It was very early in the morning when I arose. I am sunburned from the previous day, so I debated getting up to go to the warmest city in Switzerland. The forecast for the day was a high of 31C, which is very hot. Although, I then convinced myself that we were going to my favorite canton in all of Switzerland, the canton of Ticino. I turned my alarm clock off, gathered my clothes and went to the restroom to get ready for the day. I had to make it to the bottom of the hill before 6:54am, and I did not want to miss the bus. I was going to Locarno with Moushira and Jenny, but they would meet me on the bus at the next stop. I left the chalet at 6:30, which gave me enough time to grab breakfast and coffee at the store just next to the bus stop. Thank goodness they were open. I boarded the bus that made its way down to Frutigen. Next stop was Brig and then the small Italian city of Domodossola. The train from Brig to Domodossola was going to Milan, so the seats are reserved, therefore the three of us had to sit/stand in the connecting part of the train since we did not reserve our tickets and we just needed to get to Domodossola. On our itinerary there was no platform from Domodossola to Locarno, so we were curious to see where the train would be. We saw signs to Locarno and made our way through the underground part of the train station. We boarded a relatively small train, at least I have never been on a train of that nature. While we were leaving the train station, an announcement came on by a train employee and apparently we were oh so lucky to board a train with a ‘panoramic view’ aka larger windows. And because of this view we had the privilege to pay an additional two francs. It was an interesting concept to me as most trains already have fairly large windows and I have never been asked to pay, but it was required. We arrived in Domodossola at the platform Locarno FART, which I have no idea what that means. We walked up the stairs and finally were exposed to the city, the sun, and many people. We were walking along to find the tourist center, but first came across the funicular train stop for the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso. The church is situated on a wooden crag about 350m high. It was founded in 1480 after a friar repeatedly saw a vision of the Virgin. The view of Lago Maggiore was very pretty from the church. But due to construction and renovation, the church itself was not open and therefore we only got to see the chapel, the courtyard and some hallways. It was a very beautiful, Italian style church, with a deep yellow color and Spanish tile roofs. Next stop was the tourist center and lunch. We ate at a lovely Italian restaurant right next to the water. I ate a pizza all by myself. It was yummy. I really wanted to go to the botanical gardens, so we boarded the boat to go to the only island on Lago Maggiore, Isole di Brissago. The botanical garden contains Mediterranean and subtropical flora and other various plants and flowers from all around the world. It was not a very large garden, but I enjoyed walking around, taking photos and enjoying the views. I saw plants and flowers that I have never seen before, which really amazes me. Time in the gardens allowed me to take a minute to relax and think about the pure beauty of Switzerland. I really enjoyed my walk through the gardens. I boarded the next boat back to Locarno. The villages and towns along the lake have a very Mediterranean style and are very picturesque. I enjoyed the relaxing boat ride. I also saw many people swimming in the lake and laying out on the so called ‘beach.’ Once we were back on shore, we walked over to the Piazza Grande, which is the main square. There were many shops, department stores, fruit stands and gelato stands. I then walked up the windy cobblestone path to the Castello Visconti. It was a medieval castle designed by Leonardo di Vinci where the dukes of Milan lived. It was very pretty but since it was after 5pm the inside was closed. I then wondered to the old town while Moushira and Jenny did some shopping before our train departed. We all met at the train station. I had just enough time to grab a to-go anti pasta salad for dinner. It was very good since we were in the Italian part of Switzerland. We then began our journey back home and 4 hours and 20 minutes later, I was back at the chalet. It was a very good day. I love Suisse Italy. =)
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