In search of warmer weather, I decided to head South of the Alps today to Lugano in the Italian part of Switzerland. The first part of the journey was on familiar territory to Goschenen and then on to Bellinzona. I ended up here late on a Sunday, early in my stay in Switzerland, and I seem to remember I was rushing back to get to church in the evening, and that I failed!
Lugano is a bit further on – a beautiful city on the shores of a lake. Less than 50km from Milano in Italy.
The weather was certainly a lot different from what I found on my last journey in July! As we climbed towards Goschenen at 1100m to cross the Alps via the Gothard tunnel, the snow was already falling gently and there was evidence of quite deep drifts in places. Popped out the other side of the tunnel at Airolo and the snow had stopped, but there was still a lot on the ground. The sun was shining brilliantly though – I was glad I had taken my sunglasses!
As we descended from Airolo the snow gradually disappeared and in one place I even saw an orange tree growing!
When we arrived in Lugano, it was definitely warmer than Zurich, but still not hot. I was glad that I had a couple of shirts and a decent coat. I did enjoy the sunshine though!
I had lunch in the restaurant of the Manor store and mooched around the town for a couple of hours, before heading back. It sounds quite decadent to say that I went to Lugano for my lunch today!!