Day 23: Lugano to Chur

Extremely pleased with our own brilliant planning, we woke up in Lugano with only a short bus trip to the station and our tickets already printed. Today we were taking a scenic route through the swiss alps from Lugano to Chur where we would meet our first actual couchsurfing hosts. Exciting times.

We slept in as late as possible, shoved everything into our bags, dashed for the bus and just got it. Having learned to build in some contingency, when everything went to plan we actually got to the station 40 minutes early.

We got ourselves some breakfast – one sandwich, one strudel, one coffee. We joined what I thought was the end of the line, and got gradually more annoyed as more people attached themselves to the other end of the queue. The bus pulled past all of them, we threw our bags in and were first on board. Yes! Take that, old high-panted man!! ...Then we learned our seats were assigned anyway. Buh. 

The bus ride took three hours, through really scenic roads, alongside the very blue Lake Como and green/blue Lake Lugano (better) and tiny sleepy Italian and Swiss villages. We stopped in Tirano and got some lunch. I also got yelled at for no reason by some crotchety old bag with a crocheted jacket, as Matt called her. Anyway.

We then boarded the Bernina Express, which was quite the splurge on our major budget holiday. It's billed to have these giant high roof wrapping windows, so you can see everything, which it does. What it's not billed as having is an entire German tour group aged 75+, eagerly jabbering away and leaning over/under/across us to take pictures and then excitedly show each other. End result: Matt attempting to enjoy a burger with a German fogey practically in his lap. We found a little compartment between the carriages with a window that opened and hid there for the first few hours taking pics.

The next four hours are best explained with said pics. Glaciers, waterfalls, aqueducts, more Gemans... eventually they all got off and we had the train to ourselves. 

Matt gives the thumbs up as we pass frozen lake

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Glacier! And lake

Snack cart decorated as ram... why not

glacier and waterfall

When we arrived in Chur (which we had been pronouncing Chur, but its like 'Core' – oops) we got a text from Matthias, our CS host, with directions to his house. We somehow worked out the local bus system in German, and journeyed about 5 minutes through town. Matthias came to meet us at the bus stop, and took us back to his apartment where he introduced us to his girlfriend Andrina.

I had been really nervous about this part of the trip... I mean, staying with local people (strangers) who want to host us for free just to be nice??!! Yeah right.

They showed us through their lovely apartment and to our room for the night. It was just about the nicest place we had stayed so far on the trip (plus one awesome obese ginger cat). The apartment was high over the city of Chur, with an amazing view into the mountains and around the valley. Our first home-cooked meal in a while was very nice and we talked long into the night about our travels and theirs. Matthias and Andrina had spent a year travelling basically across the world. They had been all over the USA, across South America, Asia and down to Australia.  Doozy of a trip. Our 7-week journey gave us an inferiority complex, but we shared plenty of stories.

At some point we brought out a bottle of limoncello for them that we had picked up in Como. They had never had it before, and they then uncorked some home-made 'Iva'. A very unique flavour and apparently based on some local flower, specific to the canton of Grabunden (where we were). Really cool.

We said our goodnights as we only had a few hours the next day to explore Chur before we had to get the train to Austria. Our hosts had graciously volunteered to give us a bit of a tour around the area, maybe sample some of the local delicacies, and we were exhausted from battling German tourists in high altitudes.

Day 22: Blevio to Lugano

We woke up somewhat on time and got to packing up all our stuff. We had it down to a reasonably fine art by this stage. Well, I did. Matt helped by trying to put all my clothes on my head as I folded, then photographing the result (thanks Matt). Matt retrieved the remainder of our milk from the little fridge and drained it. I managed to capture an action shot of my classy man complete with milk drips falling onto his shirt.

We then headed downstairs for a quick breakfast on Alessandro's balcony (table still slightly prosecco stained), and Matt was feeling smug because he'd brought his own granola. Bit awkward when Alessandro's mum popped out and he thrust it in front of me while I was distracted by the cat. I coerced Alessandro into posing for this winner of a photo, before hastening down the road for the bus to Como. Which didn't come. And then still didn't.

