Passage to Italy

One of the most interesting trips Hind and I did was to drive over the Alps into Italy. We ventured over the Simplon Pass; from Brig in the Rhone Valley via Domodossola to Lago Maggiore. Our plan was to camp next to the lake, however this was in the middle of August, 40 degrees heat during the day with little shade on the site, not to mention the mosquitoes. The following day we decided this was not such a good idea and decided to head back to the mountains. We drove north to the Canerro Riviara and after having lunch came across this beautiful hotel called Hotel Cannero. We checked to see if they had any vacancies and ended up staying for three nights. We had a room overlooking the lake with a ferry boat stop right outside the hotel, so no need for the car. Some of my lasting memories of our stay there was an amazing sunrise over the lake which turned the whole scene a spectacular pink. Also the wonderful breakfasts and extremely pleasant and helpful proprietress. The trip on the lake to the Isola Pescatori for lunch and Isola Bella to see the magnificent Italianate gardens was a glorious day out. We continued our journey back to Switzerland via the Great St.Bernard Pass a spectacular landscape with a glacier at one of the high peaks and some very bleak valleys with steep hairpin bends and birds of prey wheeling in the sky. We did this same trip a couple of years later, minus the camping. Unforgettable!