In Ticino, at the Lago Maggiore.
Showing posts with label Ascona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ascona. Show all posts
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
A Ticino weekend.
After our time in Paris, my dad went back to the US and my mom and I went to Zurich. Things were super busy at work at that point, and I needed to work for a few days while mom explored on her own. We did manage to go to Ticino for the weekend, though, which was perfect. I always find myself so much more calm and relaxed when I go to Ticino, and it is so beautiful.
We stayed in a house across the lake from Locarno, and we could sit on our balcony at night and watch the lights of Locarno dance on Lago Magiorre.
On Saturday, we got a day pass for the boats that run on the Lake, and we started out by touring the gardens on the Isola di Brissago.
From the Isola, we went to Ascona for a leisurely lunch on the lakeside promenade, where we could enjoy the lake view and watch everyone else out enjoying the sun.
We also went to the Piazza Grande in Locarno for some gelato before catching the last boat back to our little village across the lake.
Sunday was super rainy, so we headed back to Zurich pretty early. I finally managed to get some photos of my favorite bridge along the Gotthard Pass. Because the train goes in circles to gain elevation at this point, you end up seeing the bridge 3 times: once from the valley floor, once mid-way up, and once at the level of the bridge. (There's a church on the other side of the tunnel that you also see three times as the train circles to get back down the mountain.) I don't know why I love this bridge, but I always look forward to seeing it. I think that the engineering that goes into making and keeping these mountains accessible by cars and trains is just incredible.
Although it was a really busy time in my life, it was nice to have some extra time with my mom, and our weekend in Ticino was a great way to end the trip. She headed back to the US the next day, and I went back to work!
We stayed in a house across the lake from Locarno, and we could sit on our balcony at night and watch the lights of Locarno dance on Lago Magiorre.
On Saturday, we got a day pass for the boats that run on the Lake, and we started out by touring the gardens on the Isola di Brissago.
From the Isola, we went to Ascona for a leisurely lunch on the lakeside promenade, where we could enjoy the lake view and watch everyone else out enjoying the sun.
We also went to the Piazza Grande in Locarno for some gelato before catching the last boat back to our little village across the lake.
Sunday was super rainy, so we headed back to Zurich pretty early. I finally managed to get some photos of my favorite bridge along the Gotthard Pass. Because the train goes in circles to gain elevation at this point, you end up seeing the bridge 3 times: once from the valley floor, once mid-way up, and once at the level of the bridge. (There's a church on the other side of the tunnel that you also see three times as the train circles to get back down the mountain.) I don't know why I love this bridge, but I always look forward to seeing it. I think that the engineering that goes into making and keeping these mountains accessible by cars and trains is just incredible.
Although it was a really busy time in my life, it was nice to have some extra time with my mom, and our weekend in Ticino was a great way to end the trip. She headed back to the US the next day, and I went back to work!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
A mini-vacation in Ticino.
This summer has been going so quickly that I'm definitely still playing catch-up, both with life and with blogging. One of the highlights of the past month was a visit from Jessi and babycakes, when we rented a cute stone house in Ticino and had a long, golden weekend exploring Ticino, swimming, and being really really hot. Jessi happened to come during a heat wave, and it was at least 90 or 95 F and sunny every day she was here. After a certain point, I've just learned to embrace the heat, although the Minnesotan in me would really rather be cold than hot!
We headed down to Ticino midday on July 31st (I needed to work in the morning) and found our cute little apartment in Gordola.
The next day was August 1st, the Swiss national holiday, and we had a relaxed day, doing a little swimming in Lago Maggiore in the morning, meeting up with my dear friend Stefanie for a picnic lunch, wandering around Locarno, swimming in the Verzasca River, and watching some fireworks from our backyard.
On August 2nd, we did part of a hike in the Val Verzasca that Kara and I had done when she visited over two years ago. This hike is along the Verzasca River, so we took the chance to do some swimming/wading in the incredibly turquoise (and frigid) waters. The river appeared to be basically a public swimming pool, with people setting up camp the whole length of the river that we hiked, at least. The hike ended at Lavertezzo, which is famous for its old stone bridge. When we were there, people were jumping off the bridge into the river below, which I found absolutely terrifying. It was a very different atmosphere from when I was there with Kara, but still just as beautiful!
The next day, Saturday, we went up to Cardada to see the beautiful view from the top and to take a walk on the trails that were up there. We were very thankful that the gain in altitude brought us to cooler temperatures! We had a delicious lunch on a terrasse overlooking Lago Maggiore and had fun playing with babycakes, who likes to hug trees! Given the history that Jessi and I have hugging trees, I feel very satisfied that this lives on in baby A.
After Cardada, we stopped in Locarno to get some gelato with Stefanie, who works for the Locarno Film Festival. The festival started on the next day, so the whole town was buzzing with preparations. It was fun to see everything before it got really busy, especially the Piazza Grande, which is transformed into a huge outdoor cinema.
On Sunday, our final day in Ticino, we went to the market in Cannobio and enjoyed walking around the small Italian town and seeing what the market had to offer. After we had marketed ourselves out, we took a ferry back to Ascona and spent the afternoon wandering around there by the lake and playing in a park.
It was a really nice mini-vacation and really felt like a summer vacation: lots of sun and water. I'm really thankful that Jessi and babycakes got to come for a visit while I'm still in Switzerland, and it was fantastic to get to spend some time with them in one of my favorite areas of Switzerland!
**Some of these photos are courtesy of Jessica Patton.
We headed down to Ticino midday on July 31st (I needed to work in the morning) and found our cute little apartment in Gordola.
The next day was August 1st, the Swiss national holiday, and we had a relaxed day, doing a little swimming in Lago Maggiore in the morning, meeting up with my dear friend Stefanie for a picnic lunch, wandering around Locarno, swimming in the Verzasca River, and watching some fireworks from our backyard.
On August 2nd, we did part of a hike in the Val Verzasca that Kara and I had done when she visited over two years ago. This hike is along the Verzasca River, so we took the chance to do some swimming/wading in the incredibly turquoise (and frigid) waters. The river appeared to be basically a public swimming pool, with people setting up camp the whole length of the river that we hiked, at least. The hike ended at Lavertezzo, which is famous for its old stone bridge. When we were there, people were jumping off the bridge into the river below, which I found absolutely terrifying. It was a very different atmosphere from when I was there with Kara, but still just as beautiful!
The next day, Saturday, we went up to Cardada to see the beautiful view from the top and to take a walk on the trails that were up there. We were very thankful that the gain in altitude brought us to cooler temperatures! We had a delicious lunch on a terrasse overlooking Lago Maggiore and had fun playing with babycakes, who likes to hug trees! Given the history that Jessi and I have hugging trees, I feel very satisfied that this lives on in baby A.
After Cardada, we stopped in Locarno to get some gelato with Stefanie, who works for the Locarno Film Festival. The festival started on the next day, so the whole town was buzzing with preparations. It was fun to see everything before it got really busy, especially the Piazza Grande, which is transformed into a huge outdoor cinema.
On Sunday, our final day in Ticino, we went to the market in Cannobio and enjoyed walking around the small Italian town and seeing what the market had to offer. After we had marketed ourselves out, we took a ferry back to Ascona and spent the afternoon wandering around there by the lake and playing in a park.
It was a really nice mini-vacation and really felt like a summer vacation: lots of sun and water. I'm really thankful that Jessi and babycakes got to come for a visit while I'm still in Switzerland, and it was fantastic to get to spend some time with them in one of my favorite areas of Switzerland!
**Some of these photos are courtesy of Jessica Patton.
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