Staying only a ten minute drive from Lugano has meant we have been able to venture in and explore parts of the city for a few hours at a time, knowing that the dogs would be fine without us for that amount of time. Each time, we have found something new to look out or to try.

On this visit we spent some time in the Paizza Bernardino Luini. It is only a small plaza but it has a wonderful view of Lake Lugano. Luini was a north Italian painter who trained under Leonardo da Vinci.

  
Just across from this piazza is the most famous church in Lugano – Chiesa Di Santa Maria degli Angioli  (Saint Mary of Angels). It is famous because Luini painted a huge fresco on the wall of the nave, said to be Switzerland’s most famous Renaissance fresco, conveying the Passion and Crucifixion. It was painted in the 16th Century,  and it was amazing to see the colours and details present there today.

  
Nearby to here was yet another funicular, and this time we did not take it. It leads from the centre of the old town up to the railway station. The streets were steep, but very interesting as they passed lots of small shops.

  
We had never seen spaghetti as long (at least one mete) as this before, and at the price of CHF 35, we decided we could live without it. Too many carbs anyway.

  
We noticed this cat on our walk up one of the steep streets and it was not perturbed by people passing it by. It was quite happy with its lot in life. The news was not so good for the bird.

  

This display caught my eye. Very clever and a great idea for someone with a green thumb.

  

We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We are to return the hire car in Lugano, catch a bus to Milan Malpnesa Airport and then catch our flight to Lisbon. Unfortunately the flight is not until 6 pm so it will be a long day of waiting for connections. However, our excitement about our first (brief) visit to Portugal will get us through.