Day 14

A beautiful relaxing day in Stresa Italy. 

Breakfast was great. There are all these wonderful options and I end up getting the same thing every day. AND I say to myself, that’s all you need, then find myself getting one more goodie as I sit and finish my coffee. It’s vacation, right? But Guy and I both commented yesterday we’ve got some serious work to do when we get home (dieting that is). Also, Happy Birthday to my brother today! I just got to hug him through a text message this year. 

The weather was glorious and we sat outside the hotel in their front yard and planned our day. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be perfect weather, then Saturday looks like we’ve got a chance for rain again. So we decided to hit Isola Bella first thing. I had my red purse with me, the one I was hoping to get another one exactly like it. I have used this purse every day for nearly three years. It’s like an old friend and I’m not a purse changer, but the inside is all torn and it could use a replacement. 

 

We headed for the ticket office to pay for our boat ride to the beautiful little tiny island, Isola Bella. There was a small crowd ahead of us but not bad at all. We ALMOST got on the wrong boat, but the guy looking at the tickets said “No! Nein!!” Did we look German to him? That made us laugh and we walked back to the ticket office area to wait for the next boat. At least he didn’t let us get on! When our boat did arrive, we were able to get seats in the front, which is the outdoor area, and the fresh air was crisp but glorious. The ride was short but as we pulled up at least I could see my purse gal still had a booth by the dock. It was my FIRST stop and to my disappointment, no purse like mine. I showed it to her and she remembered them from so many years ago, but each year she gets a new style. She showed me what she had that was similar, but told her I would ponder it as I was hoping to get the same exact purse again. 

 

The island is really small but the shopping is unique. It’s fun but there are not tons of options. Prices are surprisingly reasonable and I enjoy looking at everything. Today it was a tiny bit crowded, but I’ve seen it worse and this is a good time of the year to come as the summer crowds have subsided. So that always makes it a bit nicer when perusing the goods. Guy found me and said I had either 10 minutes or one hour, but I knew 10 minutes was not happening, so we planned on catching the 1:25pm boat instead. I looked at every stand and you have to kind of dig as there’s not a lot of one single item and each stand is loaded with product, but digging is part of fun. Like looking for hidden treasure. I also ventured up to the top where a shop with unique jewelry was at as well as the ceramic shop with all the beautiful plates and such, but nothing jumped out at me. So as we got ready to leave, I decided to go back to my purse gal and purchase a new brown purse. She showed me all the options and how it worked. It was only $35 and I was happy to try it. Still not my favorite, but I’ll give it a go.

 

We hopped the boat back to Stresa and decided to find some lunch. By this time it is 2pm and this would be our “big” meal of the day. We went to the square as there are a several restaurants where you can sit outside and we chose a restaurant that we had been to before, La Piazzetta (they don’t have a website). I was looking for pasta today. Seated, we were in the sun and it was pretty darn nice out. I had something a bit different, buckwheat noodles with tomatoes and mozzarella. It was GOOD. Guy had Carbonara and he said it was also very good. We started with some bruschetta and also ordered some grilled zucchini to split. It was fabulous. As we were eating a couple sat down by us and asked Guy, in English, what he ordered. We laughed because as we got ready to go, their food came out and they had the same exact order as us. He had ordered what Guy ordered, she ordered what I had ordered and they also got the zucchini to split. Funny. Afterwards, I stopped for a gelato (only my second of the trip) which was coconut and dark chocolate. The best so far. 

 

Guy was anxious to get back to sit by the pool, so I scooted him toward the hotel while I sat and finished my gelato then walked around some of the shops. What a great day. The weather is perfect. Not finding too much, I headed to the hotel and chatted by phone with my sister, Tricia and Mom, then headed to the pool where Guy sat facing the sun with pink cheeks. He’s having a great day in his favorite town. After a bit by the pool, it started to cool off, so we headed to the hotel to grab our laundry and headed to the laundromat. It’s a short walk along the water and then through the town. 

As we walked into the laundromat, a lady approached Guy and with a heavy New York accent said “I don’t speak Italian but I need some help!”. He looked at her and said “Are you from New York?” She said “No, Long Island and you speak English!”. Guy said yes because I’m from St. Louis. They were not expecting to bump into other Americans apparently. So these two ladies were there with their husbands and Guy (because he had been there before) helped them get their tokens and start their machines. They were going to put the laundry in and go find a place to eat, but instead they stayed to visit with us and we all washed and dried together. Guy is huddled over with the two other husbands and by the time we were done folding up all the laundry, Guy knew what they did for a living, chatted about the high cost of this and that, and had mapped out a boat/train ride for them to Locarno. It was hilarious. We said our goodbyes, shook hands, and headed back to the hotel laughing about our new friends from the laundromat. 

 

When we got back to the room, we headed for the rooftop to split a sandwich and enjoy the rest of the evening. The sandwich was good but the view was great. By this time it’s dark and the twinkling lights lining the lake in the distance are mesmerizing, but after snapping a few photos and having our stomachs once again stuffed, the brisk breeze and cigarette smoke scooted us back down to our room. Hoping tomorrow can be a repeat of today.

 

Ciao from Stresa