Saturday
Dear Elsie
Today was the first full day in Arona and we made good use of it. We had two main things to do today. One was to get to TIM which is the cell phone shop to buy a SIM card and the other was to go on the trolley car. This, we were told, does a 40 minute loop of Arona. Seeing as rain was forecast, jumping on what they describe as a ‘tourist train’ sounded like a good idea. You could also hop on and hop off. For 10 Euro we were in.
At 10am, off we went. We didn’t know where it was going to take us. We thought it would drive around the streets of Arona, so imagine our surprise when we ended up at a the local Castle – which is now a ruin with an exceedingly majestic view of Arona and Lake Maggiore. No entry fee. The 10Euro was already worth it. There were beautiful views from every angle…
Mike admiring an ancient arch at the entrance…
This is the house at the castle which is now a restaurant…notice the door to nowhere.
These are the main ruins of Arona Castle. It’s full name is Rocca Borromeo di Arona
There is this famous resident of Arona named St Charles or San Carlo. He was born at this castle.
And because he was such a popular saint, they built a ginormous statue in his honour. Unbeknown to us, this would be the next stop. The trolley car had dropped us at Arona Castle and after an hour, it arrived to collect us…
And off we went to the next stop…
Which was the ginormous statue of St Charles. Look at the people standing on the terrace at his feet. That gives you an idea of his size…
Apparently the statue took 80 years to complete. We didn’t stay long here. We took photos and hopped back on the car because the rain was coming.
With rain steadily falling, we arrived back at the waterfront, got off the car and put up our umbrellas. Then it was off to TIM where an Italian SIM card was finally purchased for 30Euro. It can be used outside of Italy which is helpful – not in SA mind you, but in Europe, including Denmark and Norway.
We came home and hade a restful afternoon. A lovely chinwag with Stacey and then we were up for the next activity. It was very overcast with light rain when we took to the streets.
We needed to walk for our supper, so off we went to what is known as Lagoni Natural Park. It’s a couple of kilometers away and then the walking around is endless. On the way up, we stopped by a church to take a pic…
It was significant because we can just see this steeple from our balcony.
The walk became more picturesque the further we went…
Rural Arona living…
Beautiful wonderland…
We encountered some donkeys and Shetland ponies…. they looked a bit bedraggled in the rain, but were well fed.
A round walk of 6.83km and we were home! Considering the weather forecast for today, we did well. It wasn’t as bad as it looked but I don’t think the donkeys agree!
Tomorrow is another day! Good night!
Psalm 97:1
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.
It’s not about now – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