Beautiful Lugano
Our last stop (well almost last stop - we head to Rome to fly home after Lugano) on this Italian odyssey was actually not in Italy, but just over the border in Lugano, Switzerland. A bit of background on Lugano from Wikipedia. "Lugano (Italian: Lugano; Ticinese: Lügà n) is a city in southern Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. The population of the city proper was 62,792 as of December 2013, and the population of the urban agglomeration was over 145,000. It is the 9th largest city of Switzerland by population, the largest city in Ticino, and the largest city with an Italian speaking majority outside of Italy.[5]
A high school friend Greg and his wife Carroll live in Lugano and invited us to stay a few days at the end of our trip. Greg and Carroll have close to the perfect set up in Lugano - they work in the college placement department (Greg is head of the group, and Carroll works in the group) for Tasis, an American international boarding school, in Lugano. They are provided a two bedroom apartment with views to die for (see photos), and can eat most all of their meals in the school cafeteria for close to free. They go on a number of paid trips to various colleges in Europe and the States, and they have traveled extensively in Europe on their school breaks, often building their trips around marathons (Greg is a life long runner, and an elite one to boot). The "deal" is so attractive that they have gone from thinking about retiring early in their mid 50's to most likely staying in these jobs until they are 65. I love being retired, but if I had their "gig" I would work longer too.
We did a long walk (Greg estimated around ten miles) down to Lugano and along the lake out to Gandria and back on our full day here. Gorgeous! Happy hour followed by dinner were on the agenda each night and it was so much fun catching up.
Eating out in Switzerland is notably more expensive than in nearby Italy, witness the $20 Euro six asparagus entree that Donna got (the waiter only spoke Italian, and we thought surely there is some pasta with this - we were wrong), but everyone else's entree was more substantial, in fact Carroll's pizza was very large, and she graciously shared with Donna). George Harrison's Switzerland home that he bought near the end of his life is very nearby their apartment as is Herman Hesse's final resting place.
Lugano is truly a beautiful city, and was a wonderful last stay on a fantastic trip.
The city lies on Lake Lugano, surrounded by the mountains of the Lugano Prealps. Its warm summers and the fact that in recent years it has attracted an ever growing number of celebrities, entertainers, and successful athletes have given it the nickname of the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland"."
A high school friend Greg and his wife Carroll live in Lugano and invited us to stay a few days at the end of our trip. Greg and Carroll have close to the perfect set up in Lugano - they work in the college placement department (Greg is head of the group, and Carroll works in the group) for Tasis, an American international boarding school, in Lugano. They are provided a two bedroom apartment with views to die for (see photos), and can eat most all of their meals in the school cafeteria for close to free. They go on a number of paid trips to various colleges in Europe and the States, and they have traveled extensively in Europe on their school breaks, often building their trips around marathons (Greg is a life long runner, and an elite one to boot). The "deal" is so attractive that they have gone from thinking about retiring early in their mid 50's to most likely staying in these jobs until they are 65. I love being retired, but if I had their "gig" I would work longer too.
We did a long walk (Greg estimated around ten miles) down to Lugano and along the lake out to Gandria and back on our full day here. Gorgeous! Happy hour followed by dinner were on the agenda each night and it was so much fun catching up.
Eating out in Switzerland is notably more expensive than in nearby Italy, witness the $20 Euro six asparagus entree that Donna got (the waiter only spoke Italian, and we thought surely there is some pasta with this - we were wrong), but everyone else's entree was more substantial, in fact Carroll's pizza was very large, and she graciously shared with Donna). George Harrison's Switzerland home that he bought near the end of his life is very nearby their apartment as is Herman Hesse's final resting place.
Lugano is truly a beautiful city, and was a wonderful last stay on a fantastic trip.
A classic photo by Donna
View from Greg and Carroll's apartment (It's a rough life!)
View from the apartment
Taken from the apartment
Carroll, Greg and Donna
Carroll and Greg
Sunrise from the apartment
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