Locarno

Thursday July 10

Off to Locarno by local train today - just over 30 minutes not counting the walk to/from the respective train stations - the one on our end at Logano was up-hill for the last 200m but when we reached Locarno the walk to our apartment was less than 10 minutes. We arrived around 11:30am and were able check-in straight away. The 2-bed/2-bath apartment is very swish and right on the lake front - well across the road from the famous Lake Maggiore,  the largest lake in southern Switzerland and cherished for its mild Mediterranean‑style climate—giving Locarno one of the sunniest spots in the country. It is shared with Italy.

Dieter went to the Aldi to do some preliminary shopping while I unpacked. By the time we was finished it was time for some lunch so we walked towards the center of town and found a lovely lake front restaurant where we shared the best ever pizza (prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella).

Afterwards we went to the tourist office and got lots of advice and information on local day excursions - again by ferry, funicular, bus and of course by foot.

We found the Coop grocery shop after some misleading directions both from Google Maps and locals - hard to find as the Grand Plaza is both under construction and very impacted by a major music festival with started today.

Back at home we tried to get Wimbledon on the gigantic TV but we could find the right channel so the onsite manager came and sorted it out for us. We watched some tennis (ladies semi final) and had dinner at home (pasta/salad).

Friday July 11

Another wonderful day - cool mornings (we did not even use the aircon overnight) and mid-20C's during the day. After our traditional holiday breakfast of fruit and yoghurt (which to our horror we realised after tasting it that it was vegan !!) - we decided not to do too much but took a 2 hour walk along the lake front - back home in time for a sandwich for lunch - then out for a bit more shopping.

The Wimbledon mens' semis started at 2:30pm so we teed up for some afternoon viewing. We had another fight with the over complicated TV but finally found the right channel. We had a nice dinner at home - Australian Lamb blackstrap with roast potatoes, mushrooms and green beans. Happy hour saw us crack open a bottle of FC (French Champagne) - saving half for the next day.

Saturday Jul 12

It was a bit of a cloudy day with some afternoon showers forecast. We decided to go up Mount Cardada then onto Mt Cimetta. We took a local bus to the start of the cable car even though there is a funicular from the middle of town but the bus option is a lot cheaper. At the cable car station we bought return tickets including the chair lift which starts at the top of the cable car (Mt Cardada) onto the top of Mr Cimetta. There should have been amazing views from the top but alas we were in the clouds. From here we walked back down to the top of the cable car - a fairly easy walk of about 1h30m - we passed several lovely mountain restaurants and many people hiking uphill. At the top of the gondola we had lunch at the mountain top restaurant - you guessed it - a shared pizza, a beer and an Aperol spritz (our standard lunch while in Switzerland).

On the way back to town we stopped at Aldi for some more shopping (one of the facts of life when staying in holiday apartments is that you spend a lot of time shopping). We didn't stock up too much as we needed to ensure we can run down all supplies by the time our stay is up (and here in spite of our apartment being very "luxe" the fridge is not cold enough). 

Finally home - it was time for a bit of a rest, showers, and watching the ladies final at Wimbledon - quite a fizzer - first time 6-0, 6-0 in 100 years. Dinner at home was pasta and salad.

Sunday July 13

As forecast there were storms overnight and it was very overcast when we got up.

Monday July 14

More touring around.

Tuesday July 15

We did a bus tour to Vallemaggia and did a walk along the river which should have been down hill but was a fairly tough track of up and down. We had decided to do my birthday dinner this evening so went to La Fontana at Hotel Belvedere high on hill above the village - we got there by bus which was running 25 minutes late but we still made our dinner reservation. Dinner was lovely sitting in an open courtyard  on a balmy evening; owever, surrounding bushes obscured what should have been a great view. Dinner was very good, particularly the main courses - at more than $100 each they should have been.

Wednesday July 16

We did a tour of Valley Verdasco - a bus ride up the valley then a walk along the river to Lavertezzo, location of the famous ancient bridge, Ponte del Salti. It was lunch time but there were no restaurants in this micro village so we settled for a beer and an ice cream from a take-away kiosk while waiting for the next bus - 1.5 hours away. 

As it was my actual birthday we elected to go out for dinner again - this time something mid-priced (as the only low priced restaurant is MacDonalds) - we each had a pasta and went 50:50 - lovely sitting on the lake front terrace.

Thursday July 17

Off to Andermatt today - see next section.