January 5 - Stresa - Another long report

We met at 10:30 AM to drive to  Lago Maggiore, the second largest lake in Italy. Ron got specific directions from the concierge as to how to avoid the restricted zone cameras. Still, it wasn't very easy.

On the highway toward the Lakes - the beautiful Alps

We parked near the docks in Stresa, which is a town with beautiful hotels and villas from the 1800's and 1900's. Stresa grew on tourism, as in the times when only the wealthiest people could travel, this was the favorite destination for royalty and was also the haunt of artists and writers. Hemingway set part of his novel "Farewell to Arms" in Stresa.

Along the boat docks in Stresa on Lake Maggiore

Waiting for the boat

Aboard the boat to Isola del Pescatore (Fisherman's Island)

The boat took about 15-minutes to the island. Isola del Pescatore has about 35 families residing there, and all are involved in either fishing or tourism. The island used to be known for its huge colony of cats, which were protected and fed, but this visit we saw very few cats. Have not been able to find out what happened. We had lunch reservations at 1 PM at Ristorante Casabella, where we had a table beside a big window with beautiful views of the lake. Our last visit was in 2007 and we found that we enjoyed the menu of the past trip more than this one.

Mary's appetizer - unusual cheese torte with honey and chestnut

Ron's rissotto - delicious

Along the shore - Isola del Pescatore

Another of the Borromean islands is Isola Bella, which is comprised of an enormous palazzo and gardens. Construction of the palazzo began in 1632 by Carlo III, a nobleman of the House of Borromeo, and dedicated and named for his wife, Isabella. Construction of the palazzo and the gardens was completed by heirs of Carlo III. During the 1700-1800's it was a "social scene" for high society, and visitors included Napoleon.  It is now open to the public, and the Borromeo family live in Milan and only visit the property for a few weeks in summer.

Looking at Isola Bella from Pescatore

Ron in front of wine shop we like in Stresa

We walked to the Cambusa wine/grappa shop we had liked on a previous visit. I had corresponded by e-mail with the owners, and they said they would be open that day. However, the concierge had called three times with no answer, and the shop was closed when we arrived. 

Driving back into Milan was another story. The hotel had given us a map and directions as to how to approach without entering restricted zones. Where we entered the city from the autostrada, our GPS soon announced that we were entering a "toll area" (restricted). Ron stopped and I looked at the map to figure out our location, which took some doing, as we didn't know which direction we were going and could not see the names of the cross streets. Once having pinpointed our location, we plotted a route to get to the "green" route outlined by the hotel. After several more warnings of "toll" area, we found the "green route", and I announced each of the subsequent steps as I looked at the directions and the map. We finally made it almost to the hotel, and Ron drove past the final turn - the most important one. Going forward would again put us in a restricted area. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of traffic, and he was able to slowly back up to make the turn. Mike said watching the two of us work in partnership was a thing to behold. The traffic policy is draconian, especially for tourists. There should be some type of exemption for tourists going to/from their hotel.

We congregated in our room for something to soothe the nerves. I went on-line to trenitalia, and found the schedule for trains to Conegliano. Ron had been planning to drive there on Sunday to visit an old friend, but after our experience, I felt it would be a nightmare for him to drive back into Milan alone. It turned out the train trip (with transfer in Venice Mestre) was a little shorter than the drive, and the cost was comparable. I said it would also be nice not to have to worry about him on those autostradas!

After a short respite we set out to walk to the nearby restaurant we had enjoyed for lunch on Friday. They were just closing and said they do not serve dinner. They suggested we walk behind La Scala to the neighborhood called Brera, which was about 10 blocks. We walked along the narrow, pedestrian-only Via Fiori Chiari, which was lined with one restaurant or bar after another. We finally went into the Sans-Egal (translated "Without Equal"), and were seated in the basement. Another miscommunication, the host at the door said "Happy hour was not possible, only dinner" but when we got to our table, the waitress told us just the opposite. So, we all trooped up the stairs to fill small plastic plates with food from the buffet. The menu said "Happy Hour Buffet - 9 EU until 9 PM". We did not understand that the 9 EU was basically per drink and that all of the food was complimentary. It wasn't a gourmet repast, but did suffice.

Pat in front of stand with rental bikes

Walked back to the Galleria and to our hotels, calling it a night.