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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Readers' Mail -- How Can We Get To Stresa???


I've been getting a lot of mail recently regarding transportation. To be more precise, readers want to know how to reach Stresa from other locations on their itinerary. Here are a few recent examples:
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We will be in Torino and want to get to Stresa from there. But we can't find a train. It seems we must go to Milan and take another train to Stresa from there. Is there a better alternative?

Hi Dana, we are coming back to Italy this summer and will definitely be including Stresa in our plans this time. We will be in Cinque Terre before coming to Stresa and my question is: Can we get to Stresa from there in a direct way, or must we go through Milan?

[We] need to figure out how to travel with luggage (as minimal we can manage!) from Como to Stresa. Do you have any suggestions? I’d prefer not to have to go back into Milan and then out again if we can help it.
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There is a theme to these and other mails I receive. Two themes actually... The first is how many readers are concerned with needing to stop in Milan from where they are coming from in order to reach Stresa. My general answer is yes, for most arrivals from other cities in Italy (even Torino) you will need to get to the hub of Milan's large train stations. You'll make a quick and easy transfer to the train which will take you to Stresa. I don't want travelers to think of this as an inconvenience. Just the opposite, this to me is very convenient. Of course you can't get to everywhere from anywhere in a direct route. But you can get to Stresa on a comfortable train in only 35 minutes from Milan, for only a few euro, with many trains available through the day to accomodate your schedule. I hope you'll consider this and make that trip up here.

The second thing I've noticed is that usually Stresa is not the main destination for my readers, unless they are coming here for a specific business conference, or an event. More often Stresa is an add-on. A stop for a few days after arriving in Milan. Or a relaxing finish to a vacation in Italy that included some of the larger, better known sites, Florence, Rome, Venice, these places. I'm thrilled to see people adding-on Stresa, and I hope more of you consider doing so. It is indeed the perfect spot to wind down before heading back to where you live, or to adjust to the time change before starting your vacation. It is only 35 minutes from Malpensa airport in Milan and has a direct shuttle bus from the center of town directly to your terminal. Driving, should you want to, is direct and traffic is almost never a concern. So before, or after, or during, si, I want more and more of you to consider a few days here. You'll be so glad that you did!

These posts and sites are worth taking a look at to help with planning:


Friday, February 26, 2010

Mostra Nazionale della Camelia


A new season is beginning...

And with the arrival of spring also arrive the flower shows to kick off the season. One is the annual Mostra Nazionale della Camelia, the National Camelia Show. Over 300 varieties of camelias, both older and new, will be on display. There is a theme each year for the show.

In addition to the camelias on display there is usually a sale of camelia plants, books, and other items with a floral theme. Perhaps tea will be served, a special tea made from the extract of camelia leaves.

Here's the link to the Web site for Camelia in Mostra: www.cameliainmostra.it

I attended the show one year at the beautiful Villa Giulia. Not only were the flowers breathtaking, but there were waiters serving champagne, and the most delightful little appetizers distributed in tiny individual bowls. There were also vendors, selling camelia bushes of various sizes and colors. I couldn't resist buying a bush with white blossoms, which I carefully carried home to Stresa with me on the ferry. It blooms there still, in a large terracotta planter on a lovely terrace.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Romantic Stresa



CAPPUCCINO HEARTS - love photo
Even the cappuccinos are always romantic...

365 days a year Stresa is, in my opinion, one of the most romantic locations one can imagine. Just stroll along the lungolago, or admire the view from one of the mountaintop locations, or taking a nighttime boatride past the Borromean islands... Stresa exudes romance sempre, always. So how can one top that on il giorno di San Valentino? What places here are extra-specially romantic? From the many special offerings I like the idea of these:

The Hotel Iles des Borromees offered a special Valentine's package which included a room, a romantic candle-lit dinner featuring a special menu of shrimp and squab, and in the morning, a room-service breakfast of champagne and pastries and love cake. The entire package was 176 euro for two people, which made it an incredible discount for this five-star hotel, and what better night to experience such luxury than this one?

Mt. Mottarone and the other ski resorts in the area are also offering special discounts for this weekend. I like this idea as well... a day of skiing, and then a warm and romantic drink of fil de fer by the fireplace would be a wonderful way to spend the day.

Or, make a day trip up to Premia Terme and be pampered in this spa and natural hot springs. Surrounded by snow-covered mountains, relaxing in the saunas and turkish baths in peace and tranquility, sounds a wonderful way to reconnect and relax.