The other guy waiting at the stop told us in broken English that we had all missed the bus because it had been too full to stop anyway. Cheers. He suggested we hitch and make 'some good friends.' Hmm. It was only a 5-10 minute drive, but about an hour and a half to walk, down really narrow high speed windy roads with no pavement. And the next bus? Two hours later. And likely also full. While we hesitated, he smiled boadly with his thumb out to the road. One car actually pulled over, and he seemed to know the guy because they were talking and joking in Italian. The bus stop guy waved us over and said, 'This is my friend- he take you to Como stazione. I get next friend car.'

I was unsure about the idea, having watched too many episodes of Law & Order, but seeing he had a baby seat and we had no real alternative, Matt nodded and we hopped in. He didn't speak any English really, but I sort of got by in Italian, and we chatted all the way down. He was actually a really nice guy called Paolo, with a two year old baby Judita, and just wanted to help out some tourists and do a bit of promotion for his own B&B down the road. He dropped us right at the station we needed and unloaded our bags. Champ.  We then got on the 11:45 to Lugano. Except that the famed and reliable Swiss rail service we've always heard about was late for the only time ever and the :45 was actually the :39, and we were on the wrong train. We switched at the next stop, bolted through the station and straight past customs (no one seemed to care) and just made our actual connection.

Along the way we saw from the window an awesome-looking pool and tennis courts, etc, right on the beach of the lake. Excellent concept. We resolved to find it after we'd checked in and dropped our bags at the hotel.  Arriving in Lugano, the first thing we saw was the green/blue lake and the church dome of the town. We paid for our Bernina Express tickets for the next day (ouch) and found a bus that said Paradiso, which we thought was where our hotel was. Why not? We jumped on. Luckily at the end of the route, I spotted our hotel sign, we hopped off, checked in, and were changed and on our way to this pool/beach/Lido di Lugano/heaven.

It was awesome. 10 francs entry to paradise. Clear, hot, sunny day. Cold, clear lake with mountains on every side. Big sandy beach. Outdoor bar. Pools. Table tennis. Real tennis. Another bar. And a huge grill area. Does something like this exist in melbourne??!! Someone point me in October, if so. Matt talked me into the freezing lake water one meter at a time ('No goosebumps? Another meter') and we swam around with some wild swans for a bit (why not), before drying off and laying out in the hot sun to read with some mojitos and snacks.

As the evening wore on, it really filled up. There was a big group of Italian friends and their kids in front of us, with one baby, no more than two or three years old. He wandered up to the bar behind us and asked in Italian for 'un acqua' about four times, but the bartender couldn't see him below the level. Enterprising little guy then started throwing his cup in the air to get their attention all the while chanting 'acqua acqua', until we took pity and went over to help.

Matt lined up for 10 minutes with kids under age 8 to make the jump below

Five hours later, we packed up and decided to walk home along the lake front, grabbing burgers on the way, which we ate on park benches overlooking the water.

Early morning tomorrow and travel day through the Alps on the Bernina Express!

Day 21: Blevio and Lake Como

We had breakfast out on Alessandro's porch, overlooking beautiful lake Como. Alessandro's lovely mom Adriana had laid it out for us.

Alessandro was presumably inside-- we could hear the ping ping ping sounds of computerised machine gun fire and point earning from his 'study.' It was just him and his mom living there, and though he had said it was his house, we were beginning to think that he may have been taking advantage of her lack of English skills -- this was looking like more of a mummy's boy scenario than he had let on. When she brought him a lunch tray, we had our clincher.

Breakfast finished (Matt awarded it bonus points for cocoa puffs, but detracted for lack of granola) we headed off on foot to find the stairs to the lake that Alessandro had promised were five minutes away. An hour and four failed attempts later, we decided to just get the bus into Como and wander around. We were also really close to the famous lake front town Belaggio (which the Vegas casino is named after), but wanted to check out Como first. 

