Day 5

On Day 5, we woke up to pouring rain.  Initially, we were upset, but it was meant to be.  The rain forced us to travel outside of Stresa for the day.  So, we boarded another train along with some other like-minded travelers from our hotel -



Notice that this wife (above) and husband (below) from London are both wearing pants with elastic around the ankles -



I can't see this trend taking off for men in Atlanta.  But then again, we did have the rolled up jeans of the 80's. 

After a short train ride, we arrived in  -

MILAN!

My husband and I both agreed that Zurich is cool, Stresa is beautiful, but Milan is awe-inspiring.  The Duomo di Milano is the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world.  When we exited the Metro, this was the first thing we saw, and it took my breath away.

The entire historical section of Milan is magical -

I saw many fashionable and beautiful people just as I had hoped.  I like this woman's cropped navy suit with heels - 

Here are some nicely dressed Italian businessmen - 

...and some beautiful Italian women -

I love this blue skirt.



Nice blue heels!  Electric blue is in.

I loved seeing men in suits riding bikes -

And this man in the white suit looked at home in his elegant surroundings -

We couldn't leave Italy without a little tiramisu and espresso -

We also had to do a little shopping.  I met this girl in Aldo -  



I wanted to find out where she bought her shoes.  (They are Dolce Vita, and you can buy them at several places like Zappos or Lord and Taylor.)  I also adore her striped dress and heart sweater.  

The next cute couple spoke no English - 

   

It was the first time I've successfully gotten non-English speaking fashionistas to pose for a picture.  I love how Italian guys can pull of slightly feminine sweaters like this.  Her white boots with the big white belt look very 80's to me.  I thought the 80's would never come back, but they definitely did. 

I loved every minute of Milan and didn't want to leave. 

We had a fitting end to our day back in Stresa with an unexpected fireworks display right outside our hotel room -

Come back tomorrow to see the last day of our trip...

(To see the other days of our trip, click here - Day 1, Day 2, Day 2 part 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 6.)

Day 4

We had pictured ourselves relaxing by the pool in Stresa, but on Day 4, we woke up to rain.  There are three islands in the middle of Lake Maggiore, so we hired a boat and took off.  By the time we arrived on the first island, the rain had tapered off. 

First we arrived on Isola Pescatori, which has retained its charm as a quaint fishing village. 

There are many little shops, restaurants, and residences all packed together along winding corridors -



I really like this girl's toile bubble skirt -

Although, her grandmother didn't seem to approve of my husband's antics -



We stopped by this waterfront cafe -



...and met a snuggly friend -

How can you resist that -

He may have talked us into getting a cat for our daughters.  We hated to leave this peaceful island, but our boat driver said we had to move on.  During our time there, we did purchase a necklace for each of our daughters and this ring for me -

We took a short ride to Isola Bella where Count Borremeo built a castle in 1632. 

There were peacocks wandering the grounds which added even more elegance to this ancient structure -

These waterlilies remind me of a Monet painting -



Napoleon once slept in this castle, and I can tell you that he had a fabulous view from his guest suite - 

 On Day 5, we took our favorite excursion of the whole trip...

Day 3

On Day 3, we boarded a train -

...and headed into the rain.  Yes, it was a little depressing - especially because we were going somewhere we had imagined ourselves laying out by the pool.  We changed trains in Brig -

We tried to focus on the beautiful mountains and the very European Europeans around us -



Love the red shoes.



After a couple more hours on a train and a short car ride, we arrived at our hotel in - 

Stresa, Italy on Lake Maggiore.  It may be the most beautiful place I've ever been.  (And no, it was not this sunny when we first arrived.  We had a few hours of rain before God parted the skies to lift our spirits.)

We decided to walk to town along this treacherous road.  (After walking it one time, we gladly paid the price for taxis for the remainder of our stay.)  There were many tourists strolling along the lakeside on that Saturday evening.

We stopped at a sidewalk cafe for a drink and an appetizer of delicious olives and marcona almonds -

Here were some Italians seated next to us -



...and here was the view to the other side of us -

We walked around a little more that evening trying to absorb the beauty of Stresa -

On Day 4, we traveled to the islands in the middle of the lake...