Sometimes things are not as you want them to be. You just have to take a deep breath and deal with them as they are. We wanted to take the ferry to Intra and then on Isola Madre, the last Borromean island we hadn’t visited. It was market day in Intra…and I love market day. The tourist office we normally use to buy tickets and exchange money wasn’t open. It should have been open according to posted hours, but it was locked up tight. I needed to exchange money so we walked a few blocks to another agency with higher rates. Just an inconvenience.

We went to buy ferry tickets and the schedules didn’t line up correctly. Market day was just a dream. It couldn’t happen due to a reduced ferry schedule. Instead, we bought all day passes with the intent to island hop.

We needed to secure the car before we set out. The parking meter wasn’t working. Instead of all day parking, we had to settle for a 6 pm limit. We grabbed a cappuccino and settled in to wait for the ferry and replan our day. It started to rain, even though it wasn’t supposed to. Since we had to skip the market (it broke my heart) and we decided to head straight to Isola Madre and work our way back.

As we arrived, the ferry boatman called it mamma island. I smiled as I stepped onto the green island. We exited the boat up steep stairs and entered a series of rope lines. I paused to try and figure out where to go. The crowd went left. My husband grumbled to move along and quit blocking the line. I said I wasn’t sure… but we moved along down the hill. As I feared, the crowd went the wrong way and now we had to head back up the long steep hill.

Isola Madre was beautiful, even in the rain. Old trees. Lush shrubbery. And lots of wonderful pheasants. The birds were everywhere and didn’t mind the rain. The ran out of bushes across the paths. They danced and preened and clucked and scratched and scurried. I enjoyed watching their play.

I ducked in and out of trees along paths through old growth forest. Watching the birds, I appreciated their dancing and chirping. The pheasants were mesmerizing balls of color and movement. Alone in the trees, it was easy to feel timeless and a part of nature.

After walking circles among the trees, we finally arrived at the Villa. It was an imposing multistory building with a pile of umbrellas on the porch. Unlike the other Borromeo properties, this felt less like a palace and more like a home.

We toured the villa. Its darker wood and cozy rooms seemed somehow livable. I could see myself feeling at home here. I tried to imagine waking up with the glorious view. Of course it would come with the damp chill air. I was beginning to shiver and pretty much lost feeling in my fingers.

In a weird twist, we discovered that the owner had built a puppet theater in the house. At some point, the Borromeo of the day had hosted the King of Savoy who apparently liked puppets. Just like that,one of the rooms became a puppet show. It was weird and most of the puppets looked like their day wasn’t going so well either. I could relate. Just when you thought the figures couldn’t be any more depressing, the next theatre actually depicted hell. Demons, skeletons, and Satan himself waited on stage. What a cheery entertainment option.

The remaining rooms were filled with antique furniture and family paintings. They were interesting, but not as interesting as the argument the estate workers were having in the large salon. I don’t really understand Italian all that well, but it sounded like they were having a disagreement over the placement of a chair. It is amazing what humans will find to argue about, even in seemingly perfect surroundings. I guess that should tell me that it never really is about circumstances …,really….it is always about our wants and the need to have our way (Buddhists may be on to something.)

We really did enjoy Isola Madre. After the house tour, we found more birds, an aviary, and even a beautiful chapel. After one pm, we began to get a little hungry. But, we couldn’t find the way out. Each exit we tried was blocked. Finally, after wandering around in the rain for quite some time, we found a way out. It led to a private boat dock, so we had to climb back uphill to the ferry.

We found our dock. It had a sign that the next ferry wouldn’t be back until 2:30. I volunteered to go back up and down the steep steps to the restaurant to see if I could get food. I got to the small restaurant only to find out that we could only eat if we were seated. They did sell me water.

So …..I went back up the hill and then down the steep steps to rejoin my husband. After a little while, he set off to find a bathroom…..which was of course at the end of island, up the steps to go down the hill…..awesome….. But finally a boat came, after an hour and a half of waiting in the rain. You don’t always get the circumstances you want.

We decided to salvage the day by going to Isola Pescatori for lunch. I love the atmosphere of the restaurants on the fishing island. It would be a joy! We disembarked and began to look for a restaurant. I noticed they were all closing for their mid day break. Seriously. I rushed back to the busiest restaurant to see if they would seat us. A tour group blocked the sidewalk and wouldn’t move despite my insistent scuzzi, scuzzi! It was now almost three and the restaurants, once closed wouldn’t open until at least seven pm.

Luckily, we were seated. I must have looked desperate. We weren’t even the last ones to arrive late and slightly wet from the rain. Thanks to the hostess, we had a great meal on a dock overlooking a beautiful lake. There were space heaters and tiramisu. My day was looking up. Sometimes it is all about managing your expectations and enjoying where you are. A cat joined us at the table, lounging in an empty chair and trying to share our meal. He understood that sometimes you have to make your own fun.

We decided to walk back to a shop we liked and buy some supplies for the house. It was closed…empty….like it had never existed. End of season brought a hard stop to the Italian market. So we just reboarded the ferry. This time it was only a 15 minute wait. We were back to our car with time to spare on the parking meter. Our plans didn’t quite work out.

It would be easy to complain about the day, but I know I am privileged to even be able to say that I had to spend a day stranded on an island of Lake Maggiore in the rain. We had moments of disappointment, but I also had moments of delight. And even though things didn’t always work out the way I wanted, they worked out as they should. It is a lesson I will remember. I have always said that it is not really about what happens to you. How you respond is everything.