Today dawned bright and sunny. I knew it was going to be a good day when I went to get breakfast at the bar downstairs (arranged by the B&B). On the wall, they had a photo of a Morgan parked in front of the bar! Obviously only good people eat here.
Rather than getting right on the road, I took an hour to do an audio tour of Milan, via the app VoiceMap. It’s a really neat app, and the tours I’ve done so far have been solid. I learned about how Milan used to be full of lakes and canals, which were very convenient for shipping products and also for breeding malarial mosquitos.
I got on the road around 10, and set out for Panoramica Zegna – essentially a scenic overlook and ski area in the mountains. Sam from Seen Through Glass recently stopped there while driving the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA. It turned out to be a really stellar drive, first twisting through small villages, and then very remote forests, with gorgeous scenery the whole way. I’m sure Sam had even more fun in the Alfa, but I was glad to make the trek in the Lancia. I stopped at the cafe from the video and got a coffee and a sandwich. I mentioned to the woman that I’d seen her on the internet – she said “Seen Through Glass?! My friends keep sending me this video!”
The route back down the other side was perhaps even better – more rock faces and faster sweeping roads. For a long stretch, it followed a river flowing down from the mountains and full of amazing rock deposits. Kat would have demanded a number of geological stops.
I decided to take the long route to Geneva, via Lausanne and the northern shore of Lake Geneva. Coming through the alps and into Switzerland was pretty magical, with lots of recent snow covering the trees and hillsides. This would be a hard country to invade.
Arriving in Geneva, I did another audio guide and learned about the Calvinist history of the city. As a highlight, I got to see the longest wooden bench in the world. Wow! I also ate my weight in dairy products at dinner, which will surely not have consequences.
Tomorrow it’s off to CERN then over to France.
I got to see Lausanne from a train as I traveled from Zurich to Geneva—gorgeous. I stayed with a friend in Geneva. We went to the opera one night and we also drove into France for lunch. I called Dad that day. He was sitting in the garage on a hot day patching holes in the cement floor. I told him I’d just had lunch in France! He’s always remembered that discrepancy. So glad you had a great driving experience today.
Also, glad you had cheese fondue. I stayed in a little hotel in Zurich connected to a fondue place—yum. Those desserts looms great, too.
Oh my—the scenery, the sky, the weather, the food—so glad you are enjoying every minute. What a grand experience!
We were in Geneva once when we took the eurorail pass in 1971❤️🥳❤️🥳❤️🥳❤️
We were amazed how clean it was!!!!