the arrival

People had such troubles with flights and airports this year! But we are so very lucky. One flight (to Detroit) comes in early. The next (to Paris)? On time. The connection? Straightforward. No lines for passport control, no lines for security check.The arrival (in Milan) -- no problem.

(Landing in Milan is always stunning on a clear day. You start your descent into the Alps...)

We are in Italy, though not really in Milan. From the airport we take a ride over to Pettenasco, a village at the shores of Lake Orta.

(At the foot of these mountains, as seen from the car...)

Let's pause a little on this: why travel great distances to settle in for a whole week on the shores of Lake Orta?

I love Italy's northern lakes: they have a magical combination of shimmering waters, and cascading hills, and distant mountains. The climate tends to be mild. The views -- exhilarating. I've stayed on the shores of the three big ones (Maggiore, Como and Garda), but Lake Orta is new to me. It's smaller, less well known, and yet still very close to Milan, so travel here isn't difficult. This is especially important at times of Covid. 

Fact is, I really wanted Snowdrop to experience that moment of waking up to a mountain view. Who are we kidding -- I wanted to wake up to an Italian mountain view. The one tiny issue I somehow forgot about is the weather -- you cannot be guaranteed a perfect moment in the mountains if you only come for a handful of days. My stays by Lake Garda have had rain. They've had unexpected snows. They had gray skies and drizzle day after day. Why did I not worry about this with a trip to Orta?

You could say that I just don't worry about such things. We'll deal with weather when we get to wherever we are going! (And, judging by the forecast, we will have stuff to deal with here!)

So, here we are in Pettenasco -- not a place you'd exactly think of when planning a distant getaway. But just a few minutes up the road from us is Orta San Giulio, and that place you might well think is worth a special trip.

We'll get to Orta San Giulio tomorrow (the one and only good weather day of the week, according to the weather people). Today, we arrive in our home for these handful of days ("Laqua by the Lake") tired and hungry. But so happy to be here! 

View:

A few words about our small hotel. It's rather new -- it's the simpler place where Antonino Cannavacciuolo cooks (he has a fancy restaurant in Orta San Giulio). Maybe you never heard of him. I never heard of him! But, ask any Italian and they'll nod their head -- he's their TV chef. Every country has one (and some countries have more than one!), no? The person who judges cooking competitions, dishing out praise and criticism without reservation. And well he might. He has earned his rosettes. Written his cookbooks. Prepared countless fabulous dishes.

(I will admit to one other piece of ignorance: when I booked the room here, I had no idea that it came with a kitchen of note. I really booked it for the view and the lake access. Snowdrop is not exactly appreciative of complicated dishes. Sauces, to her, are something she'd rather remove from her plate. We will eat here, at the Bistrot maybe once or twice, but I am sure she will be happier when I take her to the local pizzeria.)

What do we have energy for on this first day here? 

Well, she saw the pool. She was in her swimsuit before I even began unpacking.

And it was a great way for her to let loose after all these hours of travel. The depth was just a touch above her chin which forced her to practice swimming. 

Great strides were made today despite the tiredness...

(an infinity pool suspended over Lake Orta)

In fact, it was hard to get her out of there! But I did. In time for a shower and dinner, at a pizza place picked by our hotel staff -- Vecchio Forno dallo Zio Aldo. A five minute walk up the road.

And as nearly always in Italy, the pizza is great. What can I say -- Italians know how to fire up a pie.

(She sketched a whole book in between the ordering and the eating.)

We walk back to our place by the lake just after sunset. I'll let the lake and the mountains speak for themselves.

With love...