Adventurous Maite: Switzerland: Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland (14-17 September 2012)

14th September (Friday)

First train Genoa - Milan

And the second train, from Milan to Lugano

I met with my friend Daniele around 20:30. He's from Locarno (21km away) but the first night we decided touring Lugano. Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. . It's the 9th largest city of Switzerland by population, the largest city in Ticino, and the largest city with an Italian speaking majority outside of Italy. The city lies on Lake Lugano, surrounded by the mountains of the Lugano Prealps. Its warm summers and the fact that in recent years it has attracted an ever growing number of celebrities, entertainers and successful athletes have given it the nickname of the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland"

Palazzo dei congressi di Lugano: this is the performing arts center for Lugano. It's a main hall for the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana

At night the weather was quite cold and we took just these photos

15th September (Saturday)

Genoa home football shirt

I stayed two nights at the Youth Hostel Lugano (15, 16 September).It was 3 km from the centre of Lugano (in Savosa) and the room was shared with other people (bunk beds with shared bathrooms. The hostel rooms and dormitories were located in three buildings

I had trouble finding my room when I returned.
I took these picture to remember better how to arrive to my room xD

When I arrived I met one a pleasent girl called Isabelle Matz from the canton of Lucerne (German-speaking Switzerland). She asked me about how many days I would stayed there, etc. And she said that she was going to another hotel in Lugano, we exchanged our telephone numbers and we decided to go together to the city!

Saturday morning leaving the hostel

Waiting for the bus

Isabelle and I

The Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano or Lake Lugano Navigation Company (SNL), a Swiss company operating passenger services on Lake Lugano

In the hotel room of my friend, I took a shower and I changed my clothes.

I bought this dress in an open-air market in Lugano

Then we went around the city

Residential area in privileged and natural surroundings

Beautiful houses

Mansions in Lugano

Via Pietro Peri 5

We went to eat to the Ristorante Bar Pizzeria Commercianti in Piazza Dante Alighieri

Nothing better than an authentic Italian pizza in a classical restaurant!

Sitting at lunch, enjoying our pizza!

After eating we continued our route

Free time for shopping! I loved this heavy bear!

I love stuffed animals!

And of course, real animals! In many European countries like Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden... the dogs dogs are allowed everywhere :)

Great environment and an exquisite ice cream

Beautiful fountain at Giardino pubblico

Gandria is both a quarter of the city of Lugano and a village, on the northern shore of Lake Lugano, which forms the core of that quarter. Until 2004, the quarter of Gandria was an independent municipality, joining with Lugano in that year

Promenade along Lake Lugano

Wonderful place between lakes and mountains with an outstanding beauty

The Swiss flag

Pink shuttered building in Piazza Cioccaro (Cioccaro Square)

Boutique Scrupoli in Via Cattedrale 6. Many caffes and boutiques in this street

Hotel Federale. Another pink building

Beautiful panoramic

The tower of Cathedral of S. Lorenzo, the lake, the mountains... Just wonderful

At six in the afternoon I took a train to Locarno

Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore) in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It's the 74th biggest city in Switzerland by population and the 3rd biggest of the canton Ticino, after Lugano and Bellinzona

Locarno railway station

Daniele invited me to dinner in Ristorante Lungolago. His father is the owner of this popular restaurant in Locarno. It's a nice place in front of the lake Maggiore in via Bramantino 1 and Daniele was working there but this day he was free and we had a dinner together. He introduced me his dad and then we looked for a table. We sit down and ordered the food, Italian food, my favourite :-) There was also a TV and I remember Inter was playing... We both love football but Daniele is a big fan of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo, and in Italy he supports Inter... Two teams that I hate!!!! So we were constantly discussing about football, also in Australia when we were together... even in my flag he wrote 'Hala Madrid' to provoke me!

Below some pics before the dinner

The menu and a napkin restaurant

Already with the dishes served.
Pasta, crodino, saltimbocca alla romana (Roman-style), etc.

It looks great!

Dani and his faces

Delicious ice cream for dessert

We finished our supper. It was excellent, good quality and good place to have a great time. This is the unique restaurant in Lugano which closes so late... and they have also music and a boat as a part of the Lungolago (a nightclub)

Inside the restaurant

The ticket to remember what we ate

Leaving the restaurant

We went for a walk, first walking through this small city and then by car to see the city from above. The worst thing was the cold weather!!!

Some pics during our nightly walk/ride. We visited also Ascona which is very near

The Lake Maggiore

Narrow and cobbled street

Ottica Stieffel in Muralto. Muralto is a municipality in the district of Locarno

Midnight. We went by car to a vantage point to see the city

The view was magnificient, allowing us to see the entire city from above though the pictures are too dark and some of them aren't sharp. That's why the beauty may not be appreciated