Companion Itinerary:
-Atlanta Airport
-Milan Malpensa Airport
-Drive to Lesa Italy
–Lesa, Piedmont
-Supermercato Savoini
Arrivals: Travel Goals Italy
When the plane takes off from American soil, I always release a big sigh. It finally sinks in that I am going on an adventure. This trip I was especially ready to release pre-trip tension. We flew through Atlanta on the day hurricane Helene hit Florida. The airport was pounded with steady rain and high…
Companion Itinerary:
–Rocca di Angera
–Angera
-Roadhouse Restaurant Castelletto Ticino
-MediaWorld Castelletto sopra Ticino
Angera Unplanned: Travel Goals Italy
I am up with the dawn no matter where in the world I find myself. My husband is up with the owls and does not like mornings. This makes for some interesting travel logistics. Multi-room lodging is usually best, so I can get up and move about without waking him. But after three hours, if…
Companion Itinerary:
–Parco Pallavicino – Borromean Lands Lake Maggiore
–Stresa
-Agenzia di Viaggi Tomassucci Travel Agency
-Ristorante Lo Stornello, Stresa
Stress Free Stresa: Travel Goals Italy
It is a rare day that we both awaken at about the same time. In sync, we enjoy coffee. My husband decided to try Italian toasted bread. You buy it prepackaged and already toasted. It is hard as a rock. I took a hard pass. He is desperate because there is no toaster in the…
Companion Itinerary:
;-Agenzia di Viaggi Tomassucci Travel Agency
–Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore)
Isola Bella- The Beautiful Island: Travel Goals Italy
The day started slowly. We changed plans again and again. Finally we decided to go to Stresa to see if we could find spots on the Centovalli rail and boat excursion to Switzerland. The people at the travel agency were great and so helpful. We laughed and chatted, only to find out that the tracks…
Companion Itinerary:
–Isola dei Pescatori
-Osteria Ara 36 Restaurant
-Shopping Isola dei Pescatori
Lost in Time: Travel Goals Italy
Isola Pescatori, the island of the fishermen, was meant to be a brief stop. We sought out a quiet restaurant on a remote alley, away from the tourist boat crowds. The waiter took us up flights of stairs and seated us in a window overlooking the rooftops. The pasta was fresh and regional, accompanied by…
Companion Itinerary:
-Agenzia di Viaggi Tomassucci Travel Agency
–Trenitalia Stresa to Domodossola
–Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway
–Locarno
-Locarno Visitor Center
–Locarno–Madonna del Sasso funicular
–Madonna del Sasso, Switzerland
-McDonald’s Locarno
–Piazza Grande Locarno
–Old Town, Locarno–
–Visconti Castle (Locarno)
–Locarno Casino – Lake Maggiore
–Walk of Fame Locarno
–Lungolago di Locarno
-Vera Gelateria
–Locarno to Stresa Ferry Lake Maggiore
-HOSTARIA VITA Restaurant Stresa
Birthday Journey To Locarno: Travel Goals Italy
Today I turn 58 years old. To celebrate, I am traveling to Locarno Switzerland. It sounded like a great idea, yesterday, when after an “uphill day”, the travel office in Stresa was finally able to book it. After two unsuccessful attempts to purchase seats had failed, finally getting tickets for the rail and ferry Swiss…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive through Ticino Area
–Cascata del Toce
-Bar Ristorante Cascata Del Toce
-Chiesa della Madonna della Neve (Walser Chapel)
–Premia Thermal Baths
–Crodo
Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Italy
It is raining this morning. Light misty rain, but moving into an all day steady drizzle. I search google maps and apple weather for patches of dryness to see if anywhere close is a better (drier) way to spend our day. Rain. Check again. More rain. Eventually, I find dry patches high in the Italian…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive through Novara Province
–Novara
-Walk through Novara
-Parco dei Bambini
–Visconti-Sforza Castle (Novara)
-Monumento Equestre Vittorio Emanuele II