We packed sandwiches and walked for hours around the lake, enjoying the hot sun and searching for kayak rentals that were not closed, abandoned, or ludicrously expensive. No joy. What we did find though was a friendly guy renting out hourly kiddie pedal boats. Sold. 

Our lakeworthy craft was likely stapled together in 1958 and left to sit in the sun since then. We could admire the blue water through rust holes in the boats bottom, and quickly learned that the pedals and steering wheel were really more decorative than functional, as we pedaled furiously and drifted randomly on other boats wakes. 

Despite this, we had an awesome time, hailing other small crafts (including some unamused local fishermen), sunbathing, and randomly blowing around the water at half a mile per hour. Finally the wind changed direction and we were able to hobble  back, with the aid of a passing super ferry that flew past us.

We then took a steep funicular (cable car) up to a tiny town above Como, called Brunate, which was meant to have some great restaurants. We were a bit pressed for time, as the last bus to Blevio was helpfully at 8pm. We can't tell you if the restaurants in Brunate were as good as promised, but they must be doing either really really well or really really badly, because every single one was closed when we arrived around 6:45. Typical. We enjoyed the views and caught the next car down. 

Como, as seen from Brunate

Once back in Como, we had only a few minutes so divided up three crucial elements: Matt - pizza and pasta. Audrey- prosecco. We met back at the bus stop ten minutes later, each successful, and had another delicious porch picnic at 'home' while watching the sun set over the lake.

Day 20: Mogliano Veneto to Blevio

Alright, today's the day, no muckin' round. Early start, let's get to Como.. Every time we agree to make an early start and reach our destination at a reasonable hour, and every time we get distracted or detoured or lost. Venice to Como was about a 5 hour drive, and we had to return the little Oopi once we got there.


Our accommodation for the night was in Blevio, a small community just a couple of km up the road from Como. It is still right on the lake, but slightly elevated on the mountainside too. The drive itself was fairly unremarkable as we stuck to the autostrada and powered through the countryside. We made another stop at one of the roadside services for a meal, this time we chose the rather prestigious sounding Autogrill. Same story – many people, long queues and overpriced snacks. Nothing grilled there either as far as I could tell.


By this stage we were quite familiar with Italian driving habits, and yet they still had the capacity to scare the crap out of us. As the roads merged on the outskirts of Venice, again approaching peak-hour (we somehow manage that every time) more madness ensued. I was on high-alert for all the standard nonsense. The one rule they all seem to be quite good at is keeping to the right – left lane is for express traffic, use it to overtake and then get back across as soon as possible. Unlike Aus where you can find all three lanes clogged with everyone doing a frustrating 98kmh.


At some point during that journey we began to wonder whether the Italians treat the bedroom the same way as the autostrada.

1. Going far too fast
   
2. Changing lanes without indicating first
   
3. Drifting back and forth between lanes
   
4. Having to pay (Price depends on how far you went, and where you got off)
   
5. It's poor form to be doing something else at the same time (ie, reading or texting)
   
6. Something about headlights or high-beams
   
7. Seeing all the hot Italian and German models go by, and wanting one
   

I'm sure there were more, but you get the idea. Please send in your thoughts :)


When we finally got to Como we had just under an hour and a half before the Oopi was due to be returned. Plenty of time for us to drive the short distance to Blevio, meet our new host, drop our bags off, maybe even a little grocery shopping before leaving the car in Como... right? Well it took some 40 minutes to get to Blevio – narrow roads and construction work make for very slow going. We then managed to overshoot the place, the directions weren't great. Finally we locate it and bustle in with our bags. Alessandro (Alex) and his mum welcome us very warmly, show us about the house, and while we have ants in our pants to get going back to return the car, he very slowly and deliberately explains how we should get there, and the bus details to get back.


OK. Great. Thanks. Byeeee. See you soon... “Oh and one more thing, when you leave, you must always hang the room key here, like this. And then take the front door and gate keys from here”
Aaah ... Okey dokey. Gotta run..!


