After an excellent leisurely continental breakfast prepared by the owner, we headed off down the road towards Italy. When we stopped in Brissago, we actually thought we were in Italy, as everything was written in Italian but we realized it was still Switzerland – we wondered why prices were in Swiss Francs, but thought it was because it was close to the Swiss border. Anyway, we drove down the road and within 5 Kms crossed the border into Italy – a few soldiers standing around, but basically a non-event.
The road was incredibly winding and narrow – just wide enough to pass other cars, and hardly anywhere to stop to admire the view. The bus stops were marked on the road, ie. they do not pull over, just stop on the road to pick up passengers. Apart from the tension of driving such narrow roads, the scenery was fantastic. The lake is long and narrow so that the other side is always visible. In what seemed a long time, but relatively short, we arrived in Verbania Intra (the town where my grandparents lived before immigrating to Australia) and had a look around. Walking along the lakeside the water looked really inviting, however a bit too cold for swimming, even for Frances!
We decided to stay the night, and booked into the Hotel Villa Aurora, another family-run hotel, just off the main promenade and in a beautiful old building. The room was on the 2nd floor, and with the high ceilings meant a substantial effort to get our heavy bags into the room. The effort was worth it as we have a good view and a large room and balcony.
We spent the rest of the day wandering through the town, and after lunch (I had penne with ham and peas and Frances had a wrap with pancetta, rocket, tomato and ricotta – both good) and a rest, drove the short distance to Verbania Pallanza which seems a bit more up market and touristy. It was very pleasant though, walking by the lake and looking at the old hotels and township, but we had to rush back to the hotel. Why? Well be agreed to have their set menu dinner (about $26 for 3courses). If you’re not interested in food, skip the next section. The entrees were: risotto with cumquat, and gnocchi with a spinach and basil sauce – yum. Mains were vitello tonnato (steamed veal with a tuna and mayonnaise sauce, capers and tomato) and another veal dish cooked with lemon – yum. Of course there was a side salad (you mixed you own dressing) and crunchy bread. To help wash all of this down we selected an extra dry prosecco - yum. Dessert was simple gelato – yum.
After dinner, to try and walk off all of the above food, we walked around the town, which was pretty quiet. However we were accosted by an Italian English teacher who overheard us speaking English. He recounted his horror experience of taking a group of his students (11-15 yrs old) to London for a week’s homestay where it appeared that most of the families were only interested in the money and treated the students quite poorly - a situation that also seems to happen in Australia. We’ve contacted some of our ex- homestay students in Europe, but connecting up with them is proving difficult so far.
