Italy!

July 15 & 16, 2015.  We have enjoyed Italy immensely, although it has been 91 F and humid.  On July 15 we drove through many small towns and farms of northern Italy.  Before leaving the skiing town of Courmayeur, we enjoyed a buffet breakfast.  We were offered many sweet pastries, sliced meat, cheese, fruit, eggs, strong coffee and even some dark chocolate squares (yum!).

Arco Di Augusto has a traffic circle around it now.

We stopped at a small Italian town of Aosta in Italy where we parked and walked around to view Arco Di Augusto built in the 1st century AD, a Roman Theater built in 25 BC, and other ancient remains that were amazing to see.

Wall of Roman Theatre in Aosta.

Roman building remains.

We then drove to see a castle in Fenis, Italy that was built in the 14th century although it has been restored throughout the centuries.  We were not allowed to tour the inside without a tour guide, so we paid the 10 Euros for the tour.  The guide spoke rapidly in Italian, with an occasional bit of translation into French.  We were not upset, we realize we are traveling in another country.  However you never realize how fast professional tour guides can speak until you are trying to understand and translate!

Outside view of castle in Fenis.

Dining room of the castle.  

Wood railing, each piece of woodwork is unique, not identical.

Frescos on castle walls

The rest of yesterday was spent driving small back roads.  We rode up to view the Italian side of the Matterhorn, which looks very different from the Switzerland view.

The Matterhorn, as seen from Italy, so it doesn't have the typical pyramidal shape.

Lunch was a shared plate of ravioli with cappuccino (Odile) and espresso (Mark).

Ravioli and espresso lunch at an outside table.

We did not arrive at the hotel until 8:30 pm, so it was 9 pm before we had showered and dressed for dinner.  Our group had our food ordered and served as soon as we sat down.  A great dry red Italian wine was served with penne pasta, then pork and vegetables, followed by cappuccino-flavored mousse for dessert.  We were exhausted, but it was wonderful to have Rob and Gretchen Beach guiding us on this trip!

One one of many spectacular views in Italy.

We fell into bed.   Our hotel is called the Grand Hotel Majestic in Verbania, Italy.  It is a restored 1870 building on Lake Maggiore.  Lake Maggiore is a huge lake with ferries, boats, and many towns along the shore.

Walking back to the hotel in the heat.  Photo taken by a
bicyclist passing.  He was from New Zealand!

Mark slept until 9 this morning, worn out from yesterday's long day.  The breakfast buffet includes even more pastries, with similar food to the last Italian breakfast buffet (except no dark chocolate).

Today, we are "resting."  We walked into the town of Verbania and then over to another larger town: Taranto.  Many European stores close from noon-2pm, but in Taranto they close noon - 3:30pm for lunch.  We did some window shopping, ate some delicious gelato, stopped by the food store and walked back home.  We must have walked over 6 miles, but it was great to stay off the motorcycle for a day.  We both have sore bottoms!

Mark's gelato cup was filled with 4 different flavors.

The weather is much hazier, so pictures are not as spectacular as they were previously.  Throughout this trip, we have frequently entered churches that are open during the day.  The inside is always spectacular.  Most churches are Catholic, in France and Italy.

Catholic Church in Verbania, Italy.

Tonight's dinner will be a picnic with prosciutto, cheese, bread, cantaloupe, and more wine.  I'm not sure that it's dietetic, but we have been eating a lot and this seemed simple and easy.  Our hotel balcony is on the side of the hotel, with some view of the lake and some view of the street.  However, it is hot outside, so we may eat in our air-conditioned room instead.

Sorry, this post is so long!  Tomorrow after breakfast we drive through more of Italy, stopping in Arosa, Switzerland.