A Little Life in the Alps

Happy Canada Day from Italy!

After breakfast this morning, we decided to walk into town and check it out. There was an interesting old stone road that looked like it led down to the lake, so we ventured down and ended up on the lakeshore. Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands really are a sight to see, and there are regular boat rides connecting the lakeside towns, villages, and islands.

Boat rides weren’t on the menu this morning, though—we were trying to make it into town and back before the hottest part of the day. The morning was already heating up, and we didn’t want to stray too far from the pool. After a pleasant 15–20 minute walk along the lakeshore, we popped out onto the main street beside the town centre.

Stresa is a beautiful town, with a patchwork of interesting buildings, grand Belle Époque hotels and villas, and a neat variety of boutique shops, restaurants, and artisan markets. While it definitely caters to tourists, we found some very cool shops with handmade Italian knickknacks. Cedar chose a special souvenir: a Pinocchio marionette puppet.

I was on the lookout for an Italian fedora to add to my collection, but the price range for a good hat was sadly out of my budget. Sheila had a different idea. Keeping with tradition, she was looking for a good barber shop to get her customary undercut travel shave—as she’s done in Albania and other places. She found a small shop run by Giuseppe Carbonaro, Barber extraordinaire! She now has a fresh new do, and a new friend in Stresa.

After some window shopping—or as the French say, leche-vitrine (“window licking”?!)—we headed back to the hotel. Manuella, Esther, and Nina were already at the pool, and we spent the rest of the day celebrating Canada Day the way Canadians do best: drinking beers and making new friends.

We learned that Manuella and Esther are lifelong friends and travel buddies who’ve explored the world together. We had lots in common—and lots of time to chat—while Nina and Cedar bonded instantly. They spent the afternoon terrorizing the pool with cannonballs and taking full advantage of their newfound ability to order ice cream treats on credit at the pool bar.

We made plans for dinner that evening at a little trattoria up the road from the hotel. Luckily, it was within walking distance—because a summer storm was, as Cedar would say, “coming in hot.” We raced the rain clouds up the hill, Cedar and Nina holding hands (he’s still a little nervous about storms), and made it just in time before the skies opened up.

The restaurant was open-air but well covered, and sitting together under shelter, enjoying a big family-style meal, was a beautiful way to celebrate Canada Day with our new friends. Highlights included Esther’s magic tricks, Cedar devouring a plate of Italian seafood, and watching the kids run around in the rain between bites.

The next day, Manuella, Esther, and Nina had to check out, but with a few hours before Esther’s flight back to Spain, we decided to squeeze in one last outing together. After breakfast, we took a boat ride to Isola dei Pescatori—Fisherman’s Island—where Manuella had heard about a great restaurant for lunch.

The island is tiny, but it’s the only Borromean Island permanently inhabited, with a population of just 60 people. It’s only about 350 metres long and 150 wide, so it didn’t take long to explore. We snapped photos of the Church of San Vittore, the narrow cobblestone streets, and the charming fishing villas with the oversized balconies (for drying fish) built right up to the lake’s edge.

Lunch was fantastic—as usual. I’m kicking myself for not venturing from my usual wood-fired pizza to try something from the local cuisine. Thankfully, Sheila had the fish, so at least one of us can say we supported the local fishermen still plying these waters.

After lunch, it was time to catch the boat back and say goodbye to Manuella, Esther, and Nina. As we’ve done with all the new friends we’ve made, we exchanged WhatsApp contacts and promises to stay in touch. I really hope we do. One of the most beautiful parts of traveling is meeting new people, sharing experiences, and opening up the possibility of future adventures. Cedar now has a friend in Zurich—and we’ll encourage him to keep nurturing these worldwide friendships, just like his mother has. Who knows? Maybe one day he’ll return.

Even though we were sad to say goodbye, we weren’t quite ready for our trip to end. And with the heat wave still in full effect, we decided to extend our stay by another day. The hotel was happy to keep us, and we were happy to stay poolside for a bit longer.

Over the next couple of days, we wandered back into town in the cooler evening hours, sampling Italian Aperol Spritzes (for research —how do they compare to the Swiss ones?) and trying a terrace restaurant for another “true” Italian meal. Cedar is very fond of breadsticks and could probably survive on them alone. The waiter was happy to keep them coming, and I’m sure the birds didn’t mind cleaning up the crumbs under the table.

As we walked home that evening, I hung back a few steps behind Sheila and Cedar. I watched the two of them—hand in hand, with the sun setting over the lake, breadstick crumbs still falling from Cedar’s shorts pockets — maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. A trail of breadcrumbs to help us find our way back.

It’s kind of cheesy, but it also sort of sums up our little adventures. The people, the places, the experiences—they’re our way of leaving little markers. It’s only now early July, but for the first time on our trip I I’m catching myself checking the calendar, and thinking about our time here coming to an end. Sheila refuses to talk about it. And I get it, It’s a bit sad, yes—but also sweet. Because now we have new friends in Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. And thanks to Cedar we have the breadcrumbs. Maybe, one day, they’ll lead us back to Stresa, I hope they do.