"The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them ."                                         Amelia E. Barr

The drive from Arco was relatively uneventful apart from the usual amount of flashing lights if the locals think you are travelling too slowly and the occasional late mover diving from the outside lane across the three lines of traffic to get off at the next exit just 50 metres ahead – and the rest of us on the inside lanes were doing about 115 kmh at the time. Crazy. The other thing you have to get used to here is the tailgating. Even when you are on a very winding and narrow road with no opportunity to pass, locals tend to sit about 5 metres from your rear bumper.

The weather on the trip across to Mercallo had been a very warm and we stopped midpoint for an espresso and our usual patisserie. One of the many things we enjoy about Italy is its great coffee. Trish tends to go with the espresso while Stu opts for the Americano which usually arrives as an espresso with a small jug of hot water . We have noted a huge variation, however, in the coffee prices: local village cafe/bars charge only about 80 cents/€1 for an espresso, but that can can rise to €3 in tourist towns [we even struck €4 in Switzerland]. We usually stop at the out-of-the-way places for coffee/lunch etc, unless mentioned in our "bible" when we make every effort to experience the 'experience'.

Texts from our host had established that that she would be out of country when we arrived so she had arranged for her mother to meet us in the local cafe. However, Mother, a charming 90+ year old, was smarter than that and had arranged for the cafe people to redirect us to her place – which happened to be a ground floor apartment in the same block where we were to be staying.   After check-in, we were soon were able to head to the local cafe for a cooling Spritz - our pre-dinner drink of choice in the heat......two-thirds Prosecco (local dry bubbly), one-third Campari with a dash of soda water, over a little ice . [I know that adds up to more than 100%, but then we are on holiday so who cares.]

On this leg, we had planned to do the Maggiore Express which is a package of two train rides and a lake cruise and includes a stop at Locarno [Switzerland] at the top of the Lake. Starting in Stresa which is about 40 kms from Mercallo on the other side of Lago Maggiore, the route can be done in either direction. The round trip is just on eleven hours and we felt that we needed a recce to suss out the car parking arrangement for the day. The last thing we needed was to be towed/clamped or whatever alternative penalty one faces for illegal parking. So the day after arriving in Mercallo, we headed round to that side of the lake, first to Lago Orta San Giulio, another very picturesque little town on a small lake to the west of Maggiore then on to Stresa. We established that one could park free of charge [Libero! Libero!] on the main street so getting there early would be a priority on the day we did the Express .

The next day we drove to Como and then Bellagio. Como is on the edge of its lake and it's also very touristy, even more so at this time of the year when the Italians, Germans and English also take a break. Neither of us liked it very much, yet it's a destination we hear a lot about. Our thoughts - there are a lot nicer places to visit so head for the smaller villages along the lake or even a cleaner lake. There are lots to choose from in this part of the country. For us, the big find in Como was the fresh food market – vegetables, fruit, fish, cheese, meat. We don’t have a big kitchen at this stop but we could not resist the fresh produce. From Como, we drove on to Bellagio [some say the prettiest town in Europe]. What a drive! Top speed was [very briefly] about 50 kmh. The road is narrow and extremely winding, blind corners most of the way and everyone else seemed to be practising to be the next F1 champion. The 24 kms drive took almost one hour and the fun part was that there is only one road in and one road out . Fortunately, we knew what to expect on the way out and there were quite a few lay-by areas on the return side of the road where we could pull over and let the impatient ones through. Bellagio itself is very pretty, historic, with lots of shop-lined walking alleys up the hillside from the shore-front. The shops are largely boutiques selling beautiful Italian designer clothing, artwork, jewellery and handicrafts.

