I had convinced Mick that I could get us safely to Locarno and back. I had researched where to park and was feeling very confident when I left our house sitting base in Origlio. I really wanted to visit Lake Maggiore as it seemed so close at just 32 Km away, but Mick was apprehensive. He is paranoid about my driving. I don’t think I am anywhere near as bad as he makes out. And I was thankful he agreed to go.

Problemo!  

The address I had put into my iPhone for the parking station was incorrect, but we did find a parking spot not too much further away. Mick is not happy until he has a map to read, so our first task was to find the tourist information centre.  We had taken the long way round from the wrong car park to get to the lake but thankfully Locarno has free wifi so I got us an address so Mick could get a map. This one was a bit too big, but I did not make that joke at the time!

  
We strolled along the lake and compared it to Lake Lugano (and Pelican Waters). It was really very quiet along the streets and in the restaurants. I am sure it is school holidays here, but there were no crowds.

   
The bonus of getting lost  was that we came across the Visconteo Castle, which was used when the Visconti family ruled over Milan and surrounding areas in 15-18th centuries. It has been suggested that the castle was designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

We eventually wandered through the historical centre of the town – the  Piazza Grande. Similar to Lugano, this part of town is filled with exclusive and expensive shops. The photo below does not show people making use of the shaded areas around the piazza. Mick looks like he had the place to himself.

  
Check out these cute shops and skinny streets. Oh, and me posing like some model! 😀 

We stopped for lunch at the Birreria Rondalli where we enjoyed a pizza and beer before heading to the main tourist attraction in Locarno.   

I bet you can’t wait to find out what that was.  But, I hope you can hold your enthusiasm and interest until tomorrow.