Stress Free in Stresa

Easter weekends is one of the biggest holiday/travel seasons in Europe. So, as to follow along with European culture, it was absolutely necessary (ha) that I travelled this past weekend. I'm not sure how the decision was made, but I ended up in Stresa, Italy on Lago Maggiore. It was absolutely fabulous.

The weekend started, well, really, early Friday morning. Patty and I were travelling together (she had never been to Italy and thought it was the one place she wouldn't make it to. Since I was going...I offered her the chance to come with). We called a cab company to send a taxi to good ole' Boulevard du Triomphe at, get this, 4:00 a.m. (Don't worry, Mom, I went to sleep around 11, so I got a full 5 hours). A mere two and a half hours later, we were en route to Bergamo.

Upon arrival in Italy, Bridgette (my roommate from Mizzou) met us at the airport. We were shuffled around to the train station, then caught an express to Milan where we were to meet Rachael (my other Mizzou roommate) and her roommate in Perguia, Callan. However, when we got to Milan, Patty, Bridgette and I had about 2 hours to spare before the other girls arrived. We decided it was lunch time, and grabbed a couple of absolutely delicious pizzas. Soon after, we spent some time in a park. The weather was beautiful and we didn't feel like wandering around too much.

Around 4 p.m., we arrived in Stresa. It was beautiful. The quant little town was just what I needed that weekend. It was a coastal town on Lago Maggiore, which offered views of both palm trees and the Alps. I was, for lack of better word, in awe. The greenery was a contrast to what we have in Belgium.

Friday evening was spent exploring the town. We stumled upon a little square, and decided it was the perfect place to grab dinner. I got gnocchi to eat. It was everything I remembered it to be :).

Saturday we opted to head to Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori. These two islands are about 10-15 minutes off shore from Stresa, so we hoped on a boat to get there. It was worth it. These islands were really pretty. We kind of just ventured through the islands until mid afternoon, when we headed back to the mainland. A few hours later we were off to dinner at a delicious pizzeria. We then headed to one of the "hopping" pubs, called Loco Beach. We were the only ones there. Well, us and the jazz band. They did play a couple of songs for us though, which was fun.

Sunday, we decided to sleep in until about 10:30. Then, we headed to lunch on the square. After eating, we did some shopping. I bought myself a pair of square post earrings. They are very cool, and definitely something I'll use to remember this particular trip.

When we were finally spent, both in money and energy, we headed to a gellato stand to get a little energy boost. Afterwards, we went down to the beach to sit and eat. It was a perfect way to spend Easter Sunday (that is, if not at home!).

Sunday evening we headed to Arona, a town about 10 miles away. It was a fun, but small little city. The food and nightlife there were supposed to be more geared towards younger people. However, after dinner, we were all worn out and decided to head back to our hotel, yes hotel, not hostel. It was great...I used the shower!

Monday morning, Rachael and Callan left around 8 a.m. Patty, Bridgette and I slept in until 10. We then spent a couple of hours walking along the coast. It was about 72 degrees and sunny, so there were no complaints made about the weather! We then made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head out, back to Bergamo.

Around 3 in the afternoon, we officially set foot on Bergamo land. It was a sunny afternoon, so after dropping our bags off at Bridgette's apartment, we made our way up to Citto Alta, which means "high city" or "tall city" in Italian. This part of town was the older, ancient part. We went to dinner and got the local specialty, which is a mixed meat ravioli. It was delicious. I could probably eat it every day. After dinner, it was once again gellato time. Then, we sat on a bench overlooking the lower part of the city for a couple of minutes before seeing lightning over the mountains. It was beautiful, but we decided that it would be a good idea to start heading down the mountain and back to Bridgette's. Luckily, we made it to her place just in time, and B and I sat out on her (covered) balcony watching the rain.

Over all, it was a fantastic weekend. And I think, it was the perfect trip to end my semester with. This coming weekend, I'll be in Brussels (it's the last official weekend of my program!). Time flies...