Saturday, 7 March, 2020
"Take a walk on the wild side . . ."
I channeled my inner Lou Reed today and boldly broke out of the bunker for a run to freedom in the scenic countryside that encircles the Villa Skorpion II.
Of course, I headed north, away from Milano.
I'm felt bold but not reckless.
My journey would include a delicious lunch stop in the Lago Maggiore city of Luino.
That little orange number looked
quick sitting in Luino's small harbor
It was a beautiful day not to be worrying about the Coronavirus with temperatures in the low 60°F range and perfect cloudless skies.
A walk along the shoreline was definitely on the agenda!
It was good to see parents and their
kids out enjoying the weather at
this lakeside playground
My view of Lago Maggiore from
the bench where I sat and read
for about 30 minutes
A golden BVM protecting
Luino's ferry boat dock
I was distracted from my reading when some small boats all set sail from a nearby mini-harbor.
This sailor was fighting the wind
and would skillfully stay afloat
These two were having
a much easier time of it
It was time to move on as it was almost 12:30 p.m. and I was getting hungry.
I thought that he would
have a bigger boat
A GREAT Liberty style
building on the lakeshore
As I said, I was getting hungry and the
"Al Cantinone" Cucina Tipica
sounded awfully good to me
While I had been to Luino on several occasions over the last two years, I had never noticed this interesting looking side street.
No time like the present to explore . . .
Lavender was the color of the day
Shhhhh . . .
This street is a Quiet Zone, not a problem today as I was the only person on the street and I wasn't speaking in tongues ala Paula White.
The pedestrian street was
quiet indeed!
This was the spot,
"Al Cantinone" Cucina Tipica!
I like the look of the menu
but I wound up ordering
something not listed here
When I walked into the subterranean
entry room I was impressed by
the many wine choices
Ten tables in this room
but I dined alone
It was 12:40 p.m. and the Al Cantinone was still empty.
Finally, a group of three people were seated in another room through the door on the left.
That was it, only four customers for lunch.
The Coronavirus reared its ugly head again.
I was seated next to a
perfect fire in this old fireplace
An ACCORDION!
If we just had more people, I'm sure this place would have been ROCKING to some sweet music played on this traditional Italian instrument.
Lunch is served . . .
A Coke Zero, a sack of fresh
sliced bread, Polenta and
Osso Buco ala Milanese
A hardy, stick to my ribs lunch that was perfect!
As was this chocolate dolce
All Italian meals MUST end with
a caffé or, in this case, a macchiato
It was a good dining experience in
a quaint spot that I highly enjoyed!
When I went to pay the bill, my waiter offered me a free, small glass of a lavender based liqueur to aid in the proper digestion of my meal.
It was delicious and I was told that the La Lavanda shop across the way is where I could buy a bottle if I so desired.
I so desired!
Again, I was the only customer in this fine little lavender based shop with a pleasant, helpful owner.
Liqueur in hand, I headed
back to the lake
The Lago Maggiore ferry boat
was arriving
Pedestrian traffic only, no vehicles allowed on this run.
It was time to start heading back to Varese and I decided to take a new route to see more unexplored, by me at any rate, mountain villages of Lombardia.
In the village of Grantola, I saw a sign pointing to the 11th-Century Chiesa di San Pietro.
I just had to take a look . . .
This church is about 1,000
years old . . . WOW!
A sturdy bell tower is a must
in all old country churches
An interesting bump
in this church's wall
I guess I'm not getting
into this church today
Wait, is that door unlocked?
IT WAS!
A very well preserved and maintained church as it turned out.
How old is this holy water font?
No holy water in it today, Coronavirus countermeasures you know.
The church had an ancient cemetery attached to it but I did not opt to walk through it.
On the other hand, the church's
WWI and WWII memorial to
Grantola's Fallen was moving
Grantola lost 13 souls in WWI
and three more in WWII
With all of the forest area around
us, it was only fitting that Grantola
would have a lumber mill in
its city limits
Finally, Joe Curly, a fine sportswriter for the Ventura County Star back in California, contacted me this week wanting to do a story about the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy and how it was affecting sports in our adopted country in general and American football in particular.
Here is the link to Joe's article: https://eu.vcstar.com/story/sports/2020/03/07/football-coach-contreras-epicenter-coronavirus-outbreak-europe/4977337002/
It was a good day today.
2 comments:
Thanks for being the reason I made it through my senior year and making it bearable! You are part of the reason I work in schools now. The example you were/are to me, the mentor, it is what I hope to aspire to for the students I have worked with for the last 10 years and continue to work with now. You were always a favorite teach of mine! Anyone who come in contact with you with lucky to enjoy your humor and knowledge.
Hillary,
WOW! Grazie for your extremely kind comments.
I hope that all is well with you back home.
Congrats on entering the rewarding/frustrating field of education!
George
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