The forecast for today was wet and more wet, but we woke to bright blue skies and sunshine – I love it when the weather guys get it wrong (but only in that direction!). Consequently we decided to do a lake trip and take the ferry to some of the beautiful islands just offshore.


 We drove to Baveno and parked at the ferry terminal, having discovered from Reception that blue lines in a car park mean its a paying one, and white lines mean its free. Sadly there were no white lines here, and as we had a full day of walking about on aging knees (him) and hips (me) and found that the nearest free parking was quite a walk away, we bit the bullet and paid. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the cost of meter parking and here was no exception – the equivalent of 60p an hour.


 
 We’d been advised to get the official ferries, not the boats who try and persuade you to go with them, and decided to visit 2 of the 3 islands owned by the Borromeos, an ancient aristocratic Italian family. We bought a round trip ticket (€ 12 each) and you can hop on/off your chosen route on any boat.  


 Isola Bella was the first stop and very Bella it was too; having fought our way past all the tourist-trap stalls on the quayside, we entered the palace and enjoyed wandering, marvelling at all its grandeur. There were explanation boards in each room, telling of the noteworthy paintings/pieces of furniture/objects d’art in 4 languages, fortunately including English.


 The Throne Room and paintings gallery were not included in our ticket, but we peered round a corner over a rope and saw the throne anyway! I’d taken pictures in various rooms, having looked for “forbidden” signs and found none, then spotted a small one as we entered the last room on the circuit. Oops, too late.


 The paintings and furniture were mostly from the 16^th & 17^th centuries, and must have been stunning in their heyday as they were extremely impressive even now. There was a bed slept in by Napoleon and Empress Josephine’s dressing room, and some fabulous marionettes in several rooms. The northern side of the palace was full of “grottoes”, 8 in all, with floors, walls and ceilings decorated with pebbles, stones, shells and mosaics on a sea theme. They were almost like caves and were very cool – a bonus in the high summer temperatures.


 Having finished the palace tour, we went through to the gardens for which Isola Bella is famed, and I see why: I don’t remember ever seeing such a variety of plants in such a healthy condition except at Kew Gardens. The layout is very formal, but there are statues dotted about everywhere and it was extremely picturesque –bright blue skies, green, green plants, grey statuary, flowers of every hue, and just to top it off, white peacocks wandering about.
 


  2 of the males were real showoffs, and displayed their huge tails frequently; the females just seemed to peck about in the bushes, but all had not a speck of colour except for their red beaks.


The top of the Teatro Massimo had wonderful views over Lake Maggiore and both shores and we spent a while just drinking in the scene. It was very multi-national up there, and in fact we heard more English voices than the previous 4 days put together. The cafe on the citrus tree & poppy terrace had shaded tables and very reasonably priced panninis (€4 instead of the 5 charged on the quayside) and coffee for only €1 so we stopped for lunch.


 Having fortified ourselves, we went back down to the dock to get the ferry over to Isola Madre, our other chosen island. We had decided not to include Isola Pescatore in our itinerary as our main focus was on palaces and gardens, and although the island looked attractive from our boat, it was simply a pretty village with pizzerias and fishing boats.


 Next stop was Baveno (where we’d started) then the boat sped across the lake to Isola Madre, the largest of the islands. My guidebook said it was a lot less formal than Isola Bella, and so it proved – not one stall on the quay, just the entrance to the villa through the gardens. These were equally impressive in their own way: again a profusion of colour, HUGE trees and shrubs and it was more like wandering round a country estate than a garden.


 As on Isola Bella, there were white peacocks wandering about, but also pheasants and a “normal” peacock too, plus free-flying budgerigars. The rhododendron bushes were huge but just green they had finished flowering – they would have been magnificent earlier in the year. The rose terraces were just coming into their own, and the examples of acers and bamboo were very impressive.


 Outside the entrance to the 16^th century villa is the largest example of a Kashmir Cypress in Europe. It is over 200 years old but unfortunately a freak storm uprooted it in 2006 and it sustained significant damage. An outstanding effort was made to replant it using a crane flown in by helicopter and constructed on the island. The tree is now back in place with its roots wrapped in special coverings and is producing new leaves – hopefully it will survive as it is a magnificent sight, but sadly its not a given.


 The villa is much less ostentatious than its sister on Isola Bella, but impressive nonetheless; sadly the notices forbidding photos were prominent from the start, so I obeyed them. The highlight for me was a huge puppet theatre depicting Hell, complete with marionette monsters and demons, an ancient dragon which breathed silk fire when the handles were turned plus a large set of bellows which made “lugubrious” sound-effect noises (not sure of the veracity of the translation on the card here!).




  Time was getting on, so we returned to Baveno on the ferry and walked up into the town via some shady passages as far as the church, which dates from the 12^th century and has an impressive portico painted with frescoes of the 13 stations of the cross. We had had enough of wandering by now, so we returned to the site and found ourselves to be the only remaining representatives of her Britannic majesty. We sat in the sun on our pitch with a well-earned drink then treated ourselves to take-away fries from the bar to go with our bbq - a nice end to a lovely day.