–Basilica of San Gaudenzio
–Chiesa di San Marco (Novara)
–Novara, Palazzo Bellini,
-Chiesi San Martino
-Piazza Marriott
– Corso Cavour walk and shop
–Novara Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta
-Chiesa San Giovanni Decollato
-ALCI Condividi il Momento
-Piazza Matteotti
Along the Via Novara: Travel Goals Italy
We start out with no expectations for the day. We are visiting the Italian city of Novara for no other reason than our wonderful neighbors’ family is from the area. We want to explore and send pictures to honor our friends since they can’t be here with us. The town has about 100,000 people and…
Companion Itinerary:
–Santa Caterina del Sasso
–Laveno-Mombell
-Café Vela, Laveno
-Oratorio di San Rocco
-Chiesa di Sant’Ambrogio
-Funivie del Lago Maggiore Laveno Mombello
Pittarello Shoe Store, Dormaletto
Convents, Cable Cars, and Clothing: Travel Goals Italy
The day is overcast as we drive around the lake to Santa Caterina del Sasso. An ancient monastery along Lake Maggiore, Santa Caterina is carved into the rock. It hangs above the lake as if suspended by magic. After parking and trying to decipher signs that seem to suggest the monastery is in two different…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive from Lesa Italy to Orta San Giulio
–Orta San Giulio
–Mater Ecclesiae Abbey
–Basilica di San Giulio
-Shops of Orta San Giulio
-Via dei Cappuccini
–Sacro Monte di Orta
-Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption
-Ristorante Edera
Climbing the Sacred Mountain After Sailing to the Island of Silence: Travel Goals Italy
Saturday in Northern Italy is marked by hordes of men on bicycles taking over the roadways. These biker gangs are problematic because the roads are narrow as they curve up and down the foothills of the Alps. The general rule I’ve determined is the narrower the road and the more blind curves, the more cyclists…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive from Stresa to Mottarone
–Mottarone
–Parco del Mottarone
–Alpyland
-Bar Alp
–Alpino Alpine Gardens | Italian-lakes
–Baveno
–Cava Restaurant
-Chiostro del Complesso Monumentale della Chiesa dei SS Gervasio e Protasio Bovino
-Battistero di San Giovanni
-Chiesa dei Santi Gervaso e Protaso
-Agrigelateria Baveno Gelato
Mottarone, the Tiniest Alp: Travel Goals Italy
The morning broke cool and cloudy. Because the forecast for the rest of the week included rain, we decided to drive up to the top of Mottarone. The smallest mountain in the Alps. The tiniest Alp. The road was surprisingly busy, and unsurprisingly winding and narrow. Gangs of cyclists clogged the road. Once we got…
Companion Itinerary:
-Train from Arona to Milan Centrale Station
–Duomo di Milano
–Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
-Leonardo3
–Teatro alla Scala of Milan
–Sforza Castle
-Burla Giò
Rainy Day In Milano: Travel Goals Italy
Today was a washout. It rained all night and all day. Outside adventures at the Lake looked dismal. I searched the radar for anywhere dry and came up empty. So we headed to Arona, parked blocks away from the train station, and walked through the flood to buy a round trip ticket to Milan. We…
Companion Itinerary:
–Verbania
–Giardini Botanici di Villa Taranto, Verbania – Lago Maggiore
-Villa Taranto, Café & Bistrot
–Pallanza – Lake Maggiore
–Landscape Museum – Lake Maggiore /Museo del Paesaggio
–Centro Commerciale LE ISOLE Mall
–McDonald’s | Gravellona Toce
-Aldi Gravellona Toce
Gardens and Galleries in Verbania: Travel Goals Italy
Some days just exceed my expectations. I wake up to a beautiful pink sunrise. The rain has washed the earth clean and the birds are singing their thanks. We have no where to be and take our time, lingering over coffee. We drive around the lake to Verbania and the Villa Taranto. I am not…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive from Lesa Italy to Venaria Reale
–La Venaria Reale
–Palace of Venaria
-Il Patio dei Giardini Restaurant
