Day 17

Our last day. Breakfast at the La Palma was nice. We had a table by the open doors and it is going to be a hot but beautiful day. We fueled up for our big day at the market in Intra, just past the town of Verbania. We heard it was big, but we didn't know what we were getting into. We decided to drive because that was only 20 minutes and the boat ride was going to be 45, plus the times the boat left were not that good for us. It was a beautiful day to drive around the lake and we were glad we had the car option. We packed up the room and loaded the car with our bags. We left our "gift bag" at the hotel, because it has chocolate in it and we didn't want it to melt while we were at the market, so they held it for us behind the desk. We'll be heading back to Stresa for lunch anyway, so this worked out nicely. We hopped in the car and took the 20 minute drive to Intra. When we arrived at the market, we couldn't find a place to park. It was insane! So we followed parking signs to a multi-leveled parking lot that went underground. We had to walk a few blocks to the market, but no big deal. EVERYONE was going to the market and we just followed the crowd in. When we arrived, the amount of vendors was overwhelming. Guy would tell me a meeting spot and then give me about 30 minutes to cover that area. While I was shopping, he was scouting the next spot for me to shop. There were shoes, belts, leather coats (too expensive), clothes, linens, cheeses, breads, fresh fish, pastries, rotisserie chicken, local foods, etc. Lots of places selling the same things when it came to the shoes, clothes, and linens, but the food vendors were pretty unique. I bought a two blouses and they bartered with me a little, but not too much. So after about two hours we were sweating from the hot day and were visually exhausted. :) What a huge market. I read later on the Internet that it is such a huge market that people from Locarno, Switzerland come down to shop. :) I took several photos to document the day.

We went back to the La Palma and put our remaining bag in the car and headed to the town for lunch. We wanted to eat outside one last time and circled around the square looking at the menus to decide. I wanted to have gnocchi again, so we chose the La Piazzetta. The server was a very nice young man. We ordered bruschetta with mozzarella and tomatoes. I ordered 4 cheese gnocchi and Guy ordered the pumpkin ravioli. Guy's ravioli had some weird bark looking stuff on the top. He got a piece in his mouth and after chomping down on it, it was part of a cinnamon stick. He wasn't super hungry today, so I pretty much cleaned up both of the plates. I can't really say who won...because the cheese sauce on the gnocchi was rich and delicious, but the pumpkin ravioli were very different and sweet. I liked them both equally. After lunch, Guy treated me to my last gelato and I got chocolate, coconut, and caramel. He ordered fragola (strawberry). We walked along the lake to watch the boats taking the people to Isola Bella and stopped in the shade to finish our dessert. I'm happy to report that Stresa has lifted its ban on young people as today when we walked around the town we FINALLY saw nearly as many younger people as old people. After we decided that at some point we were going to have to drive away from Stresa, we headed for the car. I forgot to go back up to the top of the hotel and do a panoramic photo from the top. I did one last night, but wanted to during the day. :( I'll catch it next time.

Bidding farewell to beautiful Stresa, we headed for Arona just to check it out as we drove by. There are TONS of motorcycles on the road today and they make their own lanes...usually just down the middle of the road between the cars. When we found a place to park, it was filled with motorcyclists who were taking a break in the shade and had their leathers pealed down to their knees. We tried to find a place in some shade (to protect the chocolate) but figured we wouldn't be that long. We found the main shopping street and it was really cute, but the shops were all fancy shops. Nothing we really had much interest in, so when we headed back toward the car, we walked along the tree-lined waterfront. Not as beautiful on the far south end of Lake Maggiore as the big mountains are no longer in view, but there was a huge castle across the way that looks like an interesting place to visit next time. From Arona, we let Ms. Garmin direct us to the Sheraton at the airport. The hotel is relatively new, so the Garmin didn't have directions to it exactly, but Guy thought it was connected to the airport. Connected indeed. It is at terminal 1, which is where we'll take off from in the morning. So Guy checked us in and we took our bags up. We came right back down to turn the car in as we left it out front. One quick roundabout to take us back to the other end of terminal 1 and that is where we turned the car in. This worked out PERFECTLY! After turning in the car we had about a 5 minute walk back to the hotel and on the way we scouted out where our gate will be in the morning so we'll know right where to go. Easy-Easy walk from the Sheraton to the gate. Perfecto! So we headed back to the room and Guy was craving a cheeseburger. The cost of a cheeseburger at the Sheraton is $20 and add $4 more dollars for cheese. Nah...we are going to walk around in the airport and grab a bite for supper. We'll have a cheeseburger in New York.

Back from our lovely dinner at the airport I thought I'd give you a visual:

I'm sure you recognize this global delicacy that Guy just enjoyed. I, however, am waiting for the USA before I eat a cheeseburger.:) I guess this means we have began to focus on home.

What can I say...this has been a glorious trip and there are not enough words to describe it properly. Guy and I know how blessed we are to have the opportunity to travel as much as we do. We are thankful to God for our safe and healthy journey. We'll be back to Italy soon I'm sure, but it is hard leaving such a beautiful place. It is about 9pm and we'll set a 6am alarm to start the process to get home. If we don't sleep well, we'll have plenty of time on the plane tomorrow. Should be in New York around 1:30pm on Sunday. And speaking of Sunday, Happy Father's Day to the two best Dads on this planet. Here is an online hug coming your way and we'll give you one in person shortly. Goodnight, peace, and love to you all.