DAY 13

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Good bye, Cinque Terre. It's the last full day of our tour. Once on our bus it was a 4 hour ride to Lake Orta. Rain accompainied us most of the way and welcomed us at the lake. Our hotel for one night had gorgeous views of the lake and we had two balcony's to see the village rooftops.

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We didn't wait long to venture out and explore the cute town center. Orta San Giulio is an easily walkable town with cute shops and homes. Isola San Giulio is the island in the middle of the lake and is home to a Benedictine monastery. Cristina had planned to have a boat take us there so we could walk around, but the rain was intense by the time we left the dock. It was a unanimous decision to stay onboard and just tour the lake's perimeter.

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Back on land, we weren't going to let a little rain dampen our spirits! The super efficient and always prepared Cristina organized an impromptu aperitif under the arches of the Palazzo del Comunita, the Community Plaza. We spent an hour chatting with our fellow travelers, enjoying some sparkling wine and reminiscing about the past 13 amazing days together. The fun continued as we gathered for our last dinner and enjoyed a fabulous meal. Sorry....I was too busy chatting and forgot to take pictures of the food.

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The rain stopped and we had a beautiful evening walking  back to the hotel. Once there, we had fun watching guests at a wedding reception dancing to American tunes. Back in our room we opened both balcony doors and let the slight breeze fill the room while we packed, listened to the wedding joy and gazed at the lights of the village. (see the picture at the bottom of the page)

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DAY 14 of the tour, but DAY 19 of our travels

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Do you recall me mentioning an Italian train strike? Well, it affected many of our group. Some had to leave from the Cinque Terre to make sure they could get their connections home. Sue and I still had another week of our European adventure. We were to take four trains today with the final destination of Colmar, France. Two of those trains were Italian. Our lovely Cristina was able to arrange a taxi to take us to Brig, Switzerland and the train to France. Rick Steves guides take great care of their travelers.

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It was an early morning with a light breakfast and sharing of final hugs. Then our taxi arrived. We were pampered with a spacious car and the driver was top notch. But, there was no time to waste and we were soon on the road. 

 

Our tour may be over but one thing to always remember....It's never goodbye, it's see you later!​​​​