A big day of sightseeing.
We set off quite late as I was struggling trying to get the fancy washing machine to do a spin cycle for my cardigan that was still sopping wet after its handwash cycle the night before. What I really needed was a mangle. We had one of those in our old family bach in the seventies. Very effective at squashing the water out of your clothes although perilous for any stray digits.
Hence it was late morning by the time we set off. We drove for an hour around the shores of the lake. About eight kilometres from Baveno is the lakeside resort of Stresa, much more upmarket than Baveno which is a poor cousin. There are several enormous old fancy hotels in Stresa. I believe Lake Como is even posher but we won’t be finding out on this trip. The road wasn’t too windy or narrow but it was made stressful by all the cyclists around. These were generally of the MAMIL variety, on their road bikes, rather than tourists, or indeed, women.
Our first stop was an old monastery dedicated to Saint Catherine, of Catherine Wheel fame. She was a princess who was martyred for questioning pagan teachings. The monastery was set up around 12 hundred by a greedy merchant who saw the light after nearly dying in a boating mishap. It’s a very picturesque spot, accessed either by boat or down many steps. Leg day for us as we’d come in a car.
From there we drove to a nearby town that had a type of gondola where you could only fit two people per cabin. Lots of fun and great views, and we also got to see some hang gliders taking off from the top. It was a glorious day. We had paninis for lunch at a little cafe while looking out at the view.
Our last stop of the day was a local castle. Some of the frescoes on the internal walls had been restored, it really does look very impressive, and quite different to the plain stone walls that you imagine castles having.
There was also an extensive doll and toy museum which was of less interest but we had a pleasant walk around the garden which has recently been redone in the style of a medieval garden.
As we drove out of the car park, the information screen on our car froze. This caused some consternation, but in the end we managed to drive home with my cell phone doing the navigation, with the car screen just showing a picture of us reversing out of the castle car park the entire trip.
When we arrived back at the apartment, Simon tried to ring Europcar for assistance with predictably poor results, and in the end just googled the fix and did it himself. This involved disconnecting the car battery for five minutes. It seems to have done the trick. I must say, I’m not terrifically impressed with the car, I don’t think I’d buy a Citroën myself.
My cardigan is still wet.