Day 2 - Lugano - May 11

Up and ready to start the day. The sky is blue. The sun is shining and according to the local weather report it's going to be HOT!

We went down to breakfast and were happy to see the traditional European food available for breakfast. Meats, cheese, bread to die for, fruits, etc. Nothing hot available, just cold continental type of food. And the coffee...oh lord the coffee is so good here. 

Today we were scheduled to do a tour of TASIS. I'd been looking forward to this for many years. It feels good to be back in Lugano. Mom and Dad both would be thrilled to know I made it back. I'm sad they aren't here with me. 

After breakfast, we took the, ever so familiar, trail down to the school from Montagnola. I knew Montagnola well since it's where the post office was. I'd hike up there every week and buy stamps and send out letters. It's changed in 35 years - not too surprising. It feels bigger and the post office is now a restaurant. 

Down the hill we went until we found a spot I used to sit and just stare at the view. I mean, look at it. Who wouldn't just sit here and day dream? 

We dropped down off the hill in a different location than I thought, but I immediately recognized the TASIS emblem and I knew we were in the right spot. We circled down the street to the entrance of the school. And here is where I got a little choked up, for reasons I cannot tell you, but I did. 

We walked to the front gate and there was an office to "check in" and get badges. We didn't have this before so that's new. The woman behind the counter was super friendly and let us wander the campus before our tour. It's bittersweet to step on to this campus. So many memories, good and bad, flooded my mind. I had to take a moment. 

This place is where I met Mike Greene. He and I became instant friends and he became one of my most trusted friends. We lost Mike in 2013 and I miss him every day. He'd be thrilled to have me back here telling stories of our shenanigans. It was mostly him. I was an angel. 

The first thing I noticed walking onto campus is how LARGE the campus is now. So many new dorms added and the bubble was missing. (The bubble was a huge white - well bubble - that housed our gym). Now students had nice new dorms to take classes in and experience the boarding school life. 

The salmon colored dorm in the distance, just peaking out at the skyline, is Belvedere.
My dorm my Jr. year.

We walked around the corner and found DaNobli. DaNobli was the main hub for us. It had, after all, the dining room and the salon. Back in the day when you entered from the front doors you saw a line of wooden "stalls" that had phones in them. You could use them to call home. Or, as was the case for me one semester, I monitored the incoming calls in the evening. Parents would call and ask for so-and-so in dorm XYZ. I'd put the parents on hold. Then call the dorm and ask for so-and-so. They'd come to the phone and I'd transfer the call. Today the kids just use their cell phone. 

DaNobli roughly 352 years old

I lived in Upper DaNobli my Sr. Year. You can make out, barely, a window next to the chimney...
that, I think, was my room.

The salon used to have green rug and these couches everywhere for people to sit and just hang out. Hours I'd spend down there with several friends yacking it up. 

Now the salon is all tables. See, the student body has grown a little. In the 1987 school year we had 217 students, grades 8-9 jr high, then 10-12 high school, and a PG 13 year. We had 57 kids in our senior class. Now the school has elementary through high school and 650 ish kids. 

DaNobli Salon

The dining room was truly where the good stuff happened. The chef we had back then, Chefy, was amazing with what he cooked for the students. I still dream about his carbonara. Today the salon is just it's more tables. 

This guy is STILL standing guard.

The room itself looks exactly the same. Swords and coat of arms lined the walls. It was rather impressive to me back in the day. And again today I felt the same sense of amazement at just how cool this school was to attend. 

We met the alumni team in the alumni offices (which didn't exist back then). They pulled out my senior year book and we thumbed through to find our senior pages. Amazing how much has changed to that 18 year old looking back at me. She didn't have a clue how awesome her life would be and that what she had experienced at TASIS would stay with her for the rest of her life.

We finished our morning at TASIS and walked down to the San Abbondio church. I only went inside this church I think twice during my high school days for Christmas concerts and such. I don't remember much about inside it. 

Casa Fleming. Where Mrs. Fleming lived. It's on the TASIS Campus.

San Abbondio

Across the street we went to see Mrs. Flemings grave. Mrs. Fleming was the owner of TASIS. She had a dream about education and culture that she put her heart and soul into. I met her a couple of times during school and she was always charming and put together. I will thank her until the day I die for the work she put into creating such a wonderful school. 

Mrs. Fleming Grave

"Her vision and loving spirit lifted the hearts and minds of generations."

Finishing with that we sat and waited for the bus. It was hot and no shade. The bus was another 30 minutes out or so. I thought it be a good idea to walk into town instead. I mean, it was only 2.5 miles. We could do that in 40 minutes ish easily. 

So off we went. 

First, let me remind you dear readers that I am NOT in shape. Second let me remind you it was 80F. And third, let me remind you I am NOT in shape. Why I thought it was a good idea is beyond me. 