At the beautiful 18th century Villa Giulia in Pallanza there is a special performance today by a baroque ensemble of one of the most romantic stories of all time, that of Orpheus and Eurydice. Perhaps this music, in this setting, followed by a romantic dinner in one of Pallanza's lakefront restaurants, would make this day an unforgettable one.

But the best thing, to me, about all of the above ideas, is that they can be enjoyed on any day of the year. Maybe we need St. Valentines Day to remind us of this fact, that each day puo essere cosi, it can be so, but I think you'll find here in Stresa that you'll be reminded of romance sempre. Take these ideas and thoughts with you, whenever you may be here.
Buon San Valentino a tutti...


To live is to love. Everything else is just details. -- Paolo Coehlo


And don't forget the recent award bestowed on Hotel Belvedere, on Isola Pescatore, by TripAdvisor, as one of the most romantic hotels in Europe.



Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Cinema Nights



Want to really test your Italian?

Going to the movies while traveling in Italy is indeed a great way to practice listening to Italian and to enjoy a bit of normal, not touristy, everyday activity. I make a theater visit a part of every trip here. It’s usually a reminder of how much more I need to learn, but at least I get to measure my progress in this way. On movie nights I don’t challenge myself terribly much. We usually choose a film based on how easy the dialogue will be. Therefore, action films are good. Not too much speaking. Children’s films are also good for me. Movies I’ve already seen in English are definitely better, but I’m not allowed to choose those anymore. With these criteria in mind, some of the films we’ve seen have been 300, The Mummy Returns, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The cinema experience itself I find to be much the same as in the U.S. – but still slightly different. In the theater in Castelletto we buy our ticket, but then we go into the bar at the theater for an aperitivo of wine, beer, or spritz before the film. We enter the theater in the Cineplex where our film of choice is being shown, but we can’t choose our seats; we have assigned ones stamped on the ticket. We have popcorn, and boxes of candy, and too many previews before the film starts. That part’s just the same as here. The film starts. I try to concentrate. Don’t think, don’t translate in my head, just listen. Be in the moment with the film. The audience laughs. I have no idea why. This throws off my concentration. I try to pay attention again. I pick up an entire section of dialogue. Yay! Then I stop to think about what I just heard and miss the next few minutes. Between listening, trying not to blink or look away, and trying to get my share of popcorn all at the same time, by the end of a film I have had quite a mental workout.

We go to a restaurant after. I think I can relax now, but it isn’t so, because now comes the post-movie quiz. This is where, during pizzas and wine, I am asked trivia questions from the film, to test my comprehension while it is still fresh in my mind. Why did the character do that? What was so-and-so angry about? Where did he say the something-or-other was? I get almost every question wrong. Well! I say… we’ll just have to try again…

For rainy days or nights, comprehension practice, and just plain fun, movie nights are always some of my favorites.

Here are the two nearby cinemas. I'd google the address to see exactly where they are. The one in Verbania can be reached easily on a bus route, (buses don't run in the evening however!); the one in Castelletto really is best reached by car; there is a large and convenient parking lot at the complex.

In Verbania:
Cinlandia
Via G. Castelli, 2, 28922 Verbania

And in Castelletto, near Arona:
Metropolis Multisala
S.S. 33 del Sempione, 28053 Castelletto Sopra Ticino
http://www.metropolis-area.com/

Friday, February 5, 2010

VIDEO -- Lago di Mergozzo



This video gives an aerial and on-the-ground view of one of my favorite spots, little, lovely Lago Mergozzo. We've visited Mergozzo already in a couple of posts, and you probably know it's one of my favorite spots around here. I love in this video that you can really see the town nestled in the mountains, and how close the lake is to Lago Maggiore, yet how isolated one feels when here at Mergozzo.

The last few seconds of video show a quarry, and then the Duomo in Milano. This is a reference to the marble which the Duomo is built from. It is from this very quarry, in tiny Mergozzo, and it made its way to Milano on the water, from Mergozzo, then through to Lago Maggiore, and then down the river and canals into the center of Milan. It's a nice bit of trivia to know.

Here's a better description of Lago Mergozzo in this post:
http://stresasights.blogspot.com/2009/05/lago-di-mergozzo.html

And this post has a few photos I took there last summer:
http://stresasights.blogspot.com/2009/08/lago-mergozzo.html



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