Locarno.

Since Ashus school is closed for autumn break, Hd took two days off and we went to Locarno last weekend for four days. The weather was warmer than here though it was a bit cloudy the first 2 days. We were so scared that it will turn like our Como trip since we were going in the same direction. But the next 2 days were fabulous. We stayed in a fully furnished flat. I think its someones holiday home. I fell in love with the place. It was so tastefully decorated. Simple but classy. Futons and single beds in the living room where the kids slept. A beautiful bedroom with a blue theme going. A spacious balcony where we had our breakfast everyday with a fantastic view of the Lake Maggiore. A dream kitchen with everything I needed. TV, Music system, books, tourist info, board games, ... I was blown away by how thoughtfully the place was done. Sigh.


We had a perfect vacation by getting up late, eating breakfast and getting out of the house in time for lunch. Eating yummy food at the Italian joints, sight seeing, idly walking by the lake, window shopping, gobbling gelatos,... and getting back to our place for dinner. Dinner was some ready to eat stuff out of the packets. We went on the mini train ride around the city. It has become a must in every place we go, thanks to Ashu. Another day we took a funicular and went up to Orselina and a cable car from there to Cardada. The views were amazing and the place also had a nice park in the woods. We also drove to Valle(y) Maggia. In the lakeside park in Locarno, there was a trampoline and Ashu jumped with harness and all and also learnt to flip. It was fun to watch her.

On Tuesday morning, we checked out and drove to Valle(y) Verzasca which is a 25 kms drive from Locarno. It was AMAZING. One of the best drives ever. So scenic and so beautiful. I could nt believe that we have been in Swiss for so long and never came here before. We stopped at Lavertazzo, crossed the double arched stone bridge and hiked amidst rocks to go near the river. Its a crystal clear blue river. The photos don't do justice. We could nt get enough of the beauty of the river. We drove on to the end of the valley to a village called Sonogno. A tiny place with stone houses. So picturesque. We had lunch there. Then retraced our route back to Locarno. Stopped on the way to see the Verzasca dam where James Bond did the bungee jumping stunt in Golden Eye. Was scary to even look! Hd wanted to bungee jump but after seeing the 220 metres high dam, he said, "no way!" (paithyam dhaan ingendhu kudhikkum* were his exact words!) LOL! Then we hit the road back home.

One morning, Hd and I woke up to the voices of the kids. They both were sitting in the living room and the conversation we heard went like this.

Ashu: Do you want to kill me, Antu?
Antu - No.
Ashu - Not really kill, ok? Just pretend. And not me. My horse.
Antu - OK.
Ashu - Move something. Do you want to move this?
Antu - No. This one.
Ashu - No Antu. You CANT move my dead bishop. Move something else.
Antu - (silence)
Ashu - (storms in to our bedroom) Amma! Its not fun. This Antu is not listening to me at all. She does nt know how to play chess!
Me - !!!!

ps.
Ashu does nt know how to play chess either. She just uses Antu as a pawn in all her games! ;)

*only a crazy person would jump from here.