{"id":2116,"date":"2013-06-20T21:34:51","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T20:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=2116"},"modified":"2026-05-25T05:54:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:54:54","slug":"criss-crossing-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2013\/06\/20\/criss-crossing-countries\/","title":{"rendered":"Criss-crossing Countries"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 9:15am we left Feriolo and headed north up the motorway.\u00a0 When we reached Gravellona Toce we found ourselves in a wide valley with impressive steep sides and very soon the valley narrowed and we were seeing snow covered caps on the mountains ahead.\u00a0 Rodney wriggled, settled back and enjoyed the drive up to Domodossola.\u00a0 We were in the mood for mountains and definitely for some less humid air, because at 11am it was already 31\u00b0C.\u00a0 So we chose to take a 74 kilometre diversion for a picnic, up near the top of the Valle Antigorio.\u00a0 We followed the signs at Domodossola which said it would be 37kms to Formazza.\u00a0 Half a kilometre up the road, it said it would be 25kms to Formazza (a very big reduction in such a short distance) and a further 2 kms up the road it said it would be 36kms to Formazza.\u00a0 Yep, we were confused, very confused.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Snow
Snow- capped mountains along the way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The road took us past endless waterfalls and through lots of villages with whacky names like Emo, Crodo, Premia, Foppiano and Passo, to name but a few.\u00a0 They were all appearing to be more Alpine in style and we got quite excited when we saw the first cows with huge resonant bells around their necks. Love an alpine cow with a big bell. \u00a0 Just past Foppiano, the road went in to a 3.1 km tunnel that definitely did at least one complete spiral as it climbed uphill.\u00a0 It was one long turn to the right and apparently it generously cuts out eight hairpin bends on the old road.\u00a0 The amazing thing is that the road is a dead end, it doesn\u2019t go anywhere, apart from about through eight more tiny villages, before ending just short of the border with Switzerland.\u00a0 When you\u2019re not in the tunnel, it really is a beautiful drive, the only thing spoiling the views are the quarries that pop up here and there and sadly leave quite a scar on the mountain sides.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A
A mine in the Valle Antigorio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just past Canza, there are some good hairpin bends and then suddenly you have the most amazing view of the Cascata del Toce, a stunningly beautiful waterfall.\u00a0 We drove up to the car park above the falls and breathed in the beautiful clear air, it was still hot, but so much more comfortable.\u00a0 We ate lunch there in a meadow amongst buttercups, clover and forget-me-nots whilst looking up at the hanging valley above us.\u00a0 I think we could have stayed up there all day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Lunch
Lunch time picnic stop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cascata
Cascata del Toce<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the way back down, we pulled over and walked as far as we could towards the base of the beautiful waterfall and then continued driving back down to Pontetto, where we turned east up the Valle Vigezzo.\u00a0 The road was fine as far as the village of Re, but then as we neared the Swiss border, on a hairpin bend, it turned into a twisting, turning, crazy road that was only single lane in many places.\u00a0 When we crossed into Switzerland (no passports needed) it didn\u2019t improve much and to add to the fun of it there were plenty of roadworks.\u00a0 Some sections of the road were literally on a balcony hanging over sheer drops to the valley floor and there were a number of bridges over incredibly high gorges.\u00a0 At certain points we couldn\u2019t see the rivers below us, they were so far down underneath the road and all around us the mountains were covered in thick green forests.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rodney kept saying \u201cyou\u2019ll have a lot to write about today\u201d, but I just can\u2019t think how to describe it all in detail\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking down the Valle Antigorio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We had heard that driving through Locarno can be a bit of a nightmare and it was getting close to rush hour, but to our great relief, the road suddenly whisked us in to yet another tunnel which continued for 5.5 kms, with not many cars down there, and we popped out at the far end of Locarno.\u00a0 It may have been a pretty city, but we\u2019ll never know!\u00a0 We headed south towards Lugano and at 5:45pm and with the temperatures back at 34\u00b0C, we got our first glimpse of Lago di Lugano.\u00a0 Following the signs to the Italian border we hit a bit of a traffic jam; was everyone trying to leave Switzerland today?\u00a0 A traffic jam and 34\u00b0C is not a good mix when you don\u2019t have air conditioning. \u00a0We crossed the bridge back in to Italy at Ponte Tresa (still no passports required) and pulled up at Camping International on the banks of the lake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The village of Premia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

