Day 22 - Fri 19 Sep 25: Stresa

September 19, 2025

Fri 19 Sep 25: Stresa

It's been another long and eventful day hence the late post.

First up, Noel's run of health issues continues. She woke feeling extremely short of breath with a cough, sore from coughing, no appetite (days now) and very low energy. We decided that she shouldn't join the group on the excursion today, and it would be best for her to see a doctor and rest for the day. At 9:00am, Noel stayed behind to see a nearby doctor while I headed out with the group on the bus. The diagnosis was Noel has Bronchitis so she is taking antibiotics and needs rest. She rested at the hotel all day after getting her meds from the pharmacy, and tomorrow is a short quite day nearby Stresa, so hoping she starts to pick up tomorrow. This is her third medical issue since we've been away, and hopefully the last.

Onto my day's activities - we traveled by bus from Stresa to the mountain village of Macugnaga at 1327m, located at the base of Monte Rosa (4,638 m), the second-tallest mountain in western Europe, along the Valle Anzasca, one of the seven valleys around the mountain. Driving through the valley, along narrow roads winding up the valley and through the small villages was stunning. At Macugnaga we caught a small cable car part way up a mountain, then with another larger cable car, continued to Passo Moro (2,870m). We had just under 45 minutes here to take in the stunning views on a perfect day in the alps, overlooking Monte Rosa and other signicant peaks.

Besides the views today, I very much enjoyed the lack of tourists as this not a popular tourist destination, and remains unspoilt like many others we've been to. It's hard to get to, and generally only used for Italiain and local outdoor adventurers.

After 40 minutes at the top, we made our way back down to Macugnaga where we had 15 minute wait for the bus, so i had a look inside the stunning old Parrocchia Catholic Church.

At 1245 we were on our way down through the valley again towards Lake Orta, another 90 minute drive and 20 minute boat ride to the township called Orta. Lake Orta is a popular holiday destination for mainly Italians, and again it's off the main tourist track, so not as busy and the towns remain unspoilt with the streets and buildings looking in their original state. Situated in the pre alps, it’s very quiet and very pretty - and regarded as a bit of a hidden gem in the Italian lakes district. We had 90 minutes free time wandering around, soaking up the beautiful 27 deg sunshine and fresh lake air. After leaving Orta, we climbed aboard a boat to San Guilo Island - the only island on Lake Orta, with a medieval Basilica dating from the 1100's, and stunning frescos. Unfortunately no photos allowed, but you can check them out on wikipedia (and maybe elsewhere): Basilica_di_San_Giulio

We eventually arrived back at the hotel shortly before 6 pm, and Noel was feeling little better from resting but still no appetite and no energy. Hopefully things start to improve.