Our last full day in Italy! We arrived in Lake Orta (northern Italy, west of Lake Como). We must have filled nearly half the rooms in our small hotel. William and I were lucky to have a beautiful view of the lake from our room. Our group walked through this lovely lake town (with steep hills and many stairs).
After a delicious pizza lunch with most of the group, we boarded a small boat and got to view gorgeous villas along the lake before getting off at Orta San Giulio, a small island in the center.
After a delicious pizza lunch with most of the group, we boarded a small boat and got to view gorgeous villas along the lake before getting off at Orta San Giulio, a small island in the center.
We toured this tiny island (you can walk around it in 10 minutes). The small church is beautiful (sorry, no photos were allowed). Nuns in a cloistered convent there created a contemplative walk of silence. We tried it but two other tour groups were not at all respecting the request to be silent. Besides the nuns, only three other people live on the island.
After we got back to the village, William and I walked up a long hill (as we hadn’t climbed a big hill for at least 24 hours). At the top of Sacro Monte of Orta is a complex of 20 chapels built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a UNESCO World Heritage site that honors the life of St Francis. These small chapels, each one unique, depict an episode in Francis’ life through frescoes and life-size sculptures. Unfortunately, there was no lighting in the chapels. Italy ended daylight savings Saturday, so by the time we got there, it was starting to get dark. Then, a friendly caretaker started locking up the chapels. So, we sped through the last four, then walked back down the long hill, then up another to our hotel to start packing (we headed home the next day).
We had a final tour group dinner at a lovely restaurant on the lakeshore where my stunning view over was of the island at night. So lovely!! It was a delightful end to the trip, but bittersweet. We had become friends with our fellow travelers and it was sad to say goodbye.
Then, back to the hotel as our 5 am alarm to get up to take our taxi to Milan was going to sound all too soon.
Then, back to the hotel as our 5 am alarm to get up to take our taxi to Milan was going to sound all too soon.
We sleepily rode to the airport, grabbed breakfast and started our flights, bidding arrivederci to Italy and then transferring in Dublin. We got home after being up for 22 hours (the glamorous side of traveling).