What felt like a lifetime later we made it to Lugano. I swear I saw a beer place at the bottom of the hill and I picked up the pace. We sat and had our first of many beers in Lugano. 

The next on our schedule was to go up the funicular to San Salvatore (The sugar loaf mountain of Switzerland is what the tag line on their website says. I'm not sure I know what a sugar loaf even looks like.) 

San Salvatore

We stopped for a quick lunch (pizza) and then walked around the corner to get on the funicular. It's interesting to me that I didn't even know there was a funicular to San Salvatore in 1987, nor did I think about going up San Salvatore. All I knew about it was that there was a rod on the top of it and the lightening would hit it constantly. 

The funicular seemed to be pretty popular in Lugano. We road another one in town that I'll talk about later. The details on this particular funicular I stole from the internet: 

The railway is 1660 m in length and divided into two sections of 830 m, each of differing gradients. The first section (section 1) has a gradient of up to 37% and the second section (section 2) up to 61%. Given these differing gradients, the two carriages have different construction features but both offer the same capacity (68 + 1 person) and travel in opposite directions to and from the middle station, without ever crossing. The carriages travel alongside one another on even track at the Lugano-Pazzallo middle station for approx. 10 metres.

We had to change carriages halfway up, which neither of us expected or understood until everyone was getting out and going over to the other one waiting. 

As we approached the top I was thinking about the amazing view we were about to have. What I didn't anticipate was the hike to the actual top. Silly American that I am assumed the funicular would deposit me right where we needed to be. Not the case. We had another good 15 minute hike to the top. Did I tell you I wasn't in shape and that it was hot? 

Thankfully most of the hike was in the shade, but man, once I got to the top I was cursing myself for being so tired and out of breath. Then I turned the corner to this and all was forgotten. 

This view is one that is forever imprinted in my heart. Lovely, beautiful Lugano. I sat for a bit on a bench and admired the scenery while Janet wandered around the TV antenna that's up there. We headed back down (which was way easier, but still hot). By the time we got into the funicular, down the mountain, and out of the front door of the building I was hot, sweaty, and dead tired. My calves were starting to ache (remember I stupidly said "Let's walk into town." thus wasting 2.5 miles that I could have saved for later). 

We needed gelato STAT! Janet went back inside to ask the cashier where we could find gelato. He pointed over to some restaurant off to the side and off we went. We found no gelato. Instead, this weird train carrying tourists stopped. I didn't even have to say anything to Janet, she knew I was going to get inside that train and let IT take me back to downtown Lugano. 9 euro later we were sitting on this goofy tourist train checking out the city. 

We stayed on the train for most of the loop it was doing. It took us back to some of the older churches, and other areas of Lugano. Once it got back to the main downtown area we hopped off. And wouldn't you know it? There was a gelato stand. It was like the universe was telling me to get on that train. 

Our final activity for the day was to get on the boat that took passengers to other towns on Lake Lugano. It's not a tourist boat, per se, but that's how we were using it. 

Mt. San Salvatore

Looking back at Lugano

Gandria. You can only get her by foot or boat. No cars.

Beautiful Lake Lugano

We finished our boat tour, I was sufficiently rested and we decided it was time for dinner. We found this little restaurant recommended to me by a friend called the Spaghetti Store. It seemed very chain like, but we were hungry and we decided it would be fine. I ordered cabonara and Janet ordered gnocci. When it came out I had to look around to see what family this bowl of carbonara was going to feed. 

The picture really didn't do it justice of how large of a serving it was. I barely made a dent in it. We boxed it up and brought it home with us. Not sure what we thought we'd do with it, but we couldn't leave it behind. As Janet said, they either throw it away or we do in 2 days. 

We then had a long walk in front of us back to find the funicular. I was saying we should take a taxi and Janet was saying we should just walk. So off we went. 

We turned a corner to head to the funicular, we thought, and Janet just went white. In front of us was this massive hill to the top. No funicular in sight. 

The picture really doesn't do it justice, but the only option we had at this point was to walk up this hill. Janet hadn't realized that everything from the lake front up was UP hill. And I hadn't remembered these hills. So up we trudged. My god. 

One foot in front of the other. That was the only way. I refrained from saying, "If we had taken a taxi we'd be home by now." I was sweaty, tired, sore and tired some more. At a mid point, I said I have to stop and rest. So we found this nice cement bench to sit on. As I was sitting there I noticed it was a stop for the funicular. HALLULAH! 

We got on the funicular and road it to the top of the hill. Sadly, we had JUST missed the !@#$%^ bus so we had to wait around for another hour. 

By the time we finally got to the hotel my calves were cramping something fierce. I was pretty miserable and only had myself to blame. I had a funny feeling the next day was going to be even more of the same walking and that my muscles would be sore on top of that. 

Thus ends the tail of Day 2 in Lugano. Total steps: Sixteen thousand four hundred and twenty-one (16,421). That's 15,421 more than I get in a day.