Ever wonder where that pink granite countertop in the fancy restaurant bathroom came from?…read more This museum in Baveno Italy shows all the aspects of granite quartz mining through out history, with pictures, drawings and artifacts. Museum is free admission and is housed with the tourist information center in old town Baveno. Most of the documentation is in Italian, but you can figure it out from the pictures and drawings. 1933, pictures men standing on huge rock formations, with picks and shovels. Below ox carts hauling huge hunks of rocks down to the lake shore, for transport by sailing ship in 1843. By the mid 1900s pictures of giant cranes digging into the mountain side, picking up tons of granite at a time. Huge roller coaster like railroad tracks built down the sides of the mountains for transport by gondola cars to trucks with open trailer cars. Rosa Baveno granite has been used in the walls of many buildings in Europe, and also in countertops. That fancy restaurant bathroom pink granite countertop could be from Baveno, but more likely China. I wouldn't know, as pink granite countertops is likely seen only in women's bathrooms, not a place that I frequent!

Remember those James Bond movies where the hero or villain is speeding by in a motorboat on a lake…read morepast some European town? Could be Monaco on the French Riviera. Well couldn't make it to Monaco, but did make it to the waterfront of Baveno, Italy. Elected to spend extra days here in Baveno, rather than go on walking tours of Milan in 100 degree heat in July. Every day for 4 days before breakfast, I jogged the half mile long waterfront on Lago Maggiore, Italy's second largest lake, bordering on Switzerland. Even roused the wife out of her beauty rest to see the sights. Did this before the crowds arrived, with the sun rising over the deep blue lake, with mountains in the background. The water wasn't that blue, due to the high humidity in the Italian lake district in the air under cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 80s at 7am, over cold waters of the 1000 foot deep mountain lake. Numerous restaurants, hotels, and small businesses, like the coin operated self service washer/dryer, line the road on the other side of the waterfront. A wide paved pedestrian pathway goes all along the promenade, with a separate sidewalk next to the roadway. There is a ferry area, boat docking areas, a child's playground, restrooms, and various monuments, along the immaculately landscaped promenade. They even have a defibrillator and emergency phone, along with toll machine for paid parking. Street sweeping machines running for both the road and the promenade pathway, so no litter on the ground. Tourist information building is right next to the ferry building, with a free public bathroom in the back, complete with toilet tissue and toilet seat, something not always found in Italian bathrooms. I had to jog the half mile long waterfront 4 straight days to get rid of excess weight from eating all that chocolate and cheese in Switzerland during our 10 day tour, so that I could fit in the 18" wide seats on the 14 hour airline trip back to California, via Atlanta!

We spent two great afternoons touring with Micaela on Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta. Our tours were…read moreprivate and personalized. Micaela booked our boats and amazing lunches, then led us on fun, informative tours of Isola Bella, Isola Madre, and Orta San Giulio. Micaela's knowledge of the history, art, and gardens is amazing- we definitely recommend!!

We were only visiting Stresa for two days and really wanted to make the most of our limited time…read more From several past trips to Italy, we have found hiring a local guide to be an excellent way to maximize the time and get the most of your vacation and Macaela ranks near the top of the many guides we've used in Rome, Tuscany, Positano and throughout wine regions of Italy. We found her online (here) and are so glad we did. Her English is top notch and communications with her by email for booking was very easy. She offers a number of tour options from full or half-day trips, with or without private boat transfers. We ended up booking the full day excursion with private boat transfers and were SO glad. With the private boat-there was absolutely no waiting to go from island to island as our captain Allesandro was always ready to go when we arrived (having been alerted by Michaela at just the right moment to come by for us). By the way, the typical boat seats 30 and is covered but was dedicated just for the two of us. This is an option- you can hire her without private boat but then you rely on the ferries and have to deal with the crowds. Even though the temperature was soaring into the 90s we had a wonderful day. It started with her meeting us in the lobby of our hotel that fronted the lake and we simply crossed the street to the lake where the boat was waiting and we headed out to our first island -Isola Bella. Machaela is versed in history, art and botany (some) and we spent 2 hours touring the palace and gardens-so much better than a canned audio tour. She gave us the full history of the Borromeo family, important historical events, discussed the art and identified all the interesting plants and trees throughout the day. Next we headed over to Isola Pescatori (fisherman island) for a stroll through town then a couple hours free time for lunch. She guided us past some of the more tourist spots and recommended several of the better places. We had a great lunch at Ristorante Belvedere. After lunch it was on to the third island, Isola Madre and a tour through the botanical gardens, renaissance villa and some time visiting the colorful peacocks and pheasants. We headed back to the hotel around 3:30, were dropped off in the same spot just across the street, made payment to Michaels (cash only, at the trips end) and headed in to jump in the pool. A perfect day.