Lugano, Switzerland

We took many side trips during our time in Italy.  This was one of the girls' favorites.  (must have been the huge playground and fun cable car ride)
Lake Lugano is only a 40 minute bus ride from Menaggio.  Couldn't ask for an easier side trip into Switzerland from Italy.  We just walked down to the bus stop from the house and off we went.  (my mom was with us for this trip)  The ride was nice with beautiful views of the lake.

I had spent some time trying to figure out what to do while we were there and I found this awesome place called Monte Tamaro.  It showed a park for kids, cable car ride, and a killer view.  The trick was figuring out how to get there.
Sure, it was easy catching the bus...but from there we had to take a train and then walk.  We got a little worried at the train station because I couldn't figure out how to buy the tickets.  It took me the better part of 20 minutes and some broken Italian to get the right ones.  We then parked ourselves out by the tracks to await the train.

The train ride was a quick one...10 minutes, but it was a really cool train with one of those self-cleaning bathrooms.  Then, there we were standing outside the train station and trying to figure out where to go next.  Luckily we spotted a small sign across the road with Mont Taramo written on it and an arrow pointing off to the left.

So, off we went.  We literally had no idea where we were going, but thankfully there were signs to direct us.  We found the place with no problem.  A bright red building.  Oh, yeah, and the huge cable car flowing from it.  

The ride would take us 1500 meters (roughly 4,920ft) up the mountain.  We were lucky and it wasn't very crowded...only took about 15 minutes to get the tickets and get into the car.  It was another hot day and the inside of the cable car was quite warm.  But...as we ascended...the weather began to cool and by the time we were at the top...it was bliss. 

There was a huge playground for kids, a nice little restaurant and a guy outside playing music.  We had a light lunch (and some vino) and then went for a walk.  There were horses, ponies and cows just roaming around a small lake.  Not far from there was an old stone bridge that gave you breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains...you could even catch a glimpse of Lake Lugano.  After I got my fill of taking pictures, we hiked up a nearby hill...it was so beautiful and so green!  More pictures and then back down to let the girls hit the playground.  

My mom and I just sat back and watched and just enjoyed the scenery.  Afterwards we took the cable car back down, walked back to the train station and headed back to Lugano.

We didn't spend much time in the town (we were pretty wiped)...but we walked around a bit, got gelato (of course), saw some neat shops and waited for the next bus back to Como.  The lake was really pretty and so very green!  We stopped at a park where we saw the cutest area with books that said "Park and Read".  You could just pluck a book off the cart and plop yourself down on the grass and read.  Great idea!  Saw some men playing a game on a giant chess board as we walked along the edge of the lake. We would have loved to spend more time...of course, I thought I would be heading back here when Matt arrived...but that never panned out. 

It was really a lovely day and glad that I waited for my mom to go so that we could enjoy it together.  Great day trip!  :)