Lake Maggiore to French Geneva, via Switzerland

We departed Lake Maggiore for a day that would see us cross three countries (or at least the corners of each); Italy, Switzerland and France.  We are in an area where the tip off each touch, but it seems curious to be in one, then the other, then another, in the space of a few hours.

Maggiore is backed by the alps which we immediately turned towards, and in due course entered a river gorge which would wind its way to the Simplon Pass and across in to Switzerland. The rock here appears to be mainly granitic or possibly dolomite or some hard limestone derivative, but anyway rather than crumbling into scree slopes it produces steep even vertical faces and is a lighter coloured rock.  The gorge was spectacular with its high walls and as we wound up the road gaining hight the views opened more to show the alps around us. All the way up the buildings became more and more Swiss like, with their wooden hamlets, steep roofs, decorative embellishments and baskets of flowers hanging outside the windows. The forest was interesting, it started with broadleaf lowland forest including oaks and birches, then transitioned to pure pine forest ('have these all been planted?' asked someone.) (No.) Then larch higher up, often pure stands of it and then much higher, alpine meadows.  Towards the top of the tree line maybe in the 4-6'000ft band (??) we started noticing green meadows amongst the high forests. These are summer grazing sites, each with a small hamlet and a few cows dotted around, each wearing a sizeable bell on account of no fencing.  Apparently the small holders retire their cows indoors for winter then walk them ups to their high summer grazing. On the top of the pass at about 6,500ft there were nearby cows and the sound of the clonking of their bells was captivating. Very small scale almost domestic scale farming, but so charming.  I could imagine myself spending a summer in a high hamlet, the occasional check that the cows are ok, brewing coffee on the wood fired stove, wandering the tops. 

Down the other side of the saddle with the vegetation sequence in reverse, then a drive through the very very intensively populated and managed valley floors. That was how it was throughout the Swizzled drive, tight valley floors and mountainous on both sides. 

We stopped for lunch in a town where an art exhibition was in progress; Rodin the sculptor. As it happens it was also a roman town and had been mapped, scanned and dug in great detail, with a museum housing the incredible artefact collection. Outdoors was a small but decent Roman amphitheatre, parts of the roman town partly exposed and a section of original roman road with large paving stones. These roman sites seem to go throughout Italy, France and Spain plus anywhere else in the roman empire, although Italy is king for the sheer visibility of its roman heritage, often overlaid with an equally visible medieval heritage.  

Our drive, a longish day by the time it was over, took us to lake Geneva which has both a Swiss and a French side. We headed to our small town Yvoire, on the french side.  These borders are culturally blurred, as if there is a multicultural district either side of the border, rather than a sharp 'snap' between what is one country or the other. The borders themselves you usually miss, there is no stopping required and often just a modest sign. 

Yvoire has an outstanding medieval walled centre, which our hotel was beside. We enjoyed wandering inn and out of the centre, but also visited Geneva and a trip highlight - Chamonix, at the foot of Mont Blanc.  

Meanwhile on the first night we had the hilarious experience of eating a fondue for dinner. It was a legend in NZ in the 70's or so, but here its a tradition. A large pot of bubbling hot cheese and white wine, and very good cheese at that. Bread and forks for dipping, more white wine to wash it all down. They don't mess around here with cheese, they eat it constantly (although generally not in quantity, that's more our forte) and the variety is incredible. This is also the home of the hard cheese Compte, one off the greats. We could not resist buying a bit in the market and bringing it back to the hotel. 

While the lake is France/Switzerland, the city itself I believe is all Swiss, and being a non aligned nation, not in the Eurozone or nato etc it is home to many international agencies. Lots of flags and people of all races all striding around, on the phone, or in limos etc.  United Nations headquarters etc etc. One little plus for me was to visit a good cigar shop, Geneva being a good source of genuine havanas and the place I have mostly bought them from, on line. 

The city has a lake frontage, beautifully clean water and in the distance a wonderful view of Mont Blanc.  I previously presumed it was just an undistinguished lump, but no it's a stunner, with several high peaks and soaring ridges.  A day later we drove into Chamonix, the ski resort at its base. The drive in takes you past soaring cliffs that reminded me of Yosemite (not that Ive been there) and then higher mountains, ice snow and glaciers. At Chamonix itself we took two cable cars to about 7,500ft, to look across onto the Mont Blanc massif. What an absolute thrill to look across a single valley, onto this great mountain. The cable car network and generally facilities are staggering.  There would have been scores even hundred of people using the cable carts to get them and their paragliders up onto the high ridges, where they then dotted the sky with bright spots of colour.  We also saw a dozen or so climbers on the steep granite faces adjacent to the cable cars, along with many mountain bikers and walkers. But ultimately the mountains did all the talking and we just felt so happy to be there, at a reasonable altitude and surrounded by these great alps. 

