Lago Maggiore

We had a wonderful long weekend in Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland. The weather was incredible. Over 80 degrees and sunny! It definitely lived up to the "Swiss Riviera" reputation the travel books proclaim.

On the way, we took a little detour. Andy typed the town of Brione, instead of Via Brione, into the navigation system. You know me, I was more than a little annoyed that we clearly weren't going in the right direction. However, traveling off the beaten path has rewards. We found a quaint little restaurant, complete with view overlooking a waterfall and beautiful village, and had a nice Italian lunch.

After turning around and heading back to Locarno, our destination, we also stopped at a dam. We were surprised to see that it is actually the dam from which James Bond jumps in the movie Goldeneye. The tallest bungee jump in the world. Thankfully, it wasn't open for jumpers that day or I might have had a hard time keeping Andy off the ledge :-)

Our hotel overlooked Lago Maggiore. We enjoyed our breakfasts on the terrace and evenings spent reading books on the balcony and gazing at the stars. We savored every moment!  The hotel also had a playroom.  I'm not sure who enjoyed it more - us or the kids.  They had a big Connect-4 game and Andy enjoyed beating me.  Jonas loved the extra-large Legos and Sara found a baby doll stroller to push around.

 On Saturday, we took a funicular and then cable car up a mountain. Jonas loved these new modes of transportation. Next, we hopped on the boat to Ascona. Another charming town on the lake. Europe is so full of charm and beauty. It really can't be matched. And neither can the gelato - we had our share of it on this vacation :-)

On Sunday, we stopped by Bellinzona. The castle there is just incredible. And, there was a market in the main square, complete with food and music.

I forgot to tell you in my last post that I'm now a VP :-) I'll be serving on the board of the Women's Activity Club that runs Jonas' preschool. I'm looking forward to being more involved and working with a great group of women. Also, I've started taking Sara to a play group there. It's fun to see her interact with the other kids (and moms). She's growing up so fast!

And now some tidbits from Jonas:

During our warm weekend: J: Mom, my hair is hot. M: I know. Do you want to put on your shorts? J: No. My kneeeees aren't hot. My haaaiiir is hot.

While battling yet another stomach bug this week (warning, this is a little gross, but we thought it was funny): J: Mom, why is my butt throwing up?

M: Jonas, you need to get some rest.  Then you'll feel better.  J:  I don't want to rest.  That's wasting my time.