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| Caught a boat to the town of Stresa. Met up with the rest of the group and Umberto who took us to catch our cable car (Funivia). | |||
Although it was hazy out, the view was still pretty from the Funivia. At the top of the mountain there was a little restaurant. Several people decided to trek up to the top, but Dave said that it was too hazy to see anything. We opted to cool our heels instead. I think he was just tired but I didn't object. When they came back down we asked them how the view was and they said "too hazy, couldn't see anything." Our group had a nice lunch outside on the patio. Kathy sat at our table for lunch. It was good chatting with her and getting to know her. She is originally from Massachusetts and came here to work at a cooking school. Ended up meeting a man and was married 2 years ago. Lots of wine was served and it was very tasty. They had popcorn and potato chips out as appetizers. Lunch was good. It had a cheese fondue as one of the last courses. Dave and I finished off our mountain-top lunch with a couple of Cappuccinos. Life sure is tough to take sometimes. I wonder what everyone at home is doing? |
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| Umberto met us at the foot of the mountain and dropped us off in the town of Stresa. Normally, you would need to walk into town or take public transportation, but Umberto is a good guy and was willing to drop us off and come back to pick us up. The streets of Stresa have lots of alley ways filled with different shops. We got in a little more shopping and then headed back to the hotel. I bought a leather purse and Dave picked up a belt. We had a few hours to rest up before dinner. I sat out on the balcony, took in the view, ate strawberries, and began this journal. To my left, I could hear Tony and George at the pool getting into a debate over what we should do in Afghanistan. Tony is from Australia and George is from the Bronx, NY. They seem to have become good friends over the course of the trip |  |
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| Dinner was at the hotel tonight. Not much was served that I enjoy eating. The main course of dinner is usually fish or veal. Neither one I like. Dave lucked out; he not only gets his main course, but also mine. It upsets the waiters if you don’t eat your dinner, so I just get it and Dave eats it for me. Everyone is happy this way. |  |
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Dave and I joined Raeleen and Colin after dinner.
We sat outside at one of the little tables by the water and sipped Capuccinos. It was a warm night out and they are such a nice couple. Raeleen was telling me all about her life back in New Zealand. She is a teacher and really loves her job. She and her husband will be giving up their jobs when they return home to open an inn. They are on a 6 week vacation. When they leave Italy, they are heading to Turkey to catch a cruise of Greek Islands. I have a very hard time imagining what a trip like this must be like. Six weeks off from work! I sure would like to put this on my must do list for one of these days….Inside, some of the other people from the tour decided to sit inside at the bar. I didn’t get his name, but here was a crazy bartender working inside. He had a warm smile, but seemed as though he was really in his own world. Joyce (from Australia) ordered a drink with lots of ice. Kathy had told us, the reason most of our drinks here are not really cold is because Italians believe that drinking something so cold is very bad for you. All drinks you get are get that are suppose to very cold are typically lukewarm or slightly chilled. As the bartender told Joyce that night, “your intestines are going to explode if you drink something this cold.” She still didn’t get as much ice as she wanted |
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