Our short stay at Delhi was perfect. We spent a lovely time with Shalini, the owner or the Shamnath Villa, relaxed, and I even took a cooking class from her personal cook.  Then a long flight to Rome with a stopover in Istanbul. And in Rome, where all supposed to be efficient, we waited almost 2 hr in the immigration line. Only 3 lines have been working. Thanks G-d we have almost 4 hr before our flight to Milan…

Milan! The first thing that we did upon arrival – purchased two new SIM cards for our mobile phones. 200 talk minutes, 1GB of data (internet access) – 30 EU each. We had to wait 2 hrs till SIMs get activated and asked to keep our phones off. So we enjoyed the city without attachment to the phones.  

After two nights in Milan, we are on a train to Baveno.

It takes less than 1.5 hr to reach Stresa from Milan by express train (16.5 EU/ticket) .

Then another 15-20 minutes by taxi (20EU) to reach Baveno, a small town located on the Lake  Maggiore.

  Do you see a white cat behind the fig tree?

We rented a small 1 bd apartment with the beautiful views of the Lake from all our balconies and windows for 1 month .  August is the main tourist season across the Europe, and all rentals are overpriced at this time.

Our apartment is located just a 10 min walk from the Lake in a nice street away from the noise and hassle of the touristy areas. Our owners do not speak any English, and we are using hands and body language to communicate. We all laugh and somehow understand each other. Every day they bring us a bucket full of fresh organic fruits and vegetables from their garden!

What a life!