Swiss Escape (A Globus Tour): Lugano

After departing Lucerne, we headed to our last location, Lugano. Lugano is in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, close to the Swiss-Italian border and on the shores of Lake Lugano.

Exploring Lugano

We arrived in Lugano in the morning so instead of going to the hotel (since it was too early to check-in), the bus dropped us off in the city center. It was a bit gloomy with drizzling rain so while I am sure it must be absolutely gorgeous on a sunny clear day, the lake just seemed grey and there were overcast skies.

The city center is along the lakeshore and we were dropped off by a Christmas market. We followed the Christmas market and it wound its way through various shops including some luxury brand stores like Gucci and Hermes. Originally our tour director mentioned that since it was a holiday, a lot of stores may not be opened. However, for the most part it seemed like most stores were open that day.

As I mentioned earlier, the city is along the lakeshore and there is a nice path that follows the lake. Later that night, my mother and I would follow the path from our hotel and walk along it until we reached the city center. You can see all the lit up buildings and some of the Christmas decorations. There was a path for walking and biking and was set back from the road. It was a really nice pathway.

For lunch, we happened to pass by a restaurant I saw while researching restaurants in Lugano, La Cucina di Alice and we decided to take a look at the menu which they had posted outside.

La Cucina di Alice

Riva Vincenzo Vela 4, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

While we were looking at the menu, one of the staff opened the door and welcomed us to come in for a meal. Since they were very nice about it we decided to go in. They sat us at a two person table and took our jackets to hang in their coat closet. Then they gave us weighted hooks for us to hook our purses to the table. Lastly, they took our drink order and told us the daily specials.

My mother had a cup of their soup special which was a vegetable soup and she loved it. She also ordered a salad and I ordered orecchiette with pancetta and pomegranates in a broccoli sauce. They started our meal with some bruschetta and then brought out my mother’s soup. I really loved all the plate ware here. My pasta was also delicious though the pancetta slightly saltier than expected but balanced nicely with the pomegranate.

When we finished, they brought our coats back out (after a little confusion) and we headed back to where the bus had dropped us off to wait for the bus to take us to our hotel. It was rainy this day but otherwise the restaurant also had a nice patio with outdoor seating facing the lake.

Hotel De La Paix

Via Giuseppe Cattori 18, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

We would be staying a Hotel De La Paix in Lugano for two nights. The hotel is not located in the city center but in a more residential area that is still walkable to the city center. The hotel is also not on the lakeshore but set a ways back though a quick five minute walk would take you to Lake Lugano. Out of all the hotels we stayed at, this definitely seemed like the oldest. Or at the least, they had not done any renovations recently. The room was decently sized but the outlets were not as convenient. There was a nice small balcony but the weather was gloomy during the entire stay so we did not utilize it.

The breakfast room in this hotel did have a nice view of their small pool though the selection was a little more limited than some of the other hotels.

For dinner the first night, there was an optional excursion to take a lake cruise and then have dinner at a higher altitude with a view of the lake. However we chose not to participate because we really prefer to make our own meal choices since meals booked by the tour company are usually okay but not that amazing. For this first night, we decided to stay in the hotel and partake of their Italian restaurant, Al Barilotto, which had good reviews on Google.

Al Barilotto

Via Silvio Calloni 18, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

I really liked this restaurant. They had it nicely decorated for the holidays. The dining room was quite large and could fit some larger parties. My mother and I shared a pizza and she also had a soup. She said the soup could not compare to the one she had at lunch but the pizza was very good. The crust was crispier than the one we had in Lucerne but the ingredients were more common. It came with mushrooms and egg but sadly the egg was pretty much cooked and not yolky. I also ordered a cocktail that was okay.

The next morning we would join an optional excursion to Bellinzona and Como, Italy. We would head to Bellinzona first to see the castles there and have lunch before driving over the border to Italy.

Exploring Bellinzona

When we arrived in Bellinzona, we had some free time. Our tour director first walked us through town and showed us where some stuff were like the farmer’s market and some viewpoints for photos. It was nice walking through all the farmer’s market vendors and then seeing a group of adults caroling and a group of kids playing instruments. You could also see the various old structures around town.

After our free time, we grouped back together and headed up to one of the castles via an elevator. Up on top, we got to walk around the grounds, up on the walls and go up the towers.

Then we had a light lunch inside the Castlegrande. The tour director said it would be a light lunch because we would have our final group dinner that night at the hotel. It really was light. It was basically some meats and cheeses, followed by and soup and ending with dessert. We were also offered wine, beer or soft drinks and then coffee or tea after the meal.

After lunch, we got back on the bus and headed to Como in Italy.

Exploring Como

In Como, our tour director led us to the city center and showed us where we would meet back up again to return to the bus. She also pointed out a few areas we might be interested in and gave us some ideas of what we could do during our free time there.