-La petite d’or Gelato
–Ivrea
-Why Not? Pizza al trancio Restaurant
In Search of Counts and Kings: Travel Goals Italy
It is still raining on the banks of lake Maggiore. Today we take a long drive to the city of the Kings of Savoy, Venaria Reale. It is sunny there. The drive takes just under three hours as we rejecte the autostrade in favor of backroads.. We see farm houses and vineyards as we meander…
Companion Itinerary:
–Como
-Passeggiata Lino gelpi walk
–Villa Olmo
–Tempio Voltiano
–Como War Memorial (Monumento ai Caduti di Como)
-Top Gourmet Restaurant
–Como Cathedral
-Lungolago Viale Geno
–Como-Brunate Funicular
-Esselunga Superstore Arona
Been There: Travel Goals Italy
I am a contrary traveler. I don’t mean to be, but I almost never enjoy the “it” places. I read the guidebooks and “just to say we have been there”, we dutifully go to the “must see” places. I am almost always disappointed. I don’t like crowds. I don’t like the so called “ugly” tourists…
Companion Itinerary:
-Stresa Boat Ferry Dock
–Isola Madre
–Isola dei Pescatori
-Trattoria Ristorante Imbarcadero
–Tickets and timetables Ferry On Lake Maggiore
Stranded: Travel Goals Italy
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 to Isola Madre, the last Borromean island we haven’t visited. It was market day in Intra…and I love market…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive from Lesa Italy to Macugnaga Italy
–Macugnaga
-Monte Rosa East Face
-Chiesa Vecchia
-Museo Antica Casa Walser
-Cable Car Macugnaga
-La Locanda Restaurant
-Chiesa Santa Caterina, Vanzone
–Linea Cadorna: Ornavasso – Forte di Bara
–Ossola Valley – The Cadorna Line – Ornavasso
The End of the Road: Travel Goals Italy
Wanderlust…our internal yearning of wanting to see new things, hear new sounds, smell new smells….means that every day we venture out to parts unknown. We try to keep the destination within two hours drive to ensure we have enough time to enjoy each new spot without tiring or feeling rushed. We never know what we…
Companion Itinerary:
–Pombia Safari Park
-Azienda Vitivinicola e Agriturismo Enrico Crola
-Filadora Azienda Vitivinicola
A Walk On the Wild Side: Travel Goals Italy
After several weeks of touring historic sites and churches, we decide to broaden our Italian experience. Our destination for a local weekend experience is the Pombia Safari park. It is essentially a drive through zoo. You can drive your own car or ride in their safari wagon. We opt to drive. We arrive early, park,…
Companion Itinerary:
–Weekly markets in Arona
-Muu House Bistrot Paruzzaro
–Sacro Monte di Varallo
–Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie Varallo
–Lake Orta
Markets and Mountains: Travel Goals Italy
Today is my favorite day! When I travel in Italy, I can’t wait for market day. Each town has a designated day for a pop up outdoor market. This tradition goes back to the medieval traveling markets. Vendors can go from town to town with no overhead, and the townspeople can plan their shopping around…
Companion Itinerary:
-Drive from Lesa Italy to Canobbio Italy
–Cannobio
-Collegiata di San Vittore
–Cannobio – Gavi Campanile
-Zaccheo Bakery
-Bar Sport, Cannobio Restaurant
–Sacro Monte di Ghiffa
-ALDI Gravellona Toce
Rainy Days Are Still Beautiful: Travel Goals Italy
Sunny, magical days have to be interrupted occasionally. And so the rain sets in for a multi-day period of grey clouds and damp pavement. Since we are in Italy to experience Italy, we set off for a wet drive around the lake to Cannobio on Lake Maggiore (….not to be confused with Cernobbio on Lake…
Companion Itinerary:
–Novara Italy
–Vicolungo The Style Outlets
-Billy Tacos – Vicolungo
Rainy Retail Therapy: Travel Goals Italy
It is set to rain all day and all night…..again. I search the map for anyplace within three hours that might be deluge free. I find nothing. My next search is for indoor places to spend time. Neither of us want to walk all day in heavy rainfall. My shoes are still wet from yesterday.…
