Holy Switzerland, Batman

Wow wow wow. Last weekend, spent on Lake Como and in Switzerland, was a major highlight of my time so far.

The trip was with school, so travel and a couple of meals were taken care of--a huge plus! We met at the buses on Saturday morning at 5:45am. We drove through Tuscany and then through Lombardy, where we stopped at one of the many roadside AutoGrills for a real cappuccino and delicious Nutella croissant, of course. I've never had gas station food like it.

We arrived in Como, our first stop on Lake Como, in the late morning. So, we saw the beautiful views of the lake, perused the market, and dropped in on the cathedral, because what else do you do in Italy?

We saw almost nothing of this beautiful town, but we had other places to be!

We hopped back on the bus to catch the ferry to Bellagio. At one point, our buses and another bus were heading straight for each other on the narrow road, and it took approximately 30 minutes for them to argue. Someone finally backed up. Actually, our bus driver had the "cool head" according to our chaperone, especially considering that our other bus driver truly did get out of his bus and start yelling at the other driver...The argument drew the locals onto their balconies.

We had more time in Bellagio to eat lunch, which we did at a nice trattoria. I got fried perch with rice.

After lunch we walked to the point on the end of the island that has beautiful views of the lake.

We also saw this man who has got retirement figured out.

Again, we had too little time in Bellagio, but this was our last stop on Lake Como. In case you haven't heard, George Clooney has a villa in Lake Como and is adored by Italians. He was actually in Italy that weekend, but he happened to be getting married in the little town called Venice. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to go back.

Looking good for George

We hopped back on the bus and headed towards Switzerland! Heading north, we saw more and more mountains, which we drove up on switchback roads. Thank goodness I don't get carsick.

Excuse the crummy iPhone pic, but we drove up those roads

We stopped for a photo-op at a time that is the dictionary definition of twilight. The way the sun was setting on the lake was stunning.

Before we knew it, we were in St. Moritz, the "top of the world" and one of the ritziest ski resorts in the world. We stayed in a quaint little hotel, had a delicious four course dinner, and then ventured out into the 30 degree night to find that the off season in such a place is actually not very exciting. The next morning we met our guide for the day, Rudy. He's a ski instructor and does things like heliski. He promised to ski with us if (when?) we came back, but I think my inability when it comes to skiing would terrify him enough to retract that offer.

Mushroom pasta that was the first course of our dinner in St. Moritz. Proof that I'm branching out.

We took a walk around the lake on what was one of the clearest days so far. I mean come on.

Then he guided us around St. Moritz, showing us places like hotels that have suites that cost $12,000 a night. Yes. A night.

Some of the gals with Rudy. (Pic stolen from Shelby.)

Of course we had to stop and buy Swiss chocolate. I didn't take an artsy pic of all the truffles. I ate them too fast. Sorry not sorry.

After our tour, we boarded the Bernina Express, which took us through the Alps, past a glacier, and back to Tirano, Italy, where we took the bus home!

Sorry. It's hard to just choose one. The pictures don't even do it justice.

It was especially fun to be in the mountains at the beginning of fall. While it feels somewhat like the seasons are changing here in the city, it was so nice to feel the crisp, cool air of the mountains and to see some color changes in the trees. I loved getting back to the city, but man, I loved this place.