Stay Right in Stresa

I LOVE Italy and knowing my parents’ love for Italian food, I spent countless hours, if not days, researching where to take them in Italy that had small world charm, good food, was reasonably close to Zurich and accessible by train. Oh, and it had to have availability for 4 people over a 3 day holiday weekend. I ended up choosing Stresa Italy, a lake front town on the south end of Lake Maggiore.

After the breathtaking trip through the Alps and along the lake, we arrived at Stresa and eagerly made our way to the Hotel La Palma, the hotel I booked online earlier that week. The hotel was a huge success, with great views and a full bar downstairs (where we subsequently ended every evening with grappa and Ramazzotti).

Feeling like it was a small enough town and therefore hard to get lost in, we forewent obtaining a map or guidance from the concierge and instead stepped out onto the lake front promenade and turned left in search of coffee and ice cream. While the walk was beautiful, I started to get a little worried about my choice of Italian towns… we hadn’t passed a single café or gelato stand since we left the hotel…so NOT the Italy I know and love. My worries were confirmed when we reached the end of the promenade and found ourselves in a working dock, with tour buses and one restaurant on the water which looked like it hadn’t been renovated since it was built in 1962. Trying to embrace the town (we were staying 3 nights), we stopped for a beer and coffee before walking back to the hotel.

It took us until dinner, when we asked the concierge for a restaurant recommendation and were pointed in the direction of “right”, towards the old town, to actually see the city. Finding the true “down town” area, I immediately feel in love… while I was trying really hard to like the dock and restaurant to the left of the hotel, it took no effort or energy to enjoy the outdoor cafes and countless restaurants along the narrow, cobblestone streets and piazzas and the five gelato stands we passed on our way to dinner. As a side note, from then on I was no longer in charge of directions and when in doubt, we went right.

Beginning with dinner, the eating and drinking binge of Italy lasted 3 solid days, stopping only for naps, a quick trips out to the islands, both Isola Pescatori, the fisherman’s island that I found claustrophobicly crowded with tourists and Isola Bella, which is home to Palazzo Borromeo, the tram ride up to the Alpina Gardens (a true test of Martin and my relationship, when we decided to hike back down the mountain and I allowed him to lead) and a quick “karaoke session to Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares” (it wasn’t technically karaoke, just a bad lounge act that both my Dad and Martin decided to sing along with…did I mention this was after numerous beers, carafes of wine and grappa?).

So while the town was perfect, with plenty to do and see in three days, the food and meals were what captured out hearts….ordering two plates of risotto after finishing our dinner the first night at Ostero di Ameci, trying to eat light the following night at Pappagallos while finishing both the appetizers and all of the pizzas, and the unforgettable last supper at Il Vennecito of baccala, veal cheeks, seafood pasta and rack of lamb…don’t worry, I didn’t order it all myself, but in my family, everything is up for at least one taste.

Knowing our return to Switzerland was inevitable, the binge eating didn’t stop until we boarded the train to Lauterbrunnen that following Monday.