Relaxing in Lake Como

The train ride from Zurich to Como was a beautiful one and we sat staring out the window for much of it. From the train station, we waited awhile for our bus to Tremezzo. It seemed to be the easiest way to get there because to go by train, we had to reach the other train station, which was across town. After about an hour wait, followed by an hour ride right along the coast, we found our way to the lovely Hotel Villa Marie. To give you an idea of just how lovely it was, this was the view from the window and from across the street:

On our first day, we wandered around Tremezzo, enjoying the combination of wine and spectacular views of the lake and a visit to Villa Carlotta.

We also had what turned out to be our favorite meal of the trip in Tremezzo. We'd found this little restaurant called Pizzeria Balognett through TripAdvisor. Reviews warned that you would need to ask for directions because it was a bit of a walk from the main town. We asked for directions, a few times, but finally made our way there. It was definitely worth it. The pizzas were perfectly thin and absolutely amazing. The small restaurant only has about 10 tables, but it offers a view of the lake and is run by a very nice couple. After dinner, we even enjoyed some limoncello with the owner.

On our second day, we set off for our day-long adventure around the lake and planned to visit the towns of Lenno, Varenna and Bellagio. We started the day by heading off on a 2.4km walk from Tremezzo to Lenno. This was just part of the much longer Lake Como Greenway walk. We didn't have the time nor the energy for the longer walk. We were saving our energy for hiking in Cinque Terre, but we thought the shorter version would give us a great opportunity to wander through some of the smaller towns and capture amazing views of the countryside.

We ended in the town of Lenno on their market day, so we walked around and then searched for Vanini Osvaldo, a highly recommended local olive oil company. You can find this oil in almost every shop in Lake Como, but we were told to buy it here at a much lower price. Once again, we had to stop and ask for directions several times, but we eventually found the small shop, which was guarded by three large, but quite friendly shepherd/wolf dogs. Don't let the dogs scare you off. It's worth a visit.

Next, we made our way to the ferry and headed off to Varenna for lunch, wine and wandering.

After Varenna, we hopped back on the ferry and stopped at the next town - the very famous Bellagio. We stayed here for several hours, doing a little shopping, eating lots of gelato and just wandering the streets and alleyways. With an eye on the time, we managed to have an early and quick dinner at La Grotta before catching the last ferry back to Tremezzo. The pizza was good, but not as good as the night before, and we admit that the fact we were in a hurry probably affected our level of satisfaction.

Back in Tremezzo, we wandered around the town a bit and found a lovely wine bar and shop called Cantina La Follie that is located in the cellar of what used to be the main hotel in town. We wrapped up fairly early, as we had to get ready for another day of travel with a train from Como to Monterosso via Milan.

For anyone planning their own trip to Lake Como, here's a great article that highlights some of the best things the area has to offer: Lazy lakeside frolicking: an insider's guide to Lake Como.

Swiss Holiday

On July 2nd, Ani and I headed out from Delhi and DC, respectively, and met up at the CDG airport in Paris. This airport remains one of my least favorite in the whole world. On several occasions I've found it challenging to meet up with people (pre international roaming) here due to the size of the airport and the fact that you have to take buses from terminal to terminal. I had the same worries for this trip since Ani still does not have international roaming. To my surprise everything worked out as planned and we met up at the terminal for inter-Europe flights as scheduled. At the same time, I was glad that I'd allowed for a nearly five hour layover instead of a two hour one because we would have never made the first flight.

In any case, from CDG, we flew to Zurich for the first leg of our two week adventure. I quickly realized that while we've traveled a lot, it has been mostly long weekend trip or extended visits to the US with lots of mini-trips and this would be our first two week vacation!

We arrived in Zurich early in the morning, made the easy transfer to our hotel by train, and then ventured out to explore the city. One of our first stops was Sprungli, a very famous confectionery and home of the famous Luxembourgli.

As we continued down Bahnhofstrasse, we literally stumbled upon Zuri Fascht, a major street festival with rides, games, food and tons of people. So, we wandered the streets, alternating visits to Fraumuenster and Grossmuenster churches with stops for snacks at the various food stalls.

On our second day, we woke up early and caught a train to Arth-Goldau, the beginning of our journey to and up Mt. Rigi, one of the mountains near Lucerne. From Arth-Goldau, we took a train up to the top of the mountain where we enjoyed spectacular views in all directions.

We took the train down part of the way, but hopped off at Kaltbad, where we took a cable car the rest of the way. The ride was great and the views were even better. The cable car ended in the small town of Weggis. We enjoyed a lunch and drinks at a cute restaurant right on the lake. Weggis was a super cute town and we put it on our list, in case we should ever return to Switzerland.

From there we took a ferry to Lucerne, the last stop on our day-long adventure.

