| Jul 28, 2007 - Lugano
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 | | show all 6 | | Monte San Salvatore | | view of Lake Lugano from the top of Monte San Salvatore | | Lugano from the top of Monte San Salvatore | | |
| Buon Giorno from Italian Switzerland! Yesterday I left the cool, clear mountain air of Zermatt for the hot and hazy lakeshore of Lugano. It's hot, in the 90's, and humid. I took a portion of the Glacier Express train to get here (another of Switzerland's scenic train rides). The entire trip is about 8 hours, crossing the southern section of Switzerland, connecting Zermatt and St. Moritz. The train itself is pretty cool, brand-new Panoramic cars, which have large, wrap-around windows. The big windows make it easier to see the scenery, but they also make it warmer. I even got a bit of a sunburn. I only took a portion of this ride, about half-way, getting off in Andermatt and then taking 3 differant locals trains to get to Lugano. The train passed through some very pretty countryside, but then most of Switzerland is pretty much like one big postcard.
Lugano is the largest city in Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland. This area is surrounded by Italy on 3 sides, and it feels more Italian than Swiss; the food, language, architecture and the people. I arrived in the afternoon, hot and sweaty and immediately took a dip in the lake. Later I took a scenic boat ride around part of the lake to a small town called Gandria and back, then rode a funicular to the top of Monte San Salvatore, for some amazing views of the town and lake. Lake Lugano is long and fjord-like, sourrounded by forested low mountains and its very beautiful. The town itself is really just a bunch of expensive boutiques, restaurants and hotels. Its nice enough, but I'd rather spend my time in the real Italy, at Lake Como or Maggiore. Tomorrow I will take a scenic bus ride called the Palm Express to Pontresina. Hopefully it will be cooler there. |
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