Navagatrix puts in a stellar final performance, we arrive at the Budget office with 2 minutes to spare. Fortunately traffic was a little more forgiving on the way into town. They check it over and give them thumbs up. It seems like they even forgot about the 60 Euro one-way charge. Bonus! (Mental note: check they didn't just take it off my Aussie credit card ….)


We find a real supermarket for the first time in forever, and excited to have access to a real live FRIDGE we even get some ham, cheese, tomato, pesto and bread for some DIY sandwiches. Cheapo lunch organised for tomorrow, retro-tick! Yogurt and fresh fruit, and some cereal for breakfast... why not?! We have a fridge and shall eat like Kings.


We retreat back to Alessandro's to piece together another another salady type meal, with extra meat. Share a bottle of wine on the balcony as the sun sets. Life is good.

Tomorrow we'll spend the day in Como so we spend a little time looking at what's to be seen and done, then off to bed.

Day 19: Venice day two

Second day in Venice, and the team was up and at em, eating a substantial brekkie of rice cake under a silken dragon motif on the wall. Yum.

We typically had missed our train, so read up on Venice and its various tours while waiting for the next one, booking a walking tour for that night. 

Seasoned as we were at this point with the Italian trains, we'd finally worked out that they never ever check tickets. So we ran for our train and daringly jumped on board last minute without visiting the kiosk first. Unfortunately, Murphy's law was golden, and this was the only ticket that got  checked our whole trip. Slammed with a 15 euro fine. Ah well, coulda been worse. Lesson learned.

We spent the rest of the day wandering and getting lost. Venice is beautiful and we just strolled around, pausing occasionally to pose heroically, creep on English speaking tours, consume gelato, etc.

Now I've noticed that when I'm travelling, I'll sometimes mistake a complete stranger (likely from another country) with a friend or family member. This had been happening t both of us constantly, but just near piazza San Marco, we spotted him: our awesome housemate Matt Connor. In Venice and he hadn't even told us. Ok, maybe not actually him, but possibly his long lost twin, complete with tattoo sleeve. 278ers, appreciate:

That mission accomplished, we returned to more heroic posing and faking random accents, though my default (aka only reliable one) is Indian. More reliable than my weird half-American accent these days actually. 

Rain was threatening, so we smugly nabbed prime spot at a restaurant's covered terrace to wait it out. And wait more. Sub par meal finished and faux pas cappuccino consumed (apparently bad taste to have a cappuccino after your meal), it still hadnt rained.  I stretched out that thimble sized cappuccino, taking about half an hour to finish it, and we realized we really couldn't hold out any longer, so left. As the rain hit. 

Luckily it didn't last long, and we sat in the piazza waiting for our night tour while I called my mama to wish her happy birthday. :)

Happy birthday, mama!!

Bridge of Sighs

Matt then reported that our night tour was only going to be us, and our charming guide Andreas, a Venetian local, took us all around the city. One of my favourite stories he told us was about a pre medieval revolutionary who had planned to murder the ruler of Venice and all his men in the doges palace in order to gain power. OK, I'll tell the story. At night, as the man and his followers made their way down a narrow alley (now packed with souvenir stands) they were found out, and a huge swordfight began. An old woman peeked down from her window and nudged her mortar and pestle off the sill, directly onto the revolutionary's head, killing him and saving the city. The nameless old woman is immortalized with a small statue, high on the wall where she once lived.

Andreas also told us about the corruption among the city's gondoliers (you needed millions of euros or the right connections to hold a coveted license), showed us many hidden alleys and architectural curiosities, including a graffiti man drawn in the 1700s and the houses of ancient guilds, and generally was good fun to be around.

Matt's attempt to right the most crooked doorway in the city

Our tour finished around midnight, and we grabbed one of the last trains back 'home.' Big day tomorrow.

Day 18: Venice

Goooooooood morning Mogliano. I love the smell of Italian/Chinese/Japanese cuisine in the morning.

