October 28 – November 4, 2020
Wednesday – Thursday – Friday – Saturday – Sunday – Monday – Tuesday
The plan for today was to ride the bicycle further along the lake and hopefully even make it up one of the narrow valleys that open up to the flat, wide agricultural land along the Ticino River.
A great cycle path along the lake
A great way to see the “backyards” of the locals
Another beautiful day
I was following Dan (and you know what that means) and we eventually lost the path markings that would take us up the valley. He decided that he was done with “exploring” and said that he wanted to go back. Fine with me – there was always more to see!
End of the road
Heading back along the same path – still beautiful!
So now that we put the bicycles back, what should we do? Why, walk around more of the town, of course! There were a lot of side streets to explore, and I was curious to see the Madonna del Sasso that towered over the town, high on the hill.
Remember all of those steps I complained about on our first day here? Glutton for punishment that I am, I suggested that we walk back up them. There are a LOT of steps. I actually counted them, but for the life of me, I can’t remember how many I counted. It was well over 300 though!
Stopping for the view – and a breath!
The church is beautiful, and the setting just emphasizes this beauty. There were few people in the area, but it grounds weren’t empty. I dragged Dan around, as he generally doesn’t care about visiting places like this. Personally, I’m just there for the architecture and history, so usually a walk-through is enough to satisfy me.
Someone playing with his magnificent beard at a life-size recreation of the Last Supper
After a casual stroll through the grounds, we continued down what would normally be the pilgrimage trail up to the church. Nothing like doing things our own way… This meant that we were working our way backwards along the Stations of the Cross. “Traveling back in history”, I guess?
Tonight’s dinner was a simple kebab from the shop across the street from our hotel. It was simple and good, and a good way to end the day.
