Lake Como—June 25-26th We left Lake Maggiore on Wednesday afternoon and drove to Lezzeno. I had printed out driving directions from each hotel to the next on Google. These were useless. It’s so American to want to know the name of the road and when to turn left. Instead we learned to navigate the Italian… Continue reading Hot Hot Day on Lake Como
Month: June 2008
Menu I
One of the challenges of ordering food in a foreign country is our preconceived ideas about what that food should like—in other words, when we order we are thinking of our American version of this food. Sometimes what you imagine agrees with what is put before you. Green Salad. That’s it—ribbons of green lettuce that… Continue reading Menu I
Grocery Stores and Broken Columns–Lake Maggiore area
Tuesday, June 24th--2008 Dave's off to his conference today, so after a slow start, I decide to wander around the little towns around Lake Maggiore--well, inland of the lake. I head for another lake: Lago di Monte, a short drive from Ranco, where our hotel is. First stop is the grocery store. I had a… Continue reading Grocery Stores and Broken Columns–Lake Maggiore area
Hermitage Santa Caterina
June 23 Santa Caterina On the day we nearly croaked for heat exhaustion (Orta and its island) we got back in the car and recovered sufficiently to think about another place to go visit: Hermitage Santa Caterina. A hermit built the original chapel on the side of the cliff—88 steps above lake level, but 288… Continue reading Hermitage Santa Caterina
Morning on Lake Maggiore
June 25, 2008
Today’s Weather Report
Open Your Being
This is not a chant from the Sacro Monte (Sacred Mountain) chapels, but rather an admonishment from a sign on Orta's island. More on that later. We parked our car in the modern car park garage and strolled down to the town of Orta, as it is pedestrian only in the center. Orange seems to… Continue reading Open Your Being
Sacro Monte–Orta, Italy
About 45 minutes from our hotel in Ranco on Lake Maggiore is the town of Orta, on Lake Orta. Built up in the hills above Orta is the Sacro Monte, a series of small chapels as part of a pilgrimage in homage to St. Francis of Assisi, who was really popular around this area. He… Continue reading Sacro Monte–Orta, Italy
Travel is Planned Disruption
This is post #1 of our trip to Italy and England, June 2008. We work so hard at keeping the status quo, keeping up with things, staying on time and on schedule in our lives. Things like flat tires, sick children, headaches, funerals, births insert themselves into our carefully crafted schedule and pull us off… Continue reading Travel is Planned Disruption
Map of Our Trip, Italy-England 2008
Itinerary 1--Lake Maggiore, Italy 2--Lake Como 3--Bergamo 4--Milan 5--Bradford, England 6--York 7--Yorkshire Dales 8--London Significant Posts: Travel is Planned Disruption Sacro Monte--Orta, Italy Open Your Being Hermitage Santa Caterina Grocery Stores and Broken Columns–Lake Maggiore area Menu I Hot Hot Day on Lake Como Bergamo Italy Certossa di Pavia, Italy Milan Milan's Duomo Travel Day Once… Continue reading Map of Our Trip, Italy-England 2008