Italy 2024 - Day 3 / Arona & Milan

Steps today: 24 664 / 16.26 km

It was back to the Lake District again today to visit Arona. 

It was overcast, so the beautiful views of blue skies with mountain backdrops that we had yesterday were not to be had this time, but it was gorgeous in a different way and the fact that it was overcast turned out to be a blessing in the end.

 

We started with a walk along the water and then 'veered inland' to climb the hill up to the Colossus of San Borromeo. This is why we were so thankful for the overcast skies - we could NEVER have done this on a sunny day.

This is the second largest bronze statue in the world after the Statue of Liberty. It's closed on Mondays so we could not climb up and look out his eyes, too bad, the views from up there must be outstanding. As close as we were, it was impossible to get a good idea of it's size since there is nothing around to compare it to! I turned back to take a picture as we were walking away, but it didn't help.

After, we walked some more to get to the Fortress, but that was closed too - so we only got as far as the panoramic look-out

Check out the creepy abandoned house overgrown with weeds we saw on the way!  Nowhere near as beautiful, but it sure is interesting.

Next on the agenda was to find a place to have a drink, then lunch. Boy did we even luck out again thanks to the overcast skies! We stumbled upon a lakeside restaurant which would have been off-limits on a sunny day. We arrived about 30 minutes before the kitchen opened, so we had the perfect excuse to linger with a Spritz first.  It was all so perfect!

We decided that was enough of Arona after lunch, and headed back to Milan getting back by about 3ish.

We did some sightseeing:

Devil's Column (these holes were allegedly caused by the Devil's horn when he banged his head against the marble column) 

Temple of Victory

The Needle, Thread and Knot art installation (too many people in the way of the knot, so I'll have to be content with my pictures from previous trips)

Sforzesco Castle Fortress

I wanted to climb the Branca Tower to get panoramic views over Milan, but the sun was starting to come out so forget it...  turns out it was closed anyway.  This was a big day for closed attractions! I suppose you could say I didn't do my homework.

The Arco della Pace

And finally: Aperol Spritz O'clock!

After this, we took a tram back to the Duomo / Galleria to start looking for a place to have supper... it was getting too hot to walk.

We decided on a place near the Galleria, about a block away, and sat inside to get a break from the smokers. It really sucks that smoking is still allowed. 

I FINALY tried Risotto Milanese which I have been meaning to do for a few trips now, and it was not bad. I did feel however that the recipe might have been even tastier in a non-touristy restaurant...  but I didn't hate it.  And yes: prosciutto AGAIN!

This was our last night in Milan, and I didn't want it to end yet! We saw that the café overlooking the piazza had a bunch of front row seats available, so we pounced for a night cap.

We quickly discovered why all the tables were empty...  Monday night traffic!

And so, around 8PM, we ended our day, and our time in Milan. It was a great :) 

Italy 2024 - Day 2 / Stresa, Borromeo Islands & Milan

Steps today: 21 724 / 14.32 km

Today we set out to (re) visit the Borromeo Islands which we first visited in 2003. A collection of 3 islands in Lago Maggiore.

The Italian lake district is just spectacular and this was the perfect day, we were very lucky - beautiful clear blue skies, summery weather, gorgeous scenery. A perfect day.

We took the train to Stresa, and walked along the shore towards the boat dock. My head was on a swivel.

We decided only to visit the 2 closest islands, as beautiful as the surroundings were it felt like enough.

First was Isola dei Pescatori, which really should be called Isola dei Ristorante! We didn't have lunch there however, it was still too early.  We strolled around the island for an hour, then back on the boat to head over to Isola Bella

As is the case with just about all places like this: it's ALL SHOPPING for tourists. Too bad, but it does prove how popular the islands are.

We wandered around for a bit, then stopped for a drink...  another stemware fail for me!!!  I quickly added a do-over to my list of things to do for the day.

After this and a little more wandering, it was time for lunch and we lucked out! I LOVE eating by the water, but it's often too hot for me, we found a place with lovely outdoor terrace which had some shady tables left. Perfect!

This shared starter was amazing!

The main purpose of coming to Isola Bella is to visit the Palace Gardens - but I wasn't really in the mood...  temporary insanity I suppose.  Frank shook me out of my hesitation and I am glad he did. How stupid to travel all the way over and NOT even take a quick zip through.

The palace was alright, I've kind of overdosed on interiors like this. Lots of interesting things to see, but overall it feels same same same.

The grotto was very impressive! I'm surprised I didn't remember it from the last time I was here...  but then again, that was 20 years ago now.

The gardens of course, stole the show! But for me it was because of the phenomenal back-drops of the lake and mountains in the distance. 

We headed back to Milan after this, getting back just after 5PM

Have you heard of JR, the street artist? His latest artwork, a trompe l'oeil exhibit outside the Milan train station was up while we were there. It's meant to look like crack in the station, but the installations are far from the facade, and one must stand in a very specific spot to see the full effect.

The plan was to explore the area around the canals in Milan which we had never seen, and urgently have my Aperol Spritz re-do! We ended up in a place that was "just ok" and the service was sloooowww. Frank was getting increasingly annoyed and I think overall he didn't care for the canal area. He seemed in a hurry to blow through it and get to wherever we were doing to have supper.

The Spritz redo was better, but still not "Classic"

The canals were ....  cannaly.  Those are not restaurants lining the sides, they are market stalls.

From here, we continued walking towards the Duomo / Galleria, passing some other new-for-us sights along the way.

Arco di Porta Ticinese:

Porta Ticinese:

Colonne di San Lorenzo (I'm annoyed I didn't get a shot from the center showing the arch)

And finally made it to the Duomo, just beautiful with the end of day sun setting on the facade. It makes it look like it's glowing.

We had supper in the Galleria, and it was phenomenal! Yes, prosciutto AGAIN. Delicious!

Frank felt good enough to indulge me after dinner, so we didn't go back to the hotel right away. We strolled around for a while enjoying the setting sun and emerging evening...

Then settled in for a night cap. We've been to this café before on a previous visit and enjoyed a front row seat looking over the Duomo. Tonight, we weren't as lucky... we had an obstructed view LOL..  but I did have my "correct" Aperol Spritz so it was all worth it!

We were out until nineish which is highly unusual for us early-birds, but no regrets; it was a wonderful day.