Companion Itinerary:
—Varese
–Sacro Monte di Varese
–Casa Museo Lodovico Pogliaghi
-Albergo Sacro Monte Restaurant
-The Fountain of Moses (Fontana del Mosè)
-The Varese Papal Statue
–Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte
-Erno Beach, Lesa
Between a Rock and a Foggy Place: Travel Goals Italy
It is still raining in Lesa. We head to Varese where there are a few indoor museums. The weather there should be clear and we will be able to visit the Sacred Mountain of Varese. We head out and the rain stops as we get farther down the road. It is looking pretty good, until…
Companion Itinerary:
-Erno Beach, Lesa
-Parco Pallavicino – Borromean Lands Lake Maggiore
-Sala Museo Pietro Canonica
-Stresa Shops
Anticipated Arrivals: Travel Goals Italy
I love hosting company, especially if the company is family. Today my siblings, minus my youngest brother are coming to join us at our Italian retreat. The house has been cleaned. Groceries are bought and now I wait impatiently for their arrival. I take a walk around our quiet neighborhood waiting for their plane to…
Companion Itinerary:
–Aosta
–Teatro Romano
-Augusta Roman City Walls
-Via Croix de Ville
–Aosta Cathedral
–Criptoportico Forense
–Chiesa Paleo-cristiana Di San Lorenzo
-Aura – La Dimora della Pizza
-Bard
–Fort Bard
-Ristorante del Barcaiolo, Arona
Valley of the Castles: Travel Goals Italy
We are up at dawn. This is the first real adventure with my extended family. My brother drives us over the mountain in his rental car. I am now in the backseat. No longer the driver or the navigator, I am left to look out the side window. I try not to be a backseat…
Companion Itinerary:
–Sacro Monte di Orta
-Cemetery of Orta
-La Motta Restaurant & Bistrot
–Orta San Giulio
-Pittarello Shoe Store, Dormaletto
-Appertivi, Ristorante del Barcaiolo, Arona
–Rocca Borromeo di Angera
Retracing Our Footsteps: Travel Goals Italy
Sometimes you encounter a place you can’t wait to share. I was captivated by Orta San Guilio and couldn’t wait to share it with my family. After excitedly sharing the virtues of a visit, we drove over on a bright Monday morning. The destination did not disappoint. First we trekked up the mountain to visit…
Companion Itinerary:
-Market Day Arona
–Isola Bella (Lago Maggiore)
–Isola dei Pescatori
-Osteria Ara 36
-Shopping in Stresa
-Ristorante Il Rapanello Dal 1986
Sharing the Love: Travel Goals Italy
Sometimes I just enjoy things so much I want to share them. European traditional market days are some of my favorite travel days. Whether it is a giant flea market or small stalls, I am all in! So it was a delight to take my brother and two of my sister in laws on a…
Companion Itinerary:
-Arona Train Station
-Milan Walking Tour
-Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie
–Last Supper
–Milano Porta Garibaldi railway station
-Café Le Grazie
-Colonne di San Lorenzo, Roman Ruins
–Italian Stock Exchange in Milan
–L.O.V.E. in Milan Statue
–Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
–Duomo di Milano – Official Website
Milano At a March: Travel Goals Italy
It was a priority to see the Last Supper at the Santa Maria Delle Grazie in Milan. To get the tickets for Last Supper, we have to take a tour. I may have mentioned that I am generally not a tour person. I actually hate them. The Walking tour of Milan started at 8:15 am.…
Companion Itinerary:
–Duomo di Milano
–Terraces: Duomo Rooftops
-I 12 Gatti Pizzeria, Rooftop Vittorio Emanuelle II
-Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II Rooftop Walk
–Sforza Castle
-Parco Sempione
–San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
-Harris Shoes 1913 Via Belfiore 6/E Milano
–Milano Centrale Train Station Guide
-Arona Train Station
-Ristorante del Barcaiolo, Arona
Unsupervised: Travel Goals Italy
