Lugano
November 15, 2019
A new day and a new found spring in my step, knowing that I have my suitcase full of clothing options. (I notice that my sniffles have become more of a full-on cold. Bummer.)
Into the shower I go while David heads over to the hotel front desk to inquire about his luggage. He soon returns with a concerned expression on his face…nothing yet.
As I get ready for the day, I can hear David in the other room, trying to contact customer support, but each time he gets through and recites the claim number, the call gets dropped. After several tries, his phone rings with the courier on the other end of the line. After some back and forth, it is determined that the courier will send out a special delivery to arrive at 11:00am.
Since we have a little time to burn, we decide to walk around old town, one last time. We stop at a bakery and purchase; 1 Apfelberliner, 1 Konfi-Berliner and 1 Apfelstrudeli to enjoy on the train to Lugano, ($6.70 CHF). After some window shopping, we stop back at the hotel front desk. The luggage has arrived, and on time, of course.
Now we are ready to move on to our next destination—Lugano. We collect our things from the apartment, say “goodbye” to Lucern and walk to the train station by way of the old wooden bridge. David looks for an ATM but isn’t successful in getting the machines to work. Oh well, we have done fine up until now with only credit cards.
On to the station.
The train to Lugano is full, but the ride is pleasant. We arrive at the Lugano train station, collect our coats and luggage and walk a short distance to hop on a thing called a ‘funicular‘. This interesting form of transportation takes us down to the town of Lugano, as opposed to walking down about 300 steps to get there.
Our hotel is right at the bottom of the steps, HOTEL LUGANO DANTE, ($218.30 CHF). That was easy! As we walk into the hotel we are greeted with a soprano voice, singing out a peppy “Buongiorno”! from somewhere behind the reception desk. A gentlemen at the desk greets us with a smile, checks us in and hands David our room key. The key is attached to a substantial three inch round brass object with the room number framed in a stamped filigree and weighing about as much as a can of soup.
We are directed to a tiny elevator which whisks us up to the fourth floor. As we open the door into our room, a cute little rubber ducky sitting in the sink, comes into view. It is accompanied with a card that says, “Portami a CASA con te!” (Take me home!) “Una giornata senza SORRISO è una giornata PERSA (A day without LAUGHTER is a WASTED one). I know I am going to like this place!
The hotel room is small, but beautiful, with all sorts of nice amenities. The walls are paneled with a sensuous gold satin damask, we have a great view from our window and the mini-bar is stocked with all sorts of good things. (David had several choices to make when he booked our room; what sort of bedding we preferred; wool or down filled, several different types and shapes of pillows, sodas and fruit juices for the free mini-bar, and they even had choices in toilet paper–white, different colors or sudoku puzzles printed on each square!)
Our daylight is quickly waning so we don our rain gear and head out to explore the town of Lugano.
Our first stop is a spectacular charcuterie shop, brimming with a huge array of cheeses, cured meats and other beautiful foods to tease the senses. I am mesmerized to see so many prosciutto di Parma, all hanging from the ceiling as we enter the shop!
NOTE: The train station is on a hill above downtown Lugano and the easiest way to get to the town below is by funicular. It departs every 5 minutes, daily 5:00-midnight, ($1.30 CHF), and free with the Swiss Travel Pass. The funicular takes you right to the heart of the old town, at Piazza Cioccaro. (You can also walk, which can be a little strenuous with luggage, or take bus #2 or #4 down the hill).
It is cold and quiet here. We walk down to the water and then decide to make our way back to the hotel as it is getting dark. On the way, we meander passed some interesting shops; I stop into a Prada boutique for a few minutes, and then we pause at several cafe windows to read the menus.
Entering the hotel, the second time, we recognize the now familiar melodic voice, “buona sera!”. This time, we see a lady behind the reception desk. We ask her for a restaurant recommendation and she suggests a place called OSTERIA TRANI.
Back in our room, David looks up the recommended restaurant on TripAdvisor. We decide to have a glass of wine so he calls down to the front desk to ask for a couple of wine glasses. To our surprise and delight, there is a knock at our door within the minute, (or maybe even less)! THAT IS SERVICE.
After reading up on the restaurant, David concludes that it looks like a good choice, so I go back to the front desk to have them make our reservations; dinner at 7:00. (I LOVE listening to her speak Italian and then, without so much as a pause or a change of gate, she bounces back to English!) I am amazed and envious.
Out the door and up the steep hill, in search of our restaurant. We consider that perhaps we have overshot a bit. (We have climbed quite a ways up and it looks like we are running out of road). We shift direction, go back down the steps, to the left… and there it is!
We have our choice of any table in the room. First we choose the table by the window, but then decide it’s too close to the kitchen so we move toward the center.
As we settle in, drinking in the wonderful atmosphere, David browses the massive wine list while I enjoy picturing all of the wonderful things on the menu. Our waiter helps us select a lovely bottle of Chianti, I order ravioli and David orders lasagna, both spectacular beyond imagination, ($117.50 CHF). The service is great until we are abandoned for the remainder of the evening when the next group of guests arrive. The restaurant staff seems to know them well so we deduce that they must be local regulars.
After one of the best meals I think I have ever had, we decide to take a scenic walk back to our hotel, winding our way through the streets for one last look at the town.
Back in our room, we sip on the remainder of our wine before laying our heads down on our special pillows for a well earned slumber….
…..WOW! do we sleep well……too well……!
Until next time,
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