is located 1000 meters (3,280 feet) up on a mountaintop in the Italian Alps.  Access to the hotel is via cable car, and cable car only.  When we parked our car and walked up to the cable car transport entryway, I about died seeing how high up we were going, and what I didn’t realize was that I wasn’t seeing the all of it. The cable car transport operates just like the ones at the shore or the state fair where it swings around and you hop in while it’s in motion.  The difference with this one is that you have to stand.  It fits only two people, tightly, so our luggage went up separately.  I found the 16 minute ride peaceful and enjoyable.  Chris doesn’t like heights, but because trees surround you on either side for most of the trip up, preventing sight of the dramatic view, he did okay.  Whenever you want to leave the hotel, you have to use the cable car.  Employees and supplies for the hotel and restaurant are transported the same way.  As you would expect, the restaurant features unbelievable views of the Alps and the beautiful lake and towns below.  We spent most of our time these last two days there, just enjoying the views and the tranquil setting.  Our room had a terrace which overlooked all this as well.  The hotel itself was rather rustic.  We had no internet (hence no blog postings), no air conditioning, and no way to charge our various forms of technology since the outlet adaptors that we successfully used in Milan didn’t work here.  We had to go out and buy different electrical adaptors so that we could plug things in.  One feature worth mentioning in our room was our “shower.”  How to describe it?  It was basically a tiny bathtub (not nearly big enough to stretch out your legs) with half of the bottom raised up as a seat and the lower half in a bowl shape.  I am laughing while writing this thinking of all the banging and exclamations Chris made while in there.  Thank goodness he didn’t kill himself trying to get clean.

Funny Pictures from the Last Two Days:

Our "shower"

Clothes hanging out to dry are a common sight - in this case, a solitary pair of underwear hangs proudly

Pictures of the Stay:

The view from our terrace

The cable cars arriving and leaving the hotel