Lake Como to lake Maggiore, via Barbareso, Piemonte.

Lake Maggiore is a further Italian lake, near the alps, that has a history dating to Roman times as a desirable and prestigious location with exceptional scenic beauty. As a result some of the treasures of Italy are found here in the form of venerable buildings often on one of the lake islands, which are accessed by a ferry system which circulates the lake of a full time basis. We were on our way for three nights there, with the days to be spent ferrying the lake to some of its many attractions. 

On the day off travel, not being a very long drive, we diverted  for a few hours to the wine growing district of Barbaresco, in Piedmonte.  These being wines we buy and know to a degree, this was greatly anticipated. Piedmonte ('foot off the alps') is hill country backed by the alps, moderately steeply valleyed but not rocky, covered in very groomed vineyards.  Dwellings consist of extremely picturesque buildings usually clustered on high ground, which greatly add to the scenic beauty and usually involve a church or other older and larger building or two.  We visited a wine estate and tried their wines, quite a few in fact. The owner bustled out the back and came in with another bottle, quite a lot off times! The NZ palette is not very familiar with the wine styles and so there is a bit of resistance to these drier, more tannic and less fruity wines., They can be a bit harder to taste separately but come to life with food, particularly the local cuisine alongside which they have evolved.  So we moved on with a good supply of wine to a local restaurant and experienced one of the standout dining experiences to date.  In a small village at the cap of a hill, otherwise in a sea of vineyard slopes. Outside of course, on a burning hot day, but in a stone walled courtyard under a spacious canvas awning. The food was very unexpected in style and mostly served by waiting staff from large platters. First up they spooned out a generous amount of what appeared to be raw ground beef, but turned out to be beef tartare with olive oil, lemon, herbs and seasoning and it was awesome. Even those freaked out by the sight (and amount) of it said OMG.  Before it was finished a spoon or two of dish two was served, basically a potato salad with herbs, greens and a bright yellow egg yolk mayo. Again it was incredible.  Dish three was lightly baked garden greens, tipped neatly from a ramekin and smothered in bearnaise sause.  Dish four did some damage to the appetite: a mound of the most finely cut pasta with crumbs of veal and a rich veal sauce.  Its getting blurry about now, but my photos confirm that next came roast guinea fowl then a desert of dabs of chocolate ganashe.  Throughout this the waiting staff bustled about and the owner passed through several times, beaming and welcoming everybody.  I wandered around after the meal to check I was still able to walk and found the office of Produttori del Barbaresco, the wine from this district that we most often encounter at home.  I wandered in and told the lass that, but she was indifferent probably because it mean no sale. Or maybe she didn't understand a word I said. 

We commented to the vineyard owner that we saw no netting on the heavy crop of grapes, and he said 'we have no birds.' We had noticed this in the forests of lake Como: zero birds. The odd lake bird but no land birds. Nothing. The answer on both occasions was that the netting and shooting of small birds, any species, is standard. They net 'em, pluck 'em, roast 'em, eat 'em. There is also the factor that bird migration is common across Europe, with most species moving to some degree to accommodate hotter summers and colder winters. Down south on the poorer fringes of the mediterranean, especially the north African coastline, the netting of migrating birds is rife.  Im glad we didn't sign up for a natural history trip as we would have been disappointed; in the places we have been to date there is little to no room for anything outside of human modification. 

Anyway on to Maggiore, through North Italy countryside although it is fairly congested every inch seemingly under human use. Animal farming for example is done indoors, with feed being bought in. Our guide offered 5 euros for any sighting of a cow, they are simply invisible.  We enjoyed the mosaic of olive groves, vineyards, fruit trees, industrial precincts and towns, as we passed through. One particularly long section of roadway passed through a rice growing district, stretching as far as the eye could see on either side. Divided by water races and water gates to flood the field at planting time. I didn't think of Italy as a rice grower but of course they eat it on a grand scale and in many forms, which they do grow. The races are full of frogs we heard, and there were some white herons and egrets about and on account of their presence some larger raptors wheeling about.  Maybe the herons taste too fishy for the locals?

