The weather in the morning made us even more appreciative of the previous day's blue sky, as the Matterhorn was not at all visible through the thick fog and cloud... just as well that we were moving on! It took us all morning, and into the early afternoon, to reach our Airbnb apartment in Stresa, Italy, with its unique rooftop bedroom with views. Once settled, we quickly headed off to catch a boat to the main attractions, the lake's beautiful garden islands. The islands are very close and are serviced by regular ferries and water taxis. Our first, and primary, stop was Isola Bella, famous for Palazzo Borromeo and its accompanying Italianate baroque garden. In 1670, Count Vitaliano Borromeo decided to create a "place of delights". The palace includes six grottoes covered with pebbles, tufa rock, stucco, and marble designed to provide cool relief from the hot summer weather. The palace displays a puppet theatre and several huge tapestries, some of which amused me. The gardens centrepiece is the Teatro Massimo and its ten terraces. We walked the narrow streets of the tiny village of Vicolo del Fornello. The boat made a stop at Isola Superiore de Pescateri, but we opted not to disembark at the touristy island of restaurants, cafes, and shopping. We continued to Isola Madre to visit its 16th century mansion (begun in 1518) and its English garden established in the early 1800s. The mansion houses two puppet theatres from between the 17th and 19th centuries. Many of the puppets were simply creepy. In front of the mansion is the enormous, famous "Cypress of Kashmir". The ferry made another stop on the mainland before taking us to the tourist centre of Stresa. We wandered the crowded streets for awhile before walking past the fancy waterfront hotels, along the lakeshore, and back to our accommodation. Beer, coffee, and chocolates completed another fine day.
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