The Italian saga comes to an end…

So after all the fun we did arrive at the “last day”.

Je me réveille,

un lac à mes pieds,

l’air frais,

l’esprit léger,

l’âme en paix.

Quelle belle journée.

From my room

from the balcony

at my feet

 Breakfast was enjoyed in the dining room overlooking the Lago d’Orta – with a view to the Madonna del Sasso chapel as well.

flowers in front of the Hotel Panoramico

more flowers at the hotel

Hotel Panoramica in Madonna del Sasso

The 17^th century Madonna del Sasso (Our Lady of the Rock) sits on a promontory overlooking the Lake of Orta and in the peaceful morning sun seemed a world away from the world.  The inside was so full of interesting bits that it was hard to know where to concentrate. At one point there was a group of some 10 motorcyclists taking pictures (is she known for protecting motorcycles?). What is the meaning of the arrow through the heart up on one wall? And how did the painter manage to make the main vault look domed although it wasn’t? Even outside the beauty and simplicity of the site worked its’ magic.

Our Lady of the Rock sanctuary

inside

Although it looks like a domed ceiling, it is only the paint that achieves that effect

detail on a column

Porch directly in front of the main door

Flowers in front of the porch and view of the lake

Then it was down the mountain and on to the small village of Pella to find a boat to cross the Lago d’Orta to the village of San Giulio Orta. Asked directions three different times (with three different answers) and even then ended up walking quite some distance from where we had parked the car towards the main dock.  No boat in sight so allowed our selves to be talked into a private taxi-type boat. It did make for a much better crossing.
 

Pella

Middle of the lake - on the taxi boat

Pella in the wake of the boat

Our captain

Ah the views from the boat

loved the protective copper on the dock pillars

In the gardens of San Giulio Orta

Gardens of the City Hall

Small allies leading to the gardens

Lots of lovely wrought-iron decorations

Many pictures to be captured

A restaurant right on the lake

Main Square

Another glorious day so lunch on one of the many terraces looking back towards the small island of San Giulio and the Sanctuary in the distance.
 

Looking back towards one of the squares of San Giulio

Madonna del Sasso Sanctuary as seen from the village across the lake

 Finally with no more interest in lakes, churches or sight seeing we headed back to Geneva. A great trip, one that I can highly recommend (now if I can figure out how to make a map of all the things covered…)

Falls towards the Simplon Pass - return trip

Back into Switzerland

Napoleon's Eagle at the Simplon Pass

 Davvero triste partire Italia - si erano bellissime

“Into the unknown” – A travelogue or...

Off to “who knows where”.

This year has been dedicated (by me, myself and I) as one of spontaneity so when a friend decided that the weather was good – "let’s go" – I thought: why not?

Through France, turn right into Switzerland, through a valley very similar to that of my childhood (Salinas Valley, CA), up the mountain pass and here we are on the Simplon Pass:

Although only the beginning of April, at 2’000 meters the snow is already very much in the distance, the sun shining its last rays on the top peaks.

sun on the vineyards in the valley

Bridge spanning the valley after Brig: the old Napoleon one is just beyond it.

Last rays of sun near the Simplon Pass

On the way I learned that we were headed for Itlay - first stop the Simplon Pass at 2'005 meters and overnight in Simplon Dorf (the village of Simplon for those who don't want to have to used a translator: the next few blogs are going to be full of pitfalls for those who only speak English as I will be using German, French and Italian names and expressions).

 

Dinner of a typical Swiss croûte au fromage (cheese crusts just doesn’t quite cut it as far as delicious sounding), but the discovery of the evening was the old leather-bound book containing the records of clients begun back in 1910!  I was astonished as to how many Americans had gotten that far, groups, individuals, then there were the quick drawings from some who had used the Fletschhorn Hotel as a base for training. All in all amazing.

Le livre des étrangers (book of foreigners)

Started in 1910 some of the first visitors were from the USA

Many groups stopped here either for a meal or to sleep.

 The saga will continue over several blogs.