A Stornello in Stresa

Well, here we are in Italy, in a beautiful little hotel that somehow manages to be both posh and modest, overlooking Lake Maggiore. We're in a town called Stresa, and that (above) is the view from our balcony.

So is this:

Not too shabby, right?!

We got ourselves launched from home about 10:30 a.m. yesterday, for a 3:25 p.m. flight. We knew it was early but after we'd watered all the plants we were just sitting around, and figured we might as well sit at the airport. We took the Elizabeth Line out to Heathrow and wound up arriving too early to even check our bags, so we camped out at a Pret and had lunch.

Once we finally boarded, our two-hour flight was painless and we landed at Milano Malpensa airport yesterday evening. Somehow I had it in my head that we were staying in Milan, but no! A driver picked us up along with another couple, Linda and Dick from Manchester, and we seemed to be driving and driving and the landscape wasn't getting any more urban, so I said, "How far out is this airport?" And then I looked at my Google Maps and realized we were driving away from Milan. Linda and Dick, who apparently have a much better grip on the itinerary than either of us, clarified we were going straight to Lake Maggiore. OK, then.

We got checked in and set out to find dinner (leaving Linda and Dick behind). By this time, with a one-hour change of our clocks, it was something like 8:30 p.m.

We found a little restaurant called Lo Stornello, and we puzzled over the name. The sign included musical notes, so we figured it must be a musical term but Dave didn't know it. Google AI now informs me that it "refers to a short, often improvised, witty poetic song (usually a 3-line stanza) native to regions like Tuscany and Lazio." Anyway, it was a good restaurant, and I had a chilled cucumber and apple soup (above) as well as a fish called "scorfano," or red scorpionfish. (It sounds better in Italian.) And three glasses of wine plus a complimentary limoncello. Whew! I was ready to sing a stornello of my own by the time we got out of there, but instead...

...we took a quick stroll through town. (Meaning, like, two blocks. Dave was ready for the room.)

We passed this charming little square in the center of town -- a place to revisit today, I think.

Walking back to our hotel along the waterfront, we passed an adjacent hotel, the beautiful Regina Palace, where someone really was singing and couples were dancing on the front portico.

And then we were back in our hotel and ready to crash. Which we did.

And this was sunrise over the lake this morning!