Speaking of eating [OK, we weren’t speaking of eating but we’re going to anyway] - since Milan, we have tended to have lunches (the main meal) out and dinners in. One of the best meals out so far was on the first day across to Arco – a very simple salad of tuna, mozzarella, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and great olive oil and balsamic. Simple, inexpensive and very tasty. On the way to Mercallo, we stopped at Lake Comabbio – the same one we look at from our apartment – and lunched on a pasta entree, with the "secondo piatti" [the main course] being thinly sliced roast beef and green beans . Very tasty. Lovely rural location at the water’s edge with only the locals and us.   The weekend of our stay here, they hosted the masters rowing champs on this lake, not sure if it was world, European or just Italian.     

Mercallo itself is a small village, population ~1600. Being the tail end of the holiday season, the only shops open during our stay were two small cafes/bars, a banco [bank] and a mini market/grocer. The village's restaurant, panifico [baker], pizzeria, were closed for all of August. Our accommodation is two minutes walk from the central piazza. True Italian village living, and we love it.   After three nights, we are almost locals - we get waves and greetings when we venture out which is often. Our car is parked next door at the church and the bells chime every half hour 24/7. You certainly don't need a watch to be aware of the time.

From Mercallo, we also travelled back along the Po valley to Bergamo . The city is in two parts, Bergamo Alta – the old city on top of the hill and Bergamo Bassa which is the more recent part of the city at the base of the hill. Apparently, Bergamo Alta started out as a Roman city in the 1^st Century BC. For one reason or another [but probably because neither side deemed it sufficiently strategic to defend or attack], Bergamo came through WWII relatively unscathed, so many of its historic buildings have survived.   The Caffe del Tasso in the main city square, Piazza Vecchia, gets a mention in our "foodie bible" so we just had to give it a try. Top marks, Mr Plotkin – the Ravioli Casoncilli alla Bergomasca [a Bergamo speciality] was superb and the Tiramisu... to die for.   Lunch alone was well worth the trip; the lovely old city and buildings being the topping on the Tiramisu, so to speak. We got away from Bergamo about six-ish and not only did it get dark quickly but it also started to rain very heavily. Something akin to the tropical monsoon downpours one faces in Asia. The very surprising thing for us was that most Italians did moderate their speed a little [if only by 5 kmh or so].

Yesterday, we did the Lake Maggiore Express and have to say that it was one of the highlights to date . Stresa is a very pretty town. We arrived early to secure a car park for the day, and walked around the town before departing on the boat. We had opted for the counter-clockwise version - three hour ferry ride up the lake to Locarno [Switzerland], then train Locarno-Domodossola [back to Italy] with a second train from there back to Stresa. The ferry called in at about six towns heading up the lake on the way to Locarno and the weather was perfect. Very sunny, very hot and very little breeze to assist. The towns we visited were on both sides of the lake and each seemed to be in competition with the others for the tourist €. Each town had a funicular and we also saw ski chair lifts at regular points around the lake so presumably, that is what keeps them going in the winter. After a totally relaxing time on the upper outside deck, we disembarked at Locarno. Within 20 minutes, we had established the accuracy of many of the comments made by other travellers taking this excursion, namely that Locarno was a reasonably new town with not a lot to see and was very expensive [€4 for an Americano] . So, we decided to take the earlier of the two return train options. As an aside, by law, Italian cafes and bars are required to allow one to use the bathroom facilities irrespective of whether or not one is making any purchases in that establishment. A great law which does not appear to have totally caught on in this Swiss town. Here, while men can go for free, women were expected to pay one Swiss Franc to use the bathroom. Maybe they figure that men don’t soap their hands or use as much toilet paper!! 

But back to the Maggiore Express. Our first train leg took almost two hours and saw the train climb about 800 metres before descending almost to lake level again. It ran through a very steep-sided valley and often the rail track was supported by very tall concrete columns. Countryside was quite stunning and well worth the journey. A short wait in Domodossola before taking our final leg, a local train back to Stresa. We have been reasonably impressed with the rail system here is Italy. One of Mussolini’s objectives was to get the train running on time and fortunately that bit has stuck. They are certainly far more reliable than Wellington's metro and offer greater comfort.

Today was a lay day with just a short trip up the eastern side of Lake Maggiore. Our host had recommended two sights and both of them were spot on.