A pleasant surprise awaited us there.\u00a0 Attached to the campsite was a Japanese restaurant and so we left the fish in the fridge and strolled over for dinner, in the air-conditioned restaurant, for a wonderful feast. After dinner we wandered around to Ponte Tresa to find a cash machine and considered crossing the bridge on foot, just to say we had been in and out of Switzerland again today, but decided that one visit was enough for the day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
Looking down Lago di Lugano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning we drove over the bridge back in to Switzerland and up to Lugano.\u00a0 We fancied spending the morning in the city and walking along the lake promenade, but after an extensive drive around, we could not find any parking for Eileen and feeling like we had now seen most of the promenade and a large part of the city, we decided to continue on along Lake Lugano and cross back in to Italy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"San
San Mamete<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The road finally left the lake at Porlezza and crossed over the hill down to Lago di Como.\u00a0 As we came down the hairpin bends towards Menaggio we could see across to Bellagio and the campsite where we had stayed a week ago.\u00a0 I had hoped to see a bit of Menaggio and perhaps get some photos back toward Bellagio, but the view disappeared as we got sucked down another tunnel, followed by a series of tunnels and suddenly we were halfway up that section of Lago di Como.\u00a0 We think Italians don\u2019t like building new roads through their towns and villages, upsetting householders, etc.; they just tunnel underneath it all!<\/p>\n

We checked in to Camping Magic Lake and discovered a little gem.\u00a0 It\u2019s nicely laid out, the shower block and all the amenities are really good, and through the lakeside gate they\u2019ve created a little garden and a small beach.\u00a0 The heat and humidity had continued to climb all day long and at 3pm a massive storm came through the valley behind the campsite.\u00a0 All of a sudden the wind gusted about and everyone started strapping things down and tightening guide ropes.\u00a0 No rain fell, not a drop, but the temperatures did fall, for a brief period, although by 5pm it was hot and sticky again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking towards Gravedona from the campsite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We had considered just one night there, but while sitting outside the bar, we decided to stay longer.\u00a0 The Bacardi was again a triple and by the time I finished it, I couldn\u2019t remember if I was in Switzerland or Italy\u2026\u2026..but I didn\u2019t really care\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking down Lago di Como from the campsite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thankfully, we both managed to sleep fairly well, despite the temperature in Eileen never dropping below 30\u00b0C and we woke up to the sound of big blobs of rain falling all around us.\u00a0 It soon stopped, but then just as we finished breakfast, the storms started to rumble again.\u00a0 Waves of storms then continued all day, on and off, and the valley behind kept disappearing and then reappearing while the temperature and humidity climbed and climbed.\u00a0 After our favourite easy lunch of tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella with salt, oil and balsamic we pulled the bikes off the back of Eileen and set off north along the lakeside to Gravedona.\u00a0 On route we stopped at the wonderful Santa Maria del Tiglio Baptistery and spent a while gazing at the beautiful frescoes in the church and cooled down in the ancient crypt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Santa
Santa Maria del Tiglio Baptistery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Lago
Lago di Como<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We pulled up at a gelateria on the waterfront and sat looking out at the stormy views up and down Lago di Como.\u00a0 After cycling back to the campsite, we continued on south to the village of Dongo, where Mussolini was captured by partisans in 1945.\u00a0 And all the time we kept an eye on the clouds and listened to the thunder rolling around the mountains.\u00a0 Back at the campsite a few drops of rain fell, but it still didn\u2019t amount to anything, thank goodness.\u00a0 And tomorrow we\u2019ll finally leave Northern Italy and head off to the Swiss mountains where it will probably be cold and wet\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Snow
Snow capped mountains north of Lago di Como<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 9:15am we left Feriolo and headed north up the motorway.\u00a0 When we reached Gravellona Toce we found ourselves in a wide valley with impressive steep sides and very soon the valley narrowed and we were seeing snow covered caps on the mountains ahead.\u00a0 Rodney wriggled, settled back and enjoyed the drive up to Domodossola.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8389,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116\/revisions\/8389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}