Italy & Switzerland

We left Varenna by train, and there was a scheduled diversion by bus around a track repair. While we knew in advance about the diversion, we were surprised that there were no signs or other directions when we debarked the train. After a bit of a scramble, we found the bus (go outside the station, down steps, through a tunnel to the other side of the tracks - while carrying our bags and hurrying so we didn't miss the bus). The bus dropped us off in Tirano, near the border with Italy, where we had another lovely lunch and wandered the train station area.

Then we boarded our train to Switzerland, got settled, and - PANIC - I noticed my phone was missing. Charlie, my hero, dashed back to the restaurant and found it (THANK HEAVENS!). The train started minutes after he returned! Whew!

The scenic train had huge windows, and great views of old Swiss towns and massive mountains. Green meadows, lakes, streams and mountains beckoned from our windows. I had not known there was a glacier here, but yep, we skirted around and beneath it. Not many pics, though, due to the reflection in the windows and the sun.

Arrival in Pontresina was fantastic! The hotel picked us up and tended to our every need. (This is in contrast to our Varenna apartment, which was wonderful, except for a few weird things. When we ran out of toilet paper, they told us we needed to go to the grocery store to buy more. We had been allotted 2 skinny, one-ply rolls for 4 days and 3 nights. (They didn't provide kleenex or paper towels with a full kitchen, so we kinda used up the TP on other things).

Pictures below are from our Italian lunch, the train views, and from our initial exploration of our neighborhood.Читать далее