My mother and I walked around and went inside a Carrefour (grocery store) and then Coin (a department store. We also walked around a small Christmas market. We did walk to the lakeshore but similar to while we were in Lugano, the weather was not the best and so Lake Como just looked kind of dreary.

Eventually we were hungry again and found a small pizza takeout called Rom’antica.

Rom’antica

Via Pietro Boldoni, 6, 22100 Como CO, Italy

At Rom’antica, you basically go in, pull a number and wait for your number to be called to place your order (similar to a meat counter). We did not realize this at first and stood around until we saw someone come in and pull a number. While waiting you can see all the different pizzas behind the counter and decide what you want. When it is your turn, you let the staff know which type you want and how large a slice. They will then cut the size you want, weigh it and then put it in the oven to reheat. Even though it was not fresh, it was super delicious. Very crispy, plenty of mushrooms. I almost wished I had gotten a larger slice but since this was our second lunch or snack, it was probably better I did not.

I did look the place up afterwards and I believe it is actually a chain with multiple stores. I would definitely recommend it for a quick meal.

After finishing our pizza, we did a little shopping (since Italy is in the EU and things are cheaper than in Switzerland). And when our free time was up, we met back up with the group and headed back on the bus to go back to Lugano. As I mentioned before, we would be having a group farewell dinner this night at the hotel so when we returned to the hotel, I made a quick trip to the nearby Migros (grocery store) to use up my Swiss Francs and then stayed in my hotel room to pack before heading to dinner at what I think was the hotel restaurant called Ristorante La Terrazza Neptune.

Farewell Dinner

When we got to the restaurant we sat with other group members at long tables that fit about eight people. The dinner was a course meal and I am not really sure if the items we had are from their normal menu or was specially made for our farewell dinner. Along with dinner we were offered wine, beer and soft drinks and we could have two glasses.

Our tour director gave a speech during the dinner and mentioned she could be found on Facebook and to add her if we would like to. Our driver for the tour, Antonio, was also at the dinner and at the end of the dinner, everyone gave both the tour director, Zdenka and the driver Antonio envelopes with tips. Globus does make a recommendation for tipping the tour director and driver in the travel packet you receive before your trip.

Dinner itself was not bad but I forgot to take photos and now I cannot remember exactly what was served… I remember liking the entrée and clearing the plate and dessert was gelato but I cannot remember what the appetizer was. All in all it was not a bad meal.

Milan Malpensa Airport

21010 Ferno, Province of Varese, Italy

The next morning we were driven to the airport in batches due to the different departure times and airports. Most people were headed to the larger Milan Malpensa Airport (in Italy) though a few also departed form Linate Airport in Milan, Italy. Both my mother and I would be flying out of Malpensa. We were about an hour or hour and a half apart in terms of departure time and ended up in two different departure groups from the airport. Originally my mother was wondering why we could not just leave in the same group (hers being the earlier one) but in the end it was for the better. My mother’s group left the hotel at 6:30 AM and mine left at 7:30 AM. I arrived at the airport (which was about an hour from the hotel) three hours before my departure and the check-in counters were not open when I got there. I ended up standing around for about 45 minutes waiting to check-in. It was a little annoying because the airline recommended we arrive three hours before an international flight.

Once I checked in, I went through security and immigration which was pretty quick. There was a separate area for most international flights and then another for the US and another country. I was flying British Airways home through London Heathrow. Since the UK has exited the EU, I was considered to be on an international flight.

I did visit a Priority Pass lounge while I was there. It was on the smaller side and the food options were so-so. I was lucky that when I got there the lounge still had open seats. After about 30 minutes, the lounge filled up but then also kind of emptied a bit before I left for my flight. It ended up that my aircraft was at a remote gate and so we were bused to the plane. I have to say, the takeoff from the airport was pretty shaky but had some amazing views of the mountains.

London Heathrow Airport

Hounslow TW6 1QG, United Kingdom

When I arrived at London Heathrow Airport, I had every intention of going to a lounge at least for a little bit to grab food and fill my water bottle. However, I got completely sucked in by all the shops and ran out of time since my gate was not near the main shops and I had to take a train over. Sadly, when I arrived at my gate at what should have been boarding time, I found out that our flight was delayed. I thought about going back to the main terminal where the lounges were but the gate agents were not sure how long the delay would be so I stayed put by the gate and just bought a sandwich from the Starbucks nearby.

First the gate agent claimed it was an operational issue and then a mechanical issue. I think we were delayed by almost 1.5 – 2 hours but eventually we all boarded our gigantic A380 aircraft. Since this is such a large aircraft, it was pretty empty with people moving around so that almost nobody was sitting next to another person.