Italy, Day 7b: Lake Maggiore

Day 7b:  Lake Maggiore

**I wrote this when I got to the hotel, hence the tense.**

Our patio.

The room.  Yes, there are 2 beds.

A view of the lake from the patio.

After quite a lengthy drive from our last hotel near Venice, we arrived at Hotel Simplon, which overlooks Lake Maggiore.  The ceiling was made of stained glass, and the dining hall reminded me of a fancy hall from a 1940’s movie:  chandeliers, white tablecloths, and a view of the yard and mountains.  Did I mention that it has been raining all day with few breaks?  It is currently pouring outside the room.  Unfortunately, due to the rain, we were not able to utilize the outdoor patio area.  It’s so lovely, and even has AstroTurf!  A small fence separates the patios from the rest of the yard.  It is located in the mountains, but (if you haven’t been here) it’s not quite what you think.  They aren’t mountains like we know them in California.  The roads were not as steep and windy as I had anticipated.  The air feels like that mountains, similar to Big Bear-- crisp and clean.  The trees are reminiscent of the mountains, but it doesn’t seem to be high altitude.  I actually don’t know enough about the region to say.  Regardless, it is a beautiful place, and I wish we could be here more than two nights.  Dinner is being provided tonight.  More on that after it happens.  My friends and I are about to go to the market.  

We are back from the market.  I bought some chips (a Roasted Chicken and a Ketchup flavored), Fanta (it tastes like Orangina!  Why don’t we have this kind of Fanta?!), and some mints.  If I could have, I would have bought my cat some food, mostly because the packaging-- it the shape of a cat’s head.  I will post a photo of that below.  It’s time to get ready for dinner.  I really hope it’s good.  Every provided meal has been hit-and-miss.  

Such cute packaging!

So dinner was mediocre.  I started out with the vegetable soup, which was very bland.  I don’t remember the other option, but it was better than the soup.  For our main course we had a choice between veal and fish.  I don’t eat either, but I tried the fish since it was supposed to not be fishy.  It wasn’t, but there were so many bones.  I think that deboning a fish fillet should be mandatory worldwide.  Anyway, after spending about 10 minutes picking out the bones I was able to eat it.  The fish was served with green beans and potatoes.  Dessert was canned fruit cocktail with some fresh fruit thrown in, and topped with ice cream.  I shouldn’t complain about the food because there are plenty of starving people in the world.  My gripe is, when you are paying for quality (it’s not free, but included in the price you pay for the tour, making it sound “free”), you should get quality.  And while that definition isn’t “black and white”, the food should have been seasoned at least.   

Table setting.

So many bones!

Soup.

The ice cream was nice.