Oct. 16-18, Colico and Tirano

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 Thursday, October 16 

On the Road to Tirano via Colico

Abbazia Cistercense di Santa Maria di Piona

Traveling up the eastern shore of Lake Como, after about an hour, we came to our first stop of the day, a sixth century abbey on a promontory over looking Lake Como near Olgiasca, Italy. What a great way to start our day!








Forte Montecchio Nord

This stop, near the town of Colico, is a perfect example of having expectations that end up not being met. In this case, I had looked up information about visiting this fort, had seen videos of it on YouTube, and was not at all excited about visiting this place. As it turned out, this was an amazing and exceptional stop. This World War I fort, guarding one of the main approaches to Italy from the west and the north, was not only strategically interesting, but an amazing example of how much planning and effort goes in to creating a place like this. Our guide was great, and I was fascinated by almost every step of the way. What a great place to visit!

Our guide at the fort was a local, Maximillian.












Lunch in Colico

Primo

A local beef dish with cheese and arugula 


(Forgot to photo my Secondo, Risotto)

Dolce
Cheesecake with Amaretto 


Colico on Lake Como


Where’s the Seat???

On to Tirano Through the Valletina Valley





Tirano, 
Sondrio Province, Italy

We are staying in this town along the Adda River (which is the water source for Lake Como), and at the gateway to the Alps, for three nights. It is a charming mix of the old town and newer sections. From here, we will be visiting a small village up in the hills for our “Day in the Life” segment tomorrow, and Saturday we will be catching the train here that will take us high into the Alps, the Red Bernina Express.

Our Hotel


Local Obituary Notices

The Adda River Through Tirano









Finally got chance to finish eating my huge leftover calzone from a couple of nights ago. Ordered some fries and a drink, and they even warmed up my calzone for me. Perfecto!


Tomorrow: Exploring more of the Tirano area…

BUONO  NOTTE!

And thanks for following along. Let me know what you think so far.


Friday, October 17

Today’s feature is OAT’s special “A Day in the Life,” designed to give us a taste of small town living and spend time and even share a meal with locals. So we headed up the mountain this morning to the tiny town of Baruffini, home of the Smutgglers’ Trail. I have had mixed feelings about this activity on other trips, but today was positive, so interesting and fun, and our hosts were delightful. A great time was had by all.

On the way up















Arriving in town, ready to explore

Traditional slate roofs, Restored slate roofs

Beehives





      At the village carpenter’s shop


Public water access, fed by glacial water.     


    Preparing the Fritula, part of our lunch
           with our host, Claudio




Storage cellar, originally from the 17th century

Learning about smuggling from Switzerland
















        Drawing the wine for lunch

     Presenting the finished Fritula

Fritula Lunch with salad

Dulce, Sugared Cake


Post Lunchtime entertainment

Tomasso and Fulvio


Claudio the cook and the tenor

On the way down the mountain

Out for Dinner in Tirano
Awesome restaurante recommended by Tomasso

Pork tenderloin with a fabulous peppercorn sauce



TOMORROW: 
The long-awaited, long-anticipated Red Bernina Express train trip high into the Swiss Alps. 

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