Well, the Switzerland leg of our tour is over. We did very much our usual there, which is always lovely in itself. My brother and his wife joined us for 5 days and hopefully they enjoyed the sunshine and mountain air (and their ‘boys’ enjoyed the overdose of pizza and freezer food whilst they were away!). We took them to Montreux , Evoline and Sion, enjoying lake, valley and mountains in warm sunshine (with some snow!). The road to the bottom of the dam at Dixence was closed almost until we left but it opened just in time for us to have a look at the lake. The cable car to the top of the dam is closed until mid June, so we had to hike the steep climb to the top. It was really weird to be confronted with the gigantic concrete wall, to hike up the steep slopes to the top and then to find the enormous lake behind the wall almost empty. There was a lot of snow at the top, in fact we had a few snowy nights whilst there, although the snow only stayed for any time above the tree line. A great time was had in Southern Switzerland, as always, but it was time to close up the chalet and move on.
The level I usually see the lake at is the top of the grey (which is where I am standing for this photograph!).
I can't recall what night this was but it was a really cool moonshot from the chalet.
We were treated to a rainbow on our last day, which was much brighter than in this photo (or I am a cr*p photographer!).
We aimed to get up early and move on but one coffee on the balcony turned into another and we didn’t get away until 11.30am! We eventually went over the Simplon pass at lunchtime. We’ve done this pass before but only in torrential rain and/or fog, so in sunshine it was glorious and the views lovely. We turned off over the other side at Domodossola towards Locarno but turned off to take the mountain road to Cannobio via Finero. The hairpin bends were a little scary, especially when suicidal Italians decided to overtake on blind corners - but that’s what you have to get used to in Italy! We stopped for a picnic in Finero, alongside a local old man who had decided to take a break in his journey and admire the view.
We dined at a pizzeria on the lakeshore and after a carafe of wine, tentatively made our way back. The following morning we awoke to birdsong all around us and a view of the lake from Valerie’s roof bed. We eventually got going and went out on the bikes to explore Cannobio, a pretty, typically Italian village, with narrow streets and beautiful terraces and villas. We bought a bread baton and then had a glass of what I would call sherry with olives on the lakeshore before returning to Valerie for lunch. A snooze on the beach after lunch was followed by a walk into town to the supermarket to find some beer and decaff coffee. This evening we ‘cooked in’ and had a little wine (hic!) and went to bed early, as we wanted to be up early for the local market in Cannobio, which starts at 8am on Sundays. The heavens opened at 2am and, although not really heavy rain, the pitter patter on the roof made for interrupted sleep.
The Sunday market filled the entire lakeside road and pedestrian area and felt like it was never ending. I have never seen so many handbags and shoes in my life. A dedicated food market was a spectacle with salami and other cured meat hanging everywhere and colourful displays of vegetables, olives, sun dried tomatoes, dried/candied fruit, cakes etc. We bought some fresh giant ravioli stuffed with ricotta and lemon for supper and some pistachio amaretti biscuits - and nearly fell over at the cost!! Back to Valerie for coffee with the amaretti biscuits and then we cycled for a couple of hours. Lunch was followed by lakeside rain dodging. Our lemon pasta was lovely with a salad and fresh bread but felt a bit like a desert! The wine felt like a bargain! A bottle of Barbera D’Asti and a bottle of Pino Grigio for 5 Euros! If only it was like that at home – although it’s probably better it’s not!
We had enjoyed Connobio. It’s a pretty place with a lovely rustic centre with steep streets that lead down to a beautiful promenade along the lake, lined with restaurants and bars. We took a boat ride on our last full day to Maccagno. Not a place I would return to – I’d go to the next town up the coast, but the boat ride enabled you to admire Cannobio from out on the lake. Connobio was also nice because we weren’t surrounded by fridges on wheels (white motorhomes). Whilst at the campsite we saw at least 7 vans either VW T3/T4/T5, a lovely old Citroen camper that could be as old as I am, a group of 3 camping motorcyclists and another with a Harley Davison with the longest front forks I have ever seen!
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