domenica (Sunday), 16th maggio (May)
I woke up to bright sunshine filling the room, because we�d neglected to close the shutters after the fireworks the night before. The air was cool and the sun was warm, and I fought to keep my eyes open rather than to sink back to sleep. I wondered what time it was, since the cut-off for breakfast was ten a.m. and I knew Alle would have let me sleep rather than wake me to eat. I turned over and was nearly blinded for a moment by the bright yellow disc hovering just above the horizon, over the water, framed in a cleft between two mountains. It hurt to look, but the sun�s reflection on the water and the crisp blue sky were too beautiful to ignore. Alle stirred beside me, and we both looked out at the sunrise together for a while, enjoying it all until one of us asked what time it was. I checked and found it was only 6.30 a.m.! The brightness of the sun had sure fooled me�
We had decided on a tour of the islands for the day, and then we�d head for home in the afternoon. We went down for breakfast around 9 a.m., sampling from a rather nice buffet (our choices � croissants - mine with chocolate, his with cherry � strawberry yogurt, bread, tea, and a cookie) and watching the water for a little while in the morning light. Then we went upstairs, got the camera and headed out to Baveno to catch a ferry to the islands.
We boarded the ferry to Isola Madre first. Boarding the boat took a bit of getting used to, really, as I haven�t been on a boat of any sort for quite a long time. We took our seats and Alle began regaling me with tales of his trip to Greece some time ago, wherein he endured rough seas and everyone on board (literally) got seasick. We arrived at Isola Madre and immediately went to the gardens� entrance. However, after the following surge of our fellow travelers, we decided to take a different route, and climbed the stairs to the Palazzo first, ignoring all the signs that were indicating "This way"� Needless to say, the grounds surrounding the Palazzo were lovely � all manicured "English" style gardens and then, dozens of exotic birds kept in an aviary or strolling around free. Anywhere you went on the island, it seems, you could hear the "lovely" call of the peacock � "Haaa-Rooah! Haaa-Rooah!" One of them was so vain, whenever he heard a camera click or whine, he would preen and pose, sometimes rather insistently, until you took a shot of him. LOL! Anyone who sat on the bench near him would get a full presentation full of coy poses, and if they didn�t snap him, he�d sulk away until he found another potential photographer. There were also white peacocks (not albino), some exotic chickens (no, I�m not kidding), and one plain, old-fashioned rooster and his chicken, who kept "cock-a-doodle-doo"-ing for attention from his spot in the bushes. In the aviary there were wrens and cockatiels, and a host of wild chickadees nested up in the roof.
Alle and I strolled all over the island, taking loads of pictures of the birds and the flowers, and eventually we made our way back to the dock to catch the next ferry. We sat in the sun for a bit before the ferry arrived, and then we rode across slightly choppy waters to Pallanza where, again, we strolled and took a few photos, mostly of the breathtaking view of the Alps rising over the water and the palm trees, and the flowers growing along the walkway. For lunch we each had a tiny pizza in a small, outdoor cafe, enjoying the breeze and the view of the water. We walked around some more, had a small gelato each (pistachio and hazelnut), and then, unfortunately, used some of the public facilities (UUUGGGHHH!!! Disgusting! And these were western toilets, not Turkish ones�Turkish would have been better, I think�) before fervently washing our hands. Then we boarded the next ferry out, and headed for Isola Superiore, also known as Isola Pescatore, or "Fisherman�s Island."
While interesting to see, Isola Superiore isn�t a place where I could spend much time, really. I mean, it�s all full of vendors and booths as soon as you get off the ferry, and there�s loads and loads of people there. It�s crowded and noisy, but I�m sure that, if there weren�t so many tourists around, it�d be a lovely place to go. It�s just the place where fisherman used to live, and there�s mostly homes and old shops there. Nothing fancy, nothing particularly special, except it has a nice little beachy area, and quite a few kittycats hanging around. I�m sure it has its own little charms in the off-season, though, when it isn�t so crowded and frantic. We didn�t stay long, and instead caught the next ferry, to Isola Bella.
The dominating feature of Isola Bella is the Palazzo and the gardens, just as on Isola Madre. However, this Palazzo is much larger and grander by far than the one on Isola Madre. In fact, in many ways, it�s just a bit too much, if you know what I mean. It�s huge!!! And what�s more, it�s grandiose in every sense of the term. Alle and I just wanted to see the gardens outside (although it was nice and cool indoors), but we had to get through the entire Palazzo tour and the numerous guided tourgroups within, first. Finally, we found ourselves outside in the fresh air again, camera in hand, ascending the stone stairs to the humongous garden at the top. To our slight surprise, another white peacock started calling out from next to his companion up in a tree! Naturally, every yahoo with a camera rushed the scene to get a shot, so I snapped mine very quickly and we hurried out of the way. (I never said I wasn�t a yahoo, ya�ll�)
We strolled around for a while, taking pictures of the statuary that graced the gardens, of the flowers growing there, of the water and the mountains beyond. Finally, however, we had to pack it in and make our way toward home. We were both tired (and me fighting some jet-lag, too�), so we caught the ferry to Baveno and walked to where we�d parked the car. We returned to the hotel to get our suitcases and packed the car, then piled in to go home.
I was tired, yes, but I was so happy, too, to have been able to spend such a lovely weekend with my boy. J We left around six or so, I suppose, but we didn�t get home until a little past nine p.m., due to traffic jams outside Milan. (And then Alle forgot to collect his tollway ticket at the last stop before Reggio! Ooops!) We stopped and had dinner at an autogrille (more pizza, this time with a sort of hash-brown potato on the side�don�t ask why), and then continued down the motorway, observing the crazy drivers passing at roughly 120 miles an hour (or more). At the payout lane, Alle got a form to show he had to pay for his forgotten ticket, and then, at last, we got home. After a quick shower and blow-dry, I was ready for bed, and we settled in sleepily after a very full day.
luned� (Monday), 17th maggio (May)
Our normal routine returned somewhat. Alle left for work, Dad left for "work", and I went downstairs to Rob�s to study on my TOEFL program. In the afternoon, I returned upstairs, had a light lunch, and Alle got home shortly after six p.m. We had a light supper (soup and bread, then fruit), then went for a walk in a nearby park. The sun was already close to setting so it was nice and cool, and we strolled along the canal on the bike/pedestrian path there until we reached the end of it. We turned back and went across the canal to a sort of public gathering spot with a difference: Bunnies!!! Loads and loads of rabbits hopping about in the grass, completely free to do as they please. And as you all know, I�m a sucker for bunnies� So we walked a bit in the fading light, admiring the rabbits and pausing at the small aviary where wrens and finches were housed, as well as some parakeets, all flitting about and chirping. I couldn�t believe that he hadn�t brought me there before, and Alle confessed that he�d fairly forgotten about the place, until he went for a walk while I was gone in April. After we admired the animals a little longer, we decided to head for home. The daylight didn�t completely fail until after 9, and we went to bed around 9.30.
cont'd