Tommy and I, sans children (thanks Boog), took a trip through Switzerland and into Northern Italy with our friends the Jones' from Jacksonville. We left on Thursday and drove through Switzerland. Beautiful scenery! Most of the pictures were taken from the car, so please excuse the poor photography.
Tons of castle ruins everywhere.
When God was handing out the mountains, he gave all of the big ones to Switzerland!
The drive was beautiful. We made one stop, at a truckstop to grab a quick bite to eat. I must say that Switzerland truckstops kick butt!! Great coffee, huge selection of wonderful things to eat and of course the beautiful view of the snow covered peaks.
Late Thursday afternoon we arrived in Saronno, Italy, just north of Milan. Initially we were going to hit Milan, but decided that we would rather see Lake Como which is only about 20 minutes north of Saronno. Let me just say that we made a most excellent choice. Take a look...
Apparently, George Clooney has a house on Lake Como. The locals said he can be found playing basketball with the locals. Unfortunately, we did not see him. I think his house was on the opposite side of the lake from where were exploring. Next time George!
The mountains come right up out of the lake. The towns built right along the edge of the water.
Think I will retire here!
We drove away from Como along the lake to a little town called Nesso, where we ate lunch and explored a little. Love the old buildings and narrow alleys.
As we walked along you could here people in the homes and smell food cooking. I felt as if I had stepped back in time.
Ate lunch at the Tre Rose in Nesso. Wonderful food. This was the view we had from our table.
After lunch we drove a different route over the mountain back to Saronno.
Grotto 
Hey folks, you have a dog on your roof!After arriving back in Saronno. We had a fabulous dinner with the family hosting us. Italian Momma's cooking was wonderful!
On Saturday, Tommy and I said good-bye to Chris and Amy and we headed east toward Lake Garda. Our first stop was in a town called Maderno.
Small church in Maderno.
Ancient Olive trees along the sidewalk.
Another town, Gargnano.
View from where we had lunch.
Leaving Lake Garda. Will definitely go back. Would love to rent a villa with a lake view for a couple of weeks and just get lost there.
The drive home through northern Italy was breathtaking. Mountains with vineyards on every possible piece of land. Unfortunately, the memory card on the camera was full and we did not get many photos. Just one more reason to go back!
