[Idyllchat] Ticino

Thu Feb 15 21:43:13 EST 2007

Hi Beth,

    I've replied earlier to several folks asking about Ticino and maybe it would be useful to post something again on IdyllChat.  Like others, I never did get a Trip Log finished and on the website.  

    My husband and I were there in '03 and loved it.  We arrived in Zurich on a Monday and enjoyed the short stay there as we hadn't been there before and it allowed us to get a taste of  German Switzerland before arriving in the Italian Swiss country.  On Tuesday we were able to take in much of the city (it's very walkable) and see a few of the sights including the Kunthaus (the national art gallery), the Grossmunster and the Fraumunster (churches across the Limmat River from each other, and the Linderhof (a park overlooking the river where we watched several men playing chess with giant pieces).  We enjoyed walking down the Bahnhofstrasse (a lovely boulevard with stores and cafes) at evening rush hour and an evening's stroll down Neiderdorfstrasse that was very lively and crowded.  We had had a good but filling Germanic lunch at the Zeughauskeller (a former armory) and weren't very hungry that evening so we stopped for a bowl of pasta.  Amusingly, we had walked into a place called The Spaghetti Factory on whose menu it said "Italian food - American mood."  Well, American it really wasn't (thank goodness because we try to stick to local eateries) with all young Europeans (we heard no English), two Italian troubadours singing for tips) and spaghetti done Italian-style with minimal sauce.  We had a great time!

    That evening we also checked out the train station and the next day's schedule.  We had decided against going back to the airport to meet up with the arriving Untour group as Idyll had sent us the train schedule with excellent directions for the change we were to make at Bellinzona.  So we found our train easily at the Zurich train station and we really enjoyed the trip south.  As a treat, we had upgraded to first class tickets and appreciated the extra leg room, clean bathrooms, large windows and less crowded condition.  The scenery from Zurich to Bellinzona was beautiful and as we were not jet-lagged, we enjoyed every minute.  We'd had an enormous breakfast at the hotel so we only bought some light refreshments from the food cart as it went by.  I think there was a dining car but I'm not sure.  

    As we were changing trains in Bellinzona, it was easy to pick out the Idyll group so we joined them for the last half hour ride into Locarno.  They were very well organized and the landladies were all there to meet us at the Locarno station and help with conveying the luggage to our apts.  We also got a newsletter from Sonya with lots of info and that allowed anyone who wanted to miss the orientation Thursday morning to do so.  However, the best part of the orientation, I thought, was the walking tour around Locarno to get us oriented.  Very useful.

    Locarno is a very nice lakeside town with lots of strolling possibilities and things to experience and see. Every other day we'd go off somewhere and mostly to places mentioned in the Idyll book (though no hiking) but we didn't push as much on this vacation as we have done in earlier years.  My husband and I are not hikers and, though we were a little hesitant about going to Switzerland for that reason, we loved our two weeks in Locarno.  We did not take any of the suiggested hikes, no cable cars or chair lifts, and, discovered that, even for big city types like us, Ticino has plenty to offer.  We thoroughly enjoyed many of the non-hiking recommendations offered by Idyll and Untourists and, most of all, we relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of Italian Switzerland.  Walking by the lakeside and sitting at an outside cafe or on our apt. balcony looking up at the mountains was terrific.

    The train trip to Domodossala (a bit like the Toonerville trolley with beautiful views all round) then on to Stresa (delicious outdoor lunch a couple of blocks off the lakeside at the Cafe Torina) and the hydrofoil back to Locarno was memorable in a trip full of wonderfully quiet adventures.  Another was the bus ride to Cevio with a visit to the museum (note that it closes mid-day) and an absolutely perfect trout lunch (with gratis grapes pulled by the owner off the vines in the arbor where we ate) at the Ristorante della Posta.  I also have to applaud and agree with the many recommendations for lunch at the Locanda Gandriese in Gandria - if you get there by 11:30 you may get one of the four tables on the small balcony overlooking the lake.  Perfection! 

    Our apartment, Casa Robinia, was super comfortable and my husband's fondest memories are his daily conversations with Ciro, the news agent down the street where he picked up our newspaper every morning.  We enjoyed several concerts: a local band one evening in the piazza, a noon organ concert (one of a series) and a sold out concert (we got tickets ten days ahead) by the Orchestre della Svizzera italiana that was part of an annual music festival.  We loved the small museums in Locarno, a local festival, the food stalls and market and we even hit a bucket of golf balls one afternoon at the local driving range over by the Lido. We also enjoyed the "bigger city" atmosphere of Lugano and the small resort village of Ascona.  All in all, another wonderful Untour (our seventh)!

    Ann

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Elizabeth Houghton 
  To: idyllchat at lists.untours.com 
  Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 1:44 PM
  Subject: [Idyllchat] Ticino

  Hi - we're planning a trip (late Aug/early Sept) to Ticino and staying in the Bonalumi apartment.  Any suggestions on things to do / places to see would be most appreciated.  I've reviewed trip logs but there do not seem to be an abundance of them for this region.  I wonder why ?

  Thanks.
  --
  Beth

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