This is the last post from our snorkeling trip in Italy - July of 2018. We stayed on the island of Elba in Tuscany. The plan was to then drive through Tuscany and stay over in Florence and then Lake Como. We were very tired and it was hot so we did not stop much in Tuscany. The sunflowers were not yet out in the fields. I had remembered a trip many years ago through this region. I thought that it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. This time they may have had a drought when we drove through the region. We stopped briefly in Sienna and walked a bit but were too hot to stay long.
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A view of the white cliffs of the Island of Elba in Tuscany Italy where we had been snorkeling for a week. |
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The ferry ride from Elba to Tuscany - the start of our journey home to Switzerland. |
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After stopping in Sienna, we headed for our hotel in Florence and had time to shower before dinner. This was the most fabulous little B and B -- Alfieri 9. |
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Thomas at our hotel in Florence. |
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The lobby of our tiny jewel box hotel. It was gorgeous. This picture doesn't do it justice. They also had a beautiful breakfast buffet in the morning. |
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Florence - Duomo Cathedral. |
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Walking around Florence - rose gelato. |
In the morning we drove to Lake Como from Florence. We stayed at Menaggio in the annex of the Hotel Du Lac with our dog Pearl. Menaggio is across from the city of Bellagio on Lake Como. We stayed in Menaggio twice while we were in Europe but I don't have many pictures. In August we stayed on Como and rented a boat to tour the lake. We anchored at Isola Comacina and swam in the clear cold blue water. For this trip, our one night stay on the way home to Switzerland, we had a really nice dinner overlooking the lake at the Grand Hotel Victoria. The restaurant let us take our dog Pearl to dinner.
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Lake Como, Italy - We stayed in Menaggio. |
There is a shortcut to Zurich Switzerland from Como that takes 3 1/2 hours. On a whim, we decided to take the long way up the coast of Como and through the mountain pass Splügen. These are the pictures of that journey home (some taken by me while Christian was driving). It is difficult to convey the majestic beauty of the mountains -- it was breathtaking. Lake Como is in northern Italy but is warm enough to have palm trees. About an hour north are the snow covered mountains of Switzerland. From where we ski in Engadin Switzerland (e.g. St. Moritz where the snow used to be 6 feet deep), one can drive a little over an hour to Lake Como.
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Lago di Mezzola - This lake is directly north of Lake Como and still in Italy. |
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The mountain pass on our way home was so beautiful that we stopped at several places to walk in the mountains. |
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Thomas pretending to be big-foot. |
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Wild orchid in an alpine meadow. |
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Typical Swiss mountain house. |
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Lago Montespluga |
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Lago Montespluga - we walked around a beautiful alpine meadow. |
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Lago Montespluga - wild blue gentian. |
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Alpine wildflowers at the Lake Montespluga |
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Veratrum album (wild Lilly) at the Lake Montespluga. |
