(Photos here) Finally, we were able to spend a few days in the canton Ticino again (during our Big Trip 1 we continuously spoke about our love for the Italian part of Switzerland) and enjoyed every minute of it.
A memorable three days: Easy drive down (Thursday traffic, molto bene), one night in a tent along the Lago Maggiore at one of the many camp sites (where -to our surprise- we met a huge number of Germans who were vacationing in camper vans pulled by very expensive cars), cooling off in the lake, many gelati, a 44km bike-ride from Ascona to Cannobio only to find out that the restaurant we wanted to eat at only opens for dinner, a wonderful second night at a Bed & Breakfast in Frasco in the Valle Verzasca at Signore Regina’s (found by chance), picknick dinner along the river, an easy 5-hour hike up to Lago d’Effra the next morning, a visit to the “Museo Communale d’Arte Moderna” where we discussed Arp, Richter, and Tobey, and a delicious gourmet dinner to top it all off before driving home to Würenlos.
Culinary Delights included: Two lunches at Grotto Baldoria in Ascona (which had been recommended to us), unique and fun dining. After finding a seat in the garden, the waiter stopped by and asked about what we were drinking and whether we wanted salad, and gave us a plate and cutlery each. Then we were given salami and mortadella on a cutting board, along with bread, and were able to spend the next few minutes nibbling from both (all you can eat!), until the waiter picked it up and passed it along to the next table. After a delicious salad, the cook appeared with the meal of the day (in our case consisting of pasta with meat), and gave us each a huge plate full. To top it off we were given about six local cheeses -again on a cutting board-, and then a big platter of something they called “crostata”, a pastry that went well to the espressi and grappa that we finished our meal with. Well worth the price, all in all the meal cost around 60 CHF, which is extremely reasonable for Ascona! Our rating: 4 Stars
We also enjoyed a very good polenta dinner at the Grotto Scalinata in Tenero. We came across this place by chance while strolling around town; wonderful atmosphere, friendly service (who welcomed my pathetic attempts at speaking Italian), and “tre decilitre” of vino rosso (house-wine) were good! Our rating: 3.5 Stars
The Osteria Vino Divino in Cannobio turned out to be a wonderful place for a lovely last supper. In particular the antipasti (a mix of cream cheese in zucchini leaves with couscous, and three balls of tartare rolled in various spices) were exquisite and imaginative (each plate looked like a work of art). Primi and Secondi Piatti were also good: we tried truffle-risotto, a special kind of vegetable lasagne, and a dish with guinea hen and foie gras. Service was friendly and the restaurant garden we ate in simply beautiful, simply decorate but very stylish. A little bit on the ritzy end (coming directly in from hiking, we were quite the underdressed young couple), but excellent value for money.
