We are on our way home...
how did 16 days scoot by so fast? They have been absolutely amazing... so many things to take in... that will have to be another blog post though... and it will have to wait till we are actually back on NZ soil...
I know some of you are keeping up with our happenings here and I am sorry to have been such a slacker the last few days... can you say busy? Here is some I had started with a brief bit at the end for the last few days... more including pictures when we get home...
We spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Lake Maggiore...
Lake Maggiore is just quite simply stunning! We have a lovely view out over the lake to Isola Bella which we visited today along with Isola Superiore and Isola Madre. Decided on the larger ferries rather than the littler motorboats… you know me and boats… not the best of friends! So little boat was just not gonna happen, well not if I was going anyway!
Our first stop was Isola Superiore a lovely little fishing village, with more than a few tourists and touristy bits too… lots of amazing views… a gorgeous little church some of which was built in the 9th century… other parts are newer… like the 17th and 18th century! That’s the thing about visiting a country like Italy where history goes back to, well often several centuries back.
Isola Bella was up next… oh my word talk about opulent! Take one barren rock, build a huge and yes I do mean HUGE castello that seemed to have no boundaries put on it at all! All the rooms we were able to visit where just massive… and ceilings so high up the people painting the frescoes on them must have been risking life and limb on dodgy platforms and suffering blood noses on a regular basis! Nothing has been left unadorned… the furniture is just simply amazing… a whole lot of it was from the 16th century and still looked amazing… naturally slightly faded and a little worn in spots but heckermole think how old it is! And paintings everywhere and yes I do mean absolutely everywhere!
The garden is equally massive and considering the barren little rock that it started off as you soon realise just how much of an effort it would have been to get enough dirt there to grow anything in let alone getting all the plants there as well! Everything from palms to hibiscus to rhodos and camellias… ferns… you name it it’s there and with statues all around as well!!!!!!!
And last up was Isola Madre... equally impressive but far less over done... the garden was stunning and considering they had a tornado rip through part of it in 2006 the repairs to parts of the garden are coming along amazingly...
Monday saw us heading for Lake Como... we made it finally but not before the GPS tried to take us over the Swiss border TWICE... hey I know we wanted to go into Switzerland but not that day thanks... Our hotel here at Fuipiano is high in the mountains... its 1015 feet up and takes an hour to drive back down the narrow, hairpin turn filled road... you meet all sorts going both ways too... push bikes, cars, trucks with suicidal drivers, the occassional bus... oh and don't forget the scooters everywhere!
I know some of you are keeping up with our happenings here and I am sorry to have been such a slacker the last few days... can you say busy? Here is some I had started with a brief bit at the end for the last few days... more including pictures when we get home...
We spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Lake Maggiore...
Lake Maggiore is just quite simply stunning! We have a lovely view out over the lake to Isola Bella which we visited today along with Isola Superiore and Isola Madre. Decided on the larger ferries rather than the littler motorboats… you know me and boats… not the best of friends! So little boat was just not gonna happen, well not if I was going anyway!
Our first stop was Isola Superiore a lovely little fishing village, with more than a few tourists and touristy bits too… lots of amazing views… a gorgeous little church some of which was built in the 9th century… other parts are newer… like the 17th and 18th century! That’s the thing about visiting a country like Italy where history goes back to, well often several centuries back.
Isola Bella was up next… oh my word talk about opulent! Take one barren rock, build a huge and yes I do mean HUGE castello that seemed to have no boundaries put on it at all! All the rooms we were able to visit where just massive… and ceilings so high up the people painting the frescoes on them must have been risking life and limb on dodgy platforms and suffering blood noses on a regular basis! Nothing has been left unadorned… the furniture is just simply amazing… a whole lot of it was from the 16th century and still looked amazing… naturally slightly faded and a little worn in spots but heckermole think how old it is! And paintings everywhere and yes I do mean absolutely everywhere!
The garden is equally massive and considering the barren little rock that it started off as you soon realise just how much of an effort it would have been to get enough dirt there to grow anything in let alone getting all the plants there as well! Everything from palms to hibiscus to rhodos and camellias… ferns… you name it it’s there and with statues all around as well!!!!!!!
And last up was Isola Madre... equally impressive but far less over done... the garden was stunning and considering they had a tornado rip through part of it in 2006 the repairs to parts of the garden are coming along amazingly...
Monday saw us heading for Lake Como... we made it finally but not before the GPS tried to take us over the Swiss border TWICE... hey I know we wanted to go into Switzerland but not that day thanks... Our hotel here at Fuipiano is high in the mountains... its 1015 feet up and takes an hour to drive back down the narrow, hairpin turn filled road... you meet all sorts going both ways too... push bikes, cars, trucks with suicidal drivers, the occassional bus... oh and don't forget the scooters everywhere!
Labels: Italy
posted by Cheryl at
6:08 PM
3 Comments:
I've loved reading about all of your fun in Italy, Cheryl! So glad you had a great time!
Thank you for all your work keeping us on the trip with you. See you soon!
Sounds like an absolute dream vacation! Have a wonderful trip home.
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