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We were a bit nackered so we hit snooze a few times and then devoured a breakfast, which felt more like a morning tea, to begin day nineteen.
After taking our time to get ready and freaking, because the lady of the house hadn't returned my passport which I needed, we only just made the Lake Maggiore Express.
The Express is a roundtrip from Stresa to Locarno, Switzerland. It incorporates a scenic mountain railway and a ferry.
We decided to do the train leg first and return by ferry. The two legs contrast dramatically and it was a great way to see a lot of the towns that surround this massive lake.
Also something that Sal and I found interesting was the difference between the Italian buildings and the Swiss ones. Stresa is incredibly clean and pretty for an Italian town but the pride the Swiss take in the presentation of their properties is something else. This is most evident in the smaller towns.
Most views on the train trip consisted of stunning greenery, hills, rivers and some human ingenuity with bridges and tunnels.
We arrived in Locarno, after switching halfway to a spectacular panoramic train, and had a few hours to fill. We strolled the waterfront and enjoyed some sandwiches and Swiss chocolate.
Locarno was a little busy and overly touristy for our liking but we did see where some of the attraction was. The waterfront area had a friendly feel and the whole area seemed abuzz with activities.
We boarded the ferry back to Stresa and this provided us with some scenic eye-candy. The ferry took us very close to a number of the little islands and some of the gardens were amazing.
After about forty minutes of the two hour cruise, Sal found the ferry a bit slow and became frustrated that she couldn't recline and sun-bake. After getting a sugar fix she seemed to pike back up though.
We arrived back at Stresa and visited a lovely little restaurant for dinner just off the main square. We decided as it was our last night in Italy we would go out with a bang! So I had another calzone and Sal had a pizza. This calzone was huge and even a lady on another table commented on its size.
We finished the night with Gelati and a waterfront stroll.
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