The minute our Milano walking tour guide left us, we were unsupervised in Milan. Relieved to be on our own, I gladly trade in my earpiece speaker. Maybe we won’t know quite as much as a tour guide but we can enjoy sights at our own pace. Our first order of business is to buy…
Companion Itinerary:
–Palazzo Reale (Torino)
–Chapel of the Holy Shroud (Cappella della Sacra Sindone)
-Caffetteria Reale
–Palazzo Madama, Turin
Grand Torino: Travel Goals Italy
With only one more day to spend with the siblings in Italy, we decide to head to Turin (Torino). This often overlooked town was the capitol of the Northern Roman Empire and the domain of the Savoy dynasty. There are more palaces in and around Turin than you will find in entire countries. The Palazzo…
Companion Itinerary:
–Turin
–Chiesa di San Lorenzo (Torino)
–The Cathedral of Turin – Duomo di Torino St. John the Baptist
-La Riva, Lesa Italy
In search of the Shroud: Travel Goals Italy
You can’t visit Turin without wondering about the mysterious shroud of Turin. The shroud first appeared in France in the 1300’s and was claimed to be the shroud that wrapped the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. While a bishop in the late 1300’s and dozens of scientists have called it a fake, the faithful…
Companion Itinerary:
-Corso Cavour (Arona, Italy) Shopping
-Old Wild West – Castelletto Ticino Hollywood
-Dormeletto Shopping Centers
–Meina
Regroup: Travel Goals Italy
The only thing stranger than receiving company while traveling abroad is sending them off while you remain. After our whirlwind week together with the extended family, we are exhausted. Everyone (except me) sleeps late. We start the day slowly, sharing coffee and pastries. And we reluctantly say our goodbyes. The siblings are headed to Milan…
Companion Itinerary:
–Pavia walk
–Visconti Castle (Pavia)
–University of Pavia
-Molto Più Pizza Restaurant
–Certosa di Pavia Monastery
Pavia, A Study In Honoring Tradition: Travel Goals Italy
Today we venture to the Italian city of Pavia. Home to one of the world’s oldest universities, final resting place of St. Augustine, the Southern seat of the Dukes of Milan; Pavia has a long and interesting history. The Castello Visconteo di Pavia is our first stop. Built in 1360 by the Lord of Milan,…
Companion Itinerary:
–Sacred Mount Calvary of Domodossola
–Ristorante Bistrot Steak House
-Piazza del Mercato
-L’Officina Del Cioccolato
–Vogogna
-Walking Domodossula Neighborhoods
-Ristorante del Barcaiolo, Arona
Pavia, A Study In Honoring Tradition: Travel Goals Italy
Today we venture to the Italian city of Pavia. Home to one of the world’s oldest universities, final resting place of St. Augustine, the Southern seat of the Dukes of Milan; Pavia has a long and interesting history. The Castello Visconteo di Pavia is our first stop. Built in 1360 by the Lord of Milan,…
Companion Itinerary:
–Ivrea
–Ivrea Castle
–Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
-Palazzo di Città
-Battle of the Oranges Scultpure
-Dora Baltea River Walk
-Slalom Ivrea Canoe Run
–BARBQ DINER CAFFE’, Ivrea
–Via Francigena Pilgrim Trail
–Biella
–Biella funicular
–Piazza Cisterna – Old Town Biella
-Cremeria del Piazzo Gelato
-Monta Rosa View
-Spiaggia dell’ Erno Beach, Lesa
Meandering: Travel Goals Italy
With just a few days left in Italy, we drive over to Ivrea. We had driven through town earlier in the month and I was charmed. It seems like a good place to explore. The hardest part of exploring unknown areas in Italy is navigating parking. We try a parking lot next to the oldest…
Companion Itinerary:
-Lesa, Italy
-Malpensa Airport, Milan
-Alps flyover
-Atlanta Airport, USA
All Good Things Must Come To An End: Travel Goals Italy
The end of a trip…sadness of leaving a new favorite corner of the world….happiness to be heading home. Despite the fact that I hate air travel (to be specific, I hate the hoops you have to go through at the airport), travel day is always exciting. We leave Lesa early in the morning and make…
Prisoner of Hopes 