Avanti !
At the end of october, we went on a vacation in Italy. The idea was to do a bit of sight seeing, have a restful holiday, and meet with our friends Rakhi and Marco in Varese. And yes, we managed it all !
Ruben had spent the previous week in Briancon, so Eric went to somewhere near Torino to meet him and Zabeth, as Rakhi kindly took me and Alexandre to our rental place, acted as translator, and then showed us around. Our rental house was along a train track, which delighted Alexandre (it also had a garden, which was great!).
On the wednesday morning we went and visited the city centre. Really nice old cobblestone streets, beautiful old buildings, and a great pizza to cap it all.
Ruben decided that we would not be able to get a picture of him and we did a lot of running around.
Got him !
After a nap, we went and visited Rakhi, Marco, Nora and Neal in the lovely old village of Brunello.
On the thursday, we went to the Lago Maggiore. First stop at the Monasterio santa catarina, a beautiful small monastery perched over the water.
And then we took the funiculario at Laveno and enjoyed the views, the fall foliage, and Monte Rosa on the other side of the lake. They had a playground up there, which was nice to get the kids running a bit. Then down on the funicalorio again, through the clouds.
After a nap (yeah!), we went to an indoor play area Rakhi had told us about. Alexandre immediatly jumped in the pool ball ; Ruben waited until the crowd and the ruckus calmed down and then had a blast.
On Friday, we went to Orta, beautiful Orta.
The city was at once beautiful and charming and manicured and touristy - luckily there was almost no one, on a friday at the end of october... We took a boat to the island. Eric was mesmerized by the island ; I felt a bit oppressed, as one can only walk in circle on a narrow street, between what looks like beautiful but uninvinting palaces and convents.
Back to the mainland, we had a sandwich in the city garden, before heading up the hill to the chapels and a beautiful view over the lake and hills.
Then Marco, Rakhi and the kids came over to our place for a playdate. Rakhi had offered to take me out to a restaurant with her friends ; it was a great girls' night out. Thanks to Marco and Eric for this.
On saturday, the sun shone bright and clear. We walked to the sacro monte in Varese ; it was a lovely hike, the views were great, and Nora and Ruben were fueled by chocolate they "found" along the way. And we had lunch in a nice and kid-friendly restaurant up there (they had a garden!).
In the afternoon, we went to a farm / cafe near Varese lake (great but chilly when the sun went down).
Ciao Italia !
Ruben had spent the previous week in Briancon, so Eric went to somewhere near Torino to meet him and Zabeth, as Rakhi kindly took me and Alexandre to our rental place, acted as translator, and then showed us around. Our rental house was along a train track, which delighted Alexandre (it also had a garden, which was great!).
On the wednesday morning we went and visited the city centre. Really nice old cobblestone streets, beautiful old buildings, and a great pizza to cap it all.
Ruben decided that we would not be able to get a picture of him and we did a lot of running around.
Got him !
After a nap, we went and visited Rakhi, Marco, Nora and Neal in the lovely old village of Brunello.
On the thursday, we went to the Lago Maggiore. First stop at the Monasterio santa catarina, a beautiful small monastery perched over the water.
And then we took the funiculario at Laveno and enjoyed the views, the fall foliage, and Monte Rosa on the other side of the lake. They had a playground up there, which was nice to get the kids running a bit. Then down on the funicalorio again, through the clouds.
The city was at once beautiful and charming and manicured and touristy - luckily there was almost no one, on a friday at the end of october... We took a boat to the island. Eric was mesmerized by the island ; I felt a bit oppressed, as one can only walk in circle on a narrow street, between what looks like beautiful but uninvinting palaces and convents.
Back to the mainland, we had a sandwich in the city garden, before heading up the hill to the chapels and a beautiful view over the lake and hills.
Then Marco, Rakhi and the kids came over to our place for a playdate. Rakhi had offered to take me out to a restaurant with her friends ; it was a great girls' night out. Thanks to Marco and Eric for this.
On saturday, the sun shone bright and clear. We walked to the sacro monte in Varese ; it was a lovely hike, the views were great, and Nora and Ruben were fueled by chocolate they "found" along the way. And we had lunch in a nice and kid-friendly restaurant up there (they had a garden!).
In the afternoon, we went to a farm / cafe near Varese lake (great but chilly when the sun went down).
Ciao Italia !
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