Lugano... and I'm ready to move there!

Lugano, Switzerland. It is a picturesque town in the Ticino region, very close to Italy and Lake Como. Sadly, George Clooney was nowhere in sight. I will need to perfect my stalking skills before planning a return visit. But now I am getting off topic...

Lugano was definitely my favorite day trip we have taken. And definitely my favorite city in Switzerland that I have seen so far!! Honestly, pictures like this, don't even do it justice:

It merged the beauty of Italy, with its Mediterranean feel, with the cleanliness and efficiency of Switzerland. Truly a winning combination. Not to mention the weather. Saturday we left Zurich just in time. It started snowing here early... and as we rode the train we received updates about the bad weather and the public transportation delays. It was absolutely the right day to escape south. By the time the train arrived in Lugano, the sun was shining and we were greeted with temperatures in the mid-40s. On a side note, it is sad that I can consider this warm..

Did I mention the palm trees?

Love, love, love.

Once we arrived, we headed almost immediately down toward the lake. There are staples to be found in most Swiss cities, and you can pretty much count on any town having a crystal clear lake and mountains nearby. Here is a picture of us near the lake (hmmmm, are those mountains in the background? Why yes, they are.):

We went on this trip with a couple friends, Mike and Karolyn (you have probably noticed them in some of our other pictures), and after walking for a little while, the consensus was to grab lunch. CJ found a restaurant that guaranteed us to be the only non-locals. We couldn't pass that up! We ordered some great Italian food and some really great Italian wine... and yes, we were the only Americans, and no, our waiter did not speak English. Good thing Merlot is a universal word. :)

Here we all our cheers-ing to Lugano!

So, I'm sure you are wondering, why are the boys drinking out of bowls? Yeah, we were too. Well, my only explanation for you is that that is how the waiter poured the wine. Also, I have never seen this before... anywhere... in all of Europe. When he came to the other side of the table, I directed him to pour into my actual wine glass.

And even though I think we all would have been content to sit there eating and drinking much longer, it was time to climb a mountain. Mt. Bre to be exact. We went to the very top of the mountain in the middle of the picture below:

If you are a frequent reader of the blog, you know of my fondness for climbing mountains. And I was not in luck, because the cogwheel was closed for repairs. We were able to take a bus close to the top, and then hoofed it. Here is a picture I took of CJ on the stairs... mostly using it as an excuse to rest for a second:

(So add about 1,000 more stairs to this, and you're at the top...)

Even I must admit though, it was an extremely pretty view! And I had no complaints about the walk down.

After returning to sea level, we decided we needed to make the most of such a stunning day. And that can mean only one thing...

Here we are in a cheesy pose with our wine and cigars!

And again! We sat there a while... because none of us wanted such a fun and relaxing day to end.

To check out all the pictures, just click HERE!

Finally it was dark, and time to head home. We kept pushing back our departure, but our train passes were only good until midnight, so we needed to get home (it takes almost 3 hrs.). The great thing about Switzerland is that we were able to relax the entire way back to Zurich thanks to the great train system! Anyways, another awesome day on the books. Until next time...