Stresa

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We found the Cuzzago sign on the side of the building.

Miniature "Leaning Tower of Pisa" in Cuzzago.

View out the train window on the way to Stresa.

View from our hotel in Stresa.

Across Lake Maggiore in Stresa.

View out our hotel window in Stresa.

Looking back at Stresa from the boat.

Approaching Isola Bella

Boats are a way of life on Lake Maggiore.

At the hotel in Orta, they told us there was an alternate train connection that we could take to Stresa that would save us about an hour of travel time, making the trip about 1.5 hours as opposed to 2.5 hours. The trick was to get off in Cuzzago and then take the connection train “direction Milan” to Stresa. It seemed easy enough. The folks at the hotel were really nice and took us and our bags to the train station. In hindsight, “station” is a pretty generous description; it was more of a “stop”. I bought our tickets to Stresa in the “bar” attached to the stop and we had cappuccini (one cappuccino, two cappuccini) while we waited. We got on the train and had all the stops figured out, so we knew exactly when to get off. It was a good thing we did, because we couldn’t see the stop name from the train when we got off at Cuzzago.

200 year old Cypress tree is given intensive care by botanists.

Clock tower on Isola dei Pescatori.

Picturesque window on Isola Madre.

Cathy checks out the flowers covering the wall.

Palace on Isola Bella as we head back for Stresa.

Terraced gardens on Isola Bella.

Statue in Stresa

"US Patriot" Red, White, Blue

Eucalyptus tree on Isola Madre.

View from the airplane on the way home.

Gardens on Isola Madre

Cactus growing through the hedge on Isola Bella

Back in Stresa, we headed for the train station and then to our stop near Milan's Malpensa Airport. We stayed in a hotel near the airport for an early flight back to the US.

Isola dei Pescatori is like a quaint fishing village with lots of restaurants and shops. We stumbled onto a wedding in progress at the Parish Church. Isola dei Pescatori is a maze of streets and alleys, but it's small and you can't really get lost; just head for in one direction and you'll find the shore.

First stop was Isola Bella where we toured the Borromean Place, museum, and gardens. The palace and baroque-style gardens occupy nearly two-thirds of the island and date to 1632. The terraced gardens near the shore are reminiscent of the bow of a ship, overlooking the water. We hoped back on the boat for a short trip to Isola dei Pescatori

We arrived in Stresa and headed for city center to find our hotel. We had booked a room at Hotel Saini Meuble, but when we arrived, there was a problem with the room. The hotel owner had arranged for us to stay at the Italie et Suisse Hotel on the waterfront with great views across the lake. We had gelato and walked around exploring Stresa’s small, but confusing town center.

Walking around the side of the building, I found the Cuzzago sign, so we knew we were in the right place. But… this place was really deserted and it seemed odd to us that there was only one set of tracks.

This fact alone seemed pretty strange but what was even more perplexing was that the only schedule on display was for arrivals; there was no departure schedule anywhere. The station was completely empty, in the middle of nowhere, and there was no one around to ask. I walked completely around the building and could not find any signs of life. Since we had about a half hour to wait for our connection, we sat down and contemplated our fate. After a few minutes we heard a train approaching (a comforting sign until…). It passed behind us by 200 feet or so and never stopped. I went to investigate and found a really small, paved but overgrown path leading through the woods behind the station. I ran to the other side and found another station, much bigger with two sets of tracks, but equally deserted. After a little searching, I found an underpass to get to the other side and inside the station found a departure schedule for direction Milan and Stresa. Outside, there was a mini replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Feeling a little better, we sat down and waited until the train came (exactly on schedule). I was really glad we weren’t still sitting at the other station. We won’t soon forget our adventure in Cuzzago.

Wedding in light rain. The show must go on...

Friendly wildlife looking for a handout.

Baveno near Stresa

Wedding in progress...

A view out the Palace window on Isola Bella

Heading up to the terraced gardens on Isola Bella

Flowers in the garden at the Palace.

White peacock on Isola Bella.

Neptune statue in the gardens on Isola Bella.

From the Borromean Palace.

Saturday, 29-September-2007

In the morning we went to the waterfront and bought a combo ticket to tour the Borromean Palace , botanical gardens, and ride the boat. We had light rain on and off during the day, but we brought our umbrellas and tried to stay dry. We spent most of the day touring the three islands near Stresa.