Then over the hill and and new lake - Maggiore!  Versus lake Como this is a large and broad lake, but again surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Dammit I thought we had the best mountains and Europes were rubbish. (No.)  The next three days were a whirlwind of ferrying on midsized diesel powered passenger boats, and exploring place after place usually exceedingly grand in scale often housing art collections, historical items and sweeping gardens.  My brain is a bit fuzzy on the details for example their names and history (which we will sort out when assembling some photos which as you know we can be relied upon to do immediately after any trip.)  But the general impression is a heavenly collection of great classic structures and gardens atop islands and promontories, reflecting centuries of wealth and privilege, a deep Roman to Medieval to present history,  a devotion to art sculpture and stonework and a stunning lake setting in a mountainous district. One place I remember, seeing I better describe at least one, was a bedroom in which Napoleon slept.  A large ie huge second floor (or more) room with no windows but pillared arches forward of the bed. Everything in marble. Each arch framing a magnificent view of the lake and mountains. Crystal chandelier like the final explosion of a fireworks display, colourful tiled floors. Simplicity and magnificence.

 It is inconceivable that any of these places could be built today the element of centuries of time, effort, craftmanship and wealth seems to be the only way there.  However now they are there for all to visit and are revered and rightly so as historical treasures. Bigger is a definite theme as a rule the buildings are enormous. 

Many are controlled so that you enter one door and can only pass out one other, but requiring you to walk through every room in the house. Holy MOG its a long walk.  It was so hot and visitor numbers is an issue, everything was packed with people and at the end of this leg of the trip much as we were impressed and awed with the place it was great to go.  We did also enjoy some quieter times having a cold drink at a table by lakeside, admiring the mountains which were to be a feature of our next place of visit. 

Verona, Lake Como and Milan.

We drove by bus from Venice to lake Como, visiting Verona en route and with a day in Milan from our Lake Como base. 

The flat country from Venice until Lake Como is motorway country, and heavily populated, but with mountains to the north where the villages start to achieve a bit more distance between them.  Verona is towards the hills and a decent sized city, with several claims to fame.  It is the continuation of a Roman town, with its Roman remains considered more visible than most Italian towns, Rome obviously excepted. Sections of the town have been excavated to show the Roman basement, and elsewhere Roman walls and entrances are still standing in various states of repair. Some of those ruins predate the Colosseum in Rome and are about the time of Christ, an eerie sensation standing beside them.

In the centre of the city is the courtyard and balcony that inspired Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. No doubt reconstructed, upgraded or whatever, but a magnet for visitors including ourselves. It starts as a covered walkway, a stone tunnel, that leads from the street into a small courtyard, enclosed by double story houses overlooked by the first floor balcony of Juliet.  The place was packed with people, from a throng outside on the street to the crowds going in and out of the courtyard itself. 'Never seen it so quite' claimed Judith (Cullen.) The tunnel was lined with many depths of posted notes stuck to the wall as far as could be reached, declarations of love usually involving a few written words, or a heart with names or initials, and often dates.  Under the balcony sat a lovely bronze salute of Juliet, almost impossible to photograph as hoards of people pressed in for a photo of themselves standing beside it.  Out in the city we also noticed that declarations of love were spilling out onto other walls and the bridge over the river was also collecting locked padlocks which we have seen in Paris, where one bridge is laden with locked padlocks as the couples 'lock their hearts together' with that gesture.  We could relate to it and liked it enormously that this was place where this was happening. 

Verona also has a superb Roman amphitheater, its outer wall quite intact and the internal space converted to an expansive opera venue.  Oh to go to go there during opera season!  Outside was a display of photographs of the amphitheatre in action over the years.  I found (and photographed) a photo from 1929 to show Nigel and Ruth.

Driving on to Lake Como, we left the flats and crossed through a range off hills, with a wow view of the town of Como as we passed through the saddle.  The town sits at the foot of the lake, which winds up a narrow glacial valley, with steep hills on both side fully clad in deciduous forest.  The town is the usual concentration of orange tiled, densely packed villas, but so pretty with its lakeside frontage. Continuing up the lakeside road we oggled at the beautiful villas right down to lakeside, with majestic old trees like the Stone Pine, Himalayan Cedar and Italian Cyprus.  Clearly a very luxury district, featuring waterfront gardens, private boat harbours and ramps, but serviced by a very narrow winding road, often walled on one or both sides.  Above the roadway the buildings gave way to the backdrop of steep forest leading to the ridge lines. Looking up the lake the mountains and ridge lines disappeared into haze, making a dreamy alpine backdrop to the lake and its clusters of villas in the bays. 

