It was another very busy day – our group checked out of the Hotel Splendide in Lugano at 7:15am so we could be driven to Tremezzo, Italy for a private boat tour of Lake Como so we could see the glorious villas, and then we had an hour to explore Bellagio before returning to the coach for the two-hour drive to Milan, allowing us to check into the Grand Rosa Hotel in Milan and gobble down a very quick lunch before taking a Milan City Tour beginning at the Duomo (a five-minute walk from the hotel) and continuing with a visit to Castelo Sforezesco, a look at Santa Maria delle Grazie church, and ending with a fifteen-minute visit to The Last Supper (which hangs, as it has for centuries, in the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery, now the Cenacolo Vinciano museum. And then we had our tour orientation lecture and joined our new friends Derek and Sue for a delicious osso buco risotto dinner at Valentino Legend Restaurant (including “The Apple of Sin” for dessert). whew!

Herewith a few photos from the day.

Lake Como

Bellagio

The Duomo

Castelo Sforzseco

Santa Maria delle Grazie church

The Last Supper

The Apple of Sin (yummy!)

Tomorrow, we have Nothing Scheduled (though we have hopes of doing a La Scala tour). It will be lovely.

May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!

Lake Lugano was beautiful this morning from our room!

We spent most of the day touring the Verzasca Valley and the city of Ascona, both in Upper Ticino. The captions on the photos will have to speak for themselves.

After the tour, we had a little time for a funicular trip to the top of Monte San Salvatore to enjoy the view and visit the church at the top of the mountain.

And now we’re back at the hotel, preparing for a very early departure tomorrow. Ciao!