European Snorkeling Road Trip -- Part 3 -- The way home to Zurich Switzerland through Tuscany and Como

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.

A view of the white cliffs of the Island of Elba in Tuscany Italy where we had been snorkeling for a week.

The ferry ride from Elba to Tuscany - the start of our journey home to Switzerland.

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.

Thomas at our hotel in Florence.

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.

Florence - Duomo Cathedral.

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.  

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.

Lago di Mezzola - This lake is directly north of Lake Como and still in Italy.

The mountain pass on our way home was so beautiful that we stopped at several places to walk in the mountains.

Thomas pretending to be big-foot.

Wild orchid in an alpine meadow.

Typical Swiss mountain house. 

Lago Montespluga

Lago Montespluga - we walked around a beautiful alpine meadow.

Lago Montespluga - wild blue gentian.

Alpine wildflowers at the Lake Montespluga

Veratrum album (wild Lilly) at the Lake Montespluga.

European Snorkeling Road Trip Part 2 -- Our snorkeling destination. Coast of Italy to Elba Island

Thomas in Viareggio Tuscany

This is part 2 of our trip to Elba Island in Tuscany.  We had split the trip into 3 hour drives because we took our dog Pearl.  After the first stop at the Lake of Lugano we had planned to stay on the coast of Italy near Carrara (where the marble is cut from the hillsides).  When we arrived we did not like the area.  It was very industrial.  There were newer block high rise apartment buildings and our hotel choice turned out to be untenable.  We quickly left and decided to drive South on the highway closer to our ferry town.  We ended up staying Viareggio on the coast in an inexpensive little hotel (less than 100 Euro with breakfast included).  If you like Miami, this might be your place.  The view of the beach is blocked by a street of shops -- and in between you can see the beach clubs.  The beach is wide and flat and filled with chairs.  The shops were nice.  However, we found that this part of the Italian coast was not our cup of tea.  We ended up walking in the marina to find a restaurant.  Thomas loved looking at the huge yachts.  We ate at Ristorante Il Porto with okay food and a breathtaking view of the sunset.  

We drove to Portoferraio to catch the ferry (about 137 Euro for round trip) for the approximately 45 minute long journey to the Island of Elba.

Pearl on the ferry to Elba.

We landed in Riomarina and set off for our house near Portoferraio Italy.  The port town of Portoferraio has an old city at it's heart with a more industrial surround.  Yachts are parked in the harbor and the old city has one street that borders the marina.  It so happened that the world's largest sailing yacht, Yacht A, was docked there.  The masts could be seen for miles around.

We drove on steep mountain cliff roads with breathtaking views of the sea to our house on a cliff outside of Portoferraio (about 30 minutes from the ferry).  We had an apartment with 2 bathrooms, a bedroom and a sofa bed.  It had a kitchen and a roofed patio with a fireplace/grill for about 194 dollars a day. The property was lush with bougainvillea and agapathus.  This was the view from our AIRBNB apartment.

Our view -- steps outside of our door in Elba.

We walked down a steep path to snorkel every day.  The beach was made of white Carrara marble pebbles and the water was perfectly clear.  One day Christian saw a baby cuttlefish in the shallows and it immediately turned color to blend in with the marble rocks.

Pearl walking down to our beach.

A view of our snorkeling place and beach, a short hike from our apartment.

Unlike our Caribbean snorkeling, the colors here were muted.  There were vast fields of swaying sea grass.  It was difficult to capture in a photo but was breathtaking.  It soon occurred to us that without the colorful coral, any colorful fish would be immediately detectable.  The fish were accordingly colored for camouflage in this green, blue and white world. 

Sea grass.

Another view of the beach from above.  The dark patches are fields of sea grass punctuated by patches of white marble and vast areas of sand.

The longer we looked, the more fish we saw within the sea grass.

Thomas spent hours above the fields of sea grass.

Flounder hid in the vast sandy parts of the sea bottom.

There were deeper parts with huge rocks that had spilled from the cliffs.  Here we would find a rare red or black sponge on the rocks -- see below.

Exciting to finally see one colorful sea star and that same day finally a colorful parrot fish.

Sea star.

In the evening we ended up most nights in Marciano Marina.  As we drove from Portoferraio, the scenery became more lush and beautiful.  The town had stone streets and original old buildings like the ones that are so famously beautiful in Portofino.  The sea and clear water were visible from most restaurants and from the small shops.  The shops closed after lunch but were open in the evening until 8 pm.  Most dinner reservations started at 8 pm.  Everything was also open on Sunday (unlike in Switzerland).  Many restaurants had sea views and almost all had outside seating. We had a great dinner at Salegrosso (translated as course salt); just one of many. The prices were extremely reasonable throughout the island with a bottle of prosecco costing only 20 Euro at the table.  We went to Portoferraio for drinks one night and had a tequila, a prosecco, and free bar snacks on an outside table on the ocean/port for a total of 9 Euro!!!  

Marciano Marina 

Marciano Marina

The harbor and town of Marciano Marina -- the water is exceptionally clear even surrounding the city.

We wanted to see the other side of the Island and had booked a snorkeling tour there.  The weather was harsh that morning so they took us out of Marciano Marina instead.  Our goal was to see the cliffs and to snorkel inside of the caves.

Cliffs near Marciano

Cliffs

A cave -- inside were colorful sponges.

Inside a sea cave.

Unlike the Caribbean snorkeling tours, there were no visible life vests nor was there any sort of instruction or bothersome talk of safety and the like.  The patrons were suitably adorned in designer bathing suits fitting with the stylish wooden boat. Thomas noted a Gucci hat and a Louis Vuitton back pack among the 8 or so guests.  Of course there was food and plenty of wine, as well as the obligatory stop at St. Andrea beach for a cappuccino after lunch. Oddly, but in keeping with the fashionable snorkel tour, I found a very large diamond earring on that beach and turned it into lost and found.  If you have a chance, visit the unusual smooth finger like cliffs near this beach in the off season (too many people in high season).

Christian with his snorkeling gear.

Cliffs and caves on the snorkeling tour.

A final picture of our little part of the sea on Elba Island -- miss it very much.