Day 23 - Sat 20 Sep 25: Stresa

September 20, 2025

Sat 20 Sep 25: Stresa

More glorious weather at Stresa on Lake Maggiore; 18 to 26 Deg, sunny, a little humid, and not a breeze, but my gosh the streets were busy. We had a much needed slower start to the day after I had another sleepless night. Waking at 3 am is no fun when your sharing a hotel room and it's dark outside. Noel did wake feeling some slight improvement, but still low on energy. We had a late breakfast, and Noel managed to eat some protein - a small omelette and some yoghurt. With a shorter program and slower pace today, Noel also decided to get out and join the group on the only activity for the day - a short boat ride to the Borromean Islands, 500m away from the front of the hotel, for a guided tour of the palace and gardens of Isola Bella, then to Isola Pescatore for lunch and a wander through the narrow alley ways of the small island. We left at 1020am and returned to the hotel by 3pm. It was a very relaxed pace, quite hot and little humid. Although the palace and gardens were very interesting, it was far too busy to enjoy. Isola Pescatore was also overcrowded and no fun - I suggested the 90 minute stop was at least an hour too long. Back at the hotel, Noel had a couple of hours sleep, while I went out for a walk to find a pharmacy, and bought some electrolytes and some (secret) elixer with a combination of goodies to increase her appetite and energy levels. I then had another walk along the foreshore, before returning to shower and change, then we went out for a light dinner in the nearby Stresa cobblestone alleyways, stopping for a gelato on the way back to our room for an early night. Tomorrow we depart Stresa, heading east past Lake Garda to the base of the Dolomites for a two night stay, including a day visit to Venice.

Isola Bella - Palace to the left and gardens to the right.
Isola Bella was once just a rocky island, and home to a small community of fishermen. Until 1630 Isola Inferiore (as it was previously known) was a world away from the splendor that the Borromeo Family created. In 1630 Carlo III Borromeo took the first steps to changing the island. He hired an architect to design a castle-type building where the palace currently stands and a more elegant casino at the highest point of the island. Carlo also decided to name the island after his wife, Isabella D'Adda, and it became known as Isola Isabella (later to be shortened to Isola Bella).
Read more here if intersted: Isola Bella