The next day we drove further up the lake, which is not unlike Wakatipu and Queenstown in so far that it is a deep, clean, cold narrow lake with steep sided hills and mountains, and a narrow roadway with houses above and below that road. There the similarities end as Lake Como's architecture and residences are in a class of their own almost exclusively in stone with the terra cotta roof tiles and everything else that makes them Italian.  We visited two gardens and villas, the first Villa del Balbianello, famed as a filming location  for the Bond film Quantum of Solace.  On a privately  owned, forested peninsula, the house and gardens sit on the tip of the promontory, with many terraces and a stone boat landing. The buildings are traditional but sumptuous and holding superb art collections. The gardens are groomed from tip to tail, in the great classic style including stone pines, cyprus and oak. Semi formal in nature and as carefully groomed as a Japanese garden but on a large scale not miniaturised, including the grooming of many large old trees. One of them, a dome topped Holm Oak, is pruned annually as the gardeners climb the tree from within, pop their heads out of the canopy, and clip a section to finally produce a velvet textured dome well off the ground and perhaps 15 or more metre across. A truly sensational setting and garden.  Have photos.

Further up the lake we visited a second fine garden then ferried home, stopping at all the small wharfs on the way down the lake. The gardens are great up close but they are also very striking from a distance, where their great trees and buildings can be seen in perspective. You would recognise the style immediately it's just what you think Italian/Mediterranean/lakeside/seaside classic grandeur should look like.

An excursion from Lake Como took us into Milan, fashion capital of Italy. There are certainly a lot of well groomed and presented people around here, in that simple but elegant style Italy seems to have.  The men probably in pale trousers, tan belt and leather shoes, a crisp shirt and sunglasses, the women in a wide range of outfits with the dress being common and always elegant. Sunnies, handbags, chic accessories etc.  Not to mention n the footwear!!  No time of the day seems to be wrong to be well dressed, versus us grubby hobbits.

Milan was bombed to near oblivion in WW2 and the one hill in the city is comprised of the rubble that was gathered in that one place, before the city was rebuilt. It's cathedral the 'Milan Duomo' was hit but not decimated and is restored. It features an exceptional number of thin roof spires, literally a forest of them. Quite a sight. Then the cavernous interior, not so extravagant as many, supported by massive and distinctive columns.  We didn't take the elevator up to walk on the roof space amongst the forest of spires on account of the lightening, thunder and rain, but it still looked wonderful from ground level and slightly reminiscent, I thought, of the flambouyantly towered Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. 

But the main event in Milan was to visit Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Last Supper, ' a fresco painted on a wall. It is revered globally but more so in Milan, as it survived the almost complete decimation of the building in WW2 and was virtually the only piece of wall left standing.  Locals refer to it as ''the miracle of Milan' - we heard that phrase on a number of occasions when the painting was mentioned. The building has been rebuilt around the painting; solely, it appears, to house that item. 

Bookings are required well in advance and viewers are admitted in batches of about 30, for a period of 15 minutes. It commences with access into the building and a locker room for all belongings, although a camera was permitted. The group passed through security then entered a decompression chamber where we stood for several minutes in a low pressure zero humidity environment, to reduce the level of moisture being carried in.  We then walked into the chamber where the fresco was painted on an end wall, in a room about 10m x 30m.  The Da Vinci occupies most of the wall and must be at least 8m wide, so much larger than expected. It shows its antiquity and also the deterioration caused by its oil and tempera mix of pigments, but the condition is still good. Perfectly lit of course, it glows with energy and soft colour. A guide gave us a 5 minute or so history and explanation of the painting, then we could sit and admire it (several rows of seating provided) or walk closer and stand behind a rail, perhaps 3m distant.  We knew we were experiencing one of those moments of a lifetime, to have a few minutes in front of it.  The subject matter is well known and means a lot to some, but that aside it is a wonderful painting with its luminous colour, drama and brilliance plus it is one of the defining works of Da Vinci that encapsulates that period in history.  

From Lake Como our trip was now headed for Lake Maggiore, another of those Italian alpine lakes that are so full of history and civilisation.