Lake Maggiore, Baveno and the Isola Bella Palace

I am writing this late on Tuesday evening, 16 May, after an extremely hectic two days with my second tour group. This is a four day, three night tour with only 17 participants, during which we visit some new places I had wanted to see and we revisit some places I saw on the last tour. Our last spot later this afternoon, for example, was Pisa, although this time it was in bright sunshine, which was great. 

I have not been able to access WiFi since my last post, nor have I even had the time to write anything new in any case. I will have to work very hard when I get on my next ship in a couple of days to start catching up - as long as their WiFi works better than that on the first ship . . .

Anyhow, after Pisa, with my previous tour group, we drove a very long distance into the mountains near Switzerland. On that journey we saw forested mountains and hills, rice paddies, vineyards, olive groves, etc., and even glimpses of the coast. The lush forests of so many species of trees with their different shades of green, shapes of leaves and heights, many with yellow or white flowers, were just so beautiful it was picture postcard views all the way, despite the dark clouds and light rain. I only wish I could show you some photos that would showcase that journey, but taking them was impossible with the speed of the bus and the rain. 

Incidentally, all the roads were in excellent condition. And instead of scarring the mountainous landscape to drive over and between the mountains, the Italian and Swiss governments tunnelled through the mountains. I lost count of how many tunnels we drove through, but how much safer they are. There are two parallel tunnels through each mountain, so the two lots of traffic travelling in opposite directions are kept separate. 

Eventually we reached the small, picturesque village of Baveno on the edge of Lake Maggiore, and were so delighted and relieved to discover we were staying in a lovely hotel that was everything our funky Florence hotel was not. After dropping off our bags we headed straight out to a boat to sail over to a fairytale island not far from the shore. On this island was the Isola Bella Palace and gardens, which are privately owned. This palace was the gift of love of the original owner for his  wife Isobella, and has passed down through the family ever since.

First we toured the palace, which was in the baroque style and just stunning to view, with beautiful decorations and artworks inside. Unfortunately we were not permitted to take any photos inside, but we just gasped. Napoleon himself once stayed there and recently one of Princess Caroline of Monaco’s sons married the daughter of the family who own the castle there, with over 600 guests in attendance. We also were delighted with the droll sense of humour of our guide - he was an absolute hoot! 

But at least we were able to take photos in the gardens. It was a joy to wander through them. I hope the following photos will give you some idea of what it was like. The first photo is the view from my hotel window late afternoon. The second is part of the castle. The last is a little cafe on the island. The rest were taken wandering around the garden. As you can see, several white peacocks were strutting about. Quite a few lemon trees and other citrus trees and other produce was growing, though the gardens were mainly ornamental, and included an ornate building with many statues and a rooftop from which you could see for miles around. Remember all the photos were taken in the rain.