When we finally woke from our salt-induced comas, we found a beautiful sunny day awaiting us. As usual, we had neglected to prepare or plan anything for the day, and a brief bit of research over breakfast showed we were already going to be too late to catch most of the guided tours that morning. We finished up our plastic croissants and headed for the train station. About a ten minute walk and a 20 minute train ride later, we walked straight out of Venice's main station and into our first pun of the day -

MonkDonalds. He's lovin' it.

Contrary to my naïve vision of the city, there were also walkways and streets and not just canals everywhere. We followed the main street through all the tourist schlock and manage to lose and rejoin the crowds at regular intervals. At one point we stumbled upon the central markets, brightly coloured stands of fruit and vegetables, fresh seafood and all manner of handmade trinkets.

We found a supermarket right around the time we both started feeling hungry, our breakfast hadn't exactly provided a lot of sustenance. We selected some premade salads, sandwiches and fruit drinks, and found some quiet steps to enjoy our lunch on. We took a few pictures of the residential canal we were by and pondered life in such a waterlogged environment. It was then that we noticed a small sign above our heads, and realised we'd simulateously been breaking several laws (We later also read it is against city laws to sit or eat in any areas that aren't designated for that specific purpose!). We did at least manage to find a bin for our rubbish.

We studied a rather useful map we had borrowed from the b&b and found where we thought we might be, and a few places we wanted to check out. Having now read Inferno, I was hot on the trail of Robert Langdon still and trying to recognise more sights and highlights from the book. We crossed countless canals and took about the same number of photos. We eventually made our way to Piazza San Marco in the early evening and settled in at one of the cafes for some people and pigeon watching.

Is it too late to change my mind?

There were numerous newlyweds posing for pictures, some of them looking less than enthused about the situation. Whether they were regretting a recently avowed life decision or simply the fact that they were both covered in mutant pigeons, it was hard to tell. We've started pointing out 'twins' to each other, couples who have somehow managed to dress alike. Quite common amongst the older community with BOGOF deals on beige jackets, it seems to be catching on.

One of our favourite opportunities though is taking pictures of awkward people taking pictures. Now this could be a gallery unto itself.

Dedication: She didn't appear to even know the couple

We saw people getting into rather extreme positions to take the perfect picture. There were people taking selfies of course, de rigeur at any touristic opportunity. The latest evolution of a selfie appears to be having your camera mounted on the end of a very long stick. We saw all manner of squatting, reaching and other physical contortion to get the right angle, one woman even lying on the ground. All this while fending off a constant stream of very persistent rose sellers and pigeons.

With my Indian rose selling friend

They wander around with a fistful of roses, making a beeline for any couple who look even remotely attracted to each other. Or not. They then shove a rose in the guys face and refuse to take no for an answer. “E la mia sorella” (she's my sister) seemed to misdirect a few of them, then one caught me planting a kiss on Auds cheek. “E la mia sorella?” I tried again … He laughed, thrust a second rose in my face saying “haha, I understand this too, I am Indian”. Can't make this stuff up, I didn't even realise that was a thing in India!

The live music started up as the sun was going down behind the Basilica, and we sat for a few more hours.

We finished our drinks and started hunting for somewhere to have dinner. Having seen il conto for our drinks, we didn't even want to know what the meals would have cost. We tried a few blocks further back from the main square, and found some places that looked like they served reasonably authentic food, but then we realised the train station was on the other side of the city and we didn't even know when the last train left. We asked one guy how far it was, he looked at us quizzically … “a piedi?”, he laughs … probably on foot at least 50 minutes. Great!


We got to the station in 45, take that doubting Italian, and saw that we had a train in 5 or 25. We elected for the slightly later, giving us some time to find food first. Of course there's nothing but pizza slices by the station, so we chose the least offensive (actually they were really tasty) and sat on the banks of the grand canal before heading home.


Another full day in Venice tomorrow, we'll try to book a tour and structure our day a little better this time. But first a few more photos.

Peak hour traffic jam

This one's especially for fans of the Bean movie ... I found it humorous anyway!