Lugano, Switzerland & Como and Venice, Italy

On Wednesday we woke up and headed to Lugano. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel & started walking toward the lake. We stopped at a restaurant called Spaghetti Shack right next to the water & ordered some local red wine and spaghetti. After lunch we walked around the beautiful town and snapped some pictures by the lake. The sun was out and there were flowers everywhere. We weaved in and out of the side streets, stopped for gelato, and did some shopping. On Thursday we woke up and took a train to Lake Como. It was very similar to Lake Lugano, but obviously had a more Italian feel. We met our guide at the train station & took a boat tour to Bellagio. She showed us the different villas (including George Clooney’s) and explained to us the history of Lake Como. When we arrived in Bellagio, we got off the boat and stopped for some pizza. Definitely the best I’ve had since I’ve been here. After our delicious lunch we walked up the side streets, visited churches & learned more about Italy’s past. We stayed here for a couple of hours before hopping on a boat back to Como. When we got back, the tour guide showed us around. We stopped in some stores to check out the Como silk ties and scarves then walked to the cathedral. It was so beautiful inside! I love visiting churches and cathedrals in different towns because they are all so beautiful but in unique ways. At this point we were very tired from getting up so early and walking around in the sun so we headed back to Lugano and crashed for the night. On Friday we got up & headed to Venice. When we got off the train we walked to the water where we got on in water taxi to take us to the hotel. I can’t imagine living in a place without cars, but if I did, Venice would be the place! It was so different from anywhere else I had been. The taxi dropped us off and we walked around for the rest of the evening. We stopped in leather stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, strolled through St. Mark’s Square, and ate at a small restaurant called Trattoria alla Rivetta. I got grilled shrimp and the best tiramisu of my life. The shrimp came with their full body cut in half. Weird but super good, at least you know it’s fresh! We woke up Saturday & headed toward the market. It was crazy! There were people everywhere buying fruit, fresh fish, spices and more. After walking through we made our way back to the hotel where we met our tour guide. She took us to St. Mark’s Square and showed us around the basilica. We got to see the beautiful frescos and gold details. She explained the different parts of the church & told us the history of it. When we finished in the church, we walked next door to the Doge’s Palace. Inside the palace we saw many frescos, large banquet rooms, and old prisons. This girl knew everything about what went on in this palace and in the lives of those that lived there. After the tour we said goodbye to our guide and stopped for some vegetable soup and a house salad at a restaurant near our hotel. When we finished our meal we went back to our room to change (had to look cute for the gondola pictures) and then walked toward the water for a gondola ride. These look glamorous and fun but we almost went under about 3 times. Probably because Logan and I were scrambling to make sure we both got cute pictures before our 30 minute ride was up, the gondola guy probably hated us. When we got off the gondola we did some more walking and shopping. I got a cute purse & my dad caved and bought some Italian shoes. We stopped for some spicy pasta at another restaurant off the beaten path and went back to the hotel to pack up. It always sucks saying bye, even if I’m going to see them in three weeks. Now that spring break is over it’s time to get all of my projects and finals done