After a few hours (and a few drinks), we headed to the train station for our one-hour ride back to Zurich. Since Zuri Fascht was all weekend, we decided to return to central Zurich for a little more adventure. The festival offered a wide-variety of food options, making it an easy and smart place to have dinner. We also stopped into the famous Kronenhalle Bar for a drink, but it was unusually empty, probably because of the festival just outside their entrance.

Soon it was back to the hotel for us for a little packing and rest before we headed to the train station (again) for our trip into Italy!

The Blue Mountains

During Ani's second weekend in Sydney, we headed to the nearby Blue Mountains for a day trip. We started off with a visit to Featherdale Wildlife Center for the sole purpose of seeing kangaroos and koalas. All in all, it was touristy, but gave us a chance to see both animals during our short time in Australia.

The kangaroos we saw were small, but they were roaming free, so you could go right up to them and pet and feed them. This one below was more aggressive than Ani bargained for. He began to chew on Ani's jacket sleeve, which was cute at first, but then he wouldn't let go. Finally, Ani was able to get away from him and I quickly learned to stay away from these little guys.

The koalas were super cute and cuddly. Being protected animals, people are allowed to pet them, but it's illegal to hold them. And We learned that the eucalyptus leaves that they eat are a mild narcotic, causing them to sleep for 17-18 hours a day. What a life.



Next, we made our way to the Blue Mountains, where our first stop was at the Three Sisters rock formation. This sight provided amazing views across the valley, as well as a great photo op.

Finally, we headed to a park where we rode what is claimed to be the steepest railroad in the world down into the forest, and then a cable car back up. Finally, we enjoyed lunch (photo below) in a revolving restaurant. Yes, it was touristy, but it's really the only option and the view was amazing.

We then headed back to Sydney for a little rest, followed by dinner with friends.

The Wet Tropics of Queensland

On our second day in Cairns, we headed inland to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the wet tropics. Instead of opting for a touring through the rainforest, we took one OVER the rainforest on the Skyrail.

This 7.5 km stretch of cable cars takes you over the tree tops, passing Barron Falls, and stopping at two stations in the forest along the way. The final stop is the small village of Kuranda, where we wandered around and explored the sites (and shops) for a few hours. It had a great small town feel with lots of local artisans and small food shops (we enjoyed German sausages and French crepes). And we found a lovely hand-etched wood platter that will grace our future home one day.

Ani and I on the Skyrail

Barron Falls

Town of Kuranda

At about 4pm, the entire village became silent as all of the daytrippers (including us), may their way back down by cable car or by train. We opted for the latter on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which was constructed to transport goods inland and provide passengers access to the North Queensland coast.

Ani at the train station in Kuranda

Views of the valley and the ocean from the train

And finally, a fabulous shot of the bay from our hotel room at the Shangri-La...makes you want to be on vacation every day, doesn't it?

Next Stop: Melbourne

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

Ani arrived in Sydney on a Thursday night and the following day, we promptly headed off to explore another part of the country. We decided that even a brief trip to Australia would not be complete without a visit to the Great Barrier Reef, so we decided to fly into Cairns (which is really pronounced Cans and is incredibly hard for me to say). We stayed in the well-placed Shangri-La, right on the marina.

On the first night, we enjoyed a tasty dinner of mussels at a nearby hotel, but decided to retire early and rest up for our early morning snorkeling adventure.

Around 8am we headed off to the marina and joined our group with Silverswift. Everyone that we encountered talked about what a great day it was for the boat ride and snorkeling and I began to think that this was their canned speech for everyone. But on the boat, someone confirmed that it was in fact a great day. There were low winds and high visibility, which was certain to make for a smooth ride (about half of the people on the boat usually get seasick) and a wonderful snorkeling experience.

Silverswift allows you to either snorkel or dive, and they also offer an introductory dive option. We settled for a day of snorkeling and figured we would save the diving for a future trip when we have more time to get certified and enjoy our newfound skills.

We have some pretty amazing photos of our underwater adventures, thanks to the onboard underwater photographer who dives along with the group (and of course, sells her photso at the end). But since we opted not to rent an underwater camera, it proved a wise investment to help us remember the day.

We returned to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. In the evening, we decided to check out a small Greek restaurant, called Fetta's Greek Restaurant, that Ani had spotted when we were arriving the night before. It looked like small, cute place with 4 tables outside and about the same number inside. But upon venturing inside, we discovered that it was much larger than expected and it was packed with fellow tourists.

The food was wonderful. We had a king crab special and a lamb kebab, and the atmosphere was even better. Towards the end of our meal, we were entertained by a dancer accompanied by the sound of breaking dishes throughout the restaurant. The night proved to be an unexpected highlight of our trip.

There's more to come on our Australian adventure...including a visit to the nearby rainforests.