Falling in love with Como’s beautiful villages, Menaggio and Bellagio
There have been thunderstorms pretty much every day since we arrived in Italy.
The sky suddenly turns dark in late afternoon or early evening. There is a great crash of thunder followed by a downpour.
In Lugano, we were swimming in the lovely outdoor pool with blue sky above us and warm sunshine pouring down.
And then slowly, big, billowing...
Wonderful day spent exploring gardens on Lake Como
Lake Como, north of Milan, Italy, is shaped like an upsidedown Y with the town of Como at the bottom of the first leg and Bellagio at the junction between legs.
We loved Bellagio and wanted to spend more time there but first we wanted to see Villa Carlotta and its garden plus some of the smaller communities on the...
Brissago’s peaceful island garden is a gem on Lake Maggoire
We bid farewell to Lake Como and headed back over the top of Lake Lugano and down to Lake Maggiore and to the little town of Brissago, Switzerland to visit the beautiful garden on Isola Brissago.
There are two little islands off the shore in Brissago; the biggest one, San Pancrazio also known as Grande Isola, has a beautiful botanical...
Rediscovering love for Isola Bella and Isola Madre and more
Twenty years ago, I picked up a book by Penelope Hobhouse and read about a fantastic garden called Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore.
I remember looking at the beautiful pictures of this garden, and saying to Loraine, “Wow, how I would love one day to stand there.”
Who knew that just a few years later, my dream would come true and...
Discovering the rugged, raw beauty of Sardinia
The Sardinia Project was news to me.
I never knew that Sardinia was once a mosquito-infested land where malaria killed hundreds of people every year.
When we arrived in Olbia, the city on the northeast coast of the island, we were shown around by our Sardinian guide, Matteo Pisu.
First, he explained some of the history of the island, starting...
Back to Milan as we make our way to Sardinia
My first time in Milan was 2004. I remember going into the cathedral and not being able to see a thing; it was so dark and gloomy. The facade, of course, was as glorious as ever with its magnificent spires and sculptural decorative features. But the inside of the duomo was really a disappointment.
Fastward to 2018. Yesterday, I stepped...
