The first day in Stresa the school had nothing planned for us to do except for dinner, so I decided to take an optional trip up a funicular to see Lago Maggiore from on top of a mountain. I am so glad I did. The view was absolutely amazing.

The weather in Stresa was hot and humid, but on top of the mountain it was very chilly and I was glad that I brought my jacket.

The ride up was somewhat scary. Personal space is not a thing here in Italy. They shove like 30 people in one cart and pack you in like a can of sardines. In the US I feel like the max for the cart would be like 10 people. Whenever the funicular went over one of the poles that pull the line, the cart would drop a little. I am afraid of heights so this was a little challenging. Luckily, you didn’t have to worry about falling when the drop happened, cause there were so many people packed together there was no where to fall.

The next day, we went on a hike around Lake Mergozzo. Lake Mergozzo is a smaller lake that used to be connected to Lago Maggiore until sediment from the river ended up separating to two places. It is a very pretty lake.

Our hike started us in the town of Mergozzo then up a hill to a smaller town with a place to look out over the lake.

In Mergozzo we had lunch by the water, before our hike began.

The town was so cute and exactly what you imagine a little town in Italy should look like. We also had the chance to see their church.

On the hike we learned about how the area cultivated chestnuts and mined granite from the mountains. They would cut the granite by drilling holes into the rock, put sticks in the holes, and then used water to expand the sticks until the granite broke off in chunks.

On the hike there was many scenic overlooks of the lake.

After a bit of a walk we got to the small town on the hill. There we saw an old church. It was originally built in the 11th century, but was torn down and rebuilt many times.

On top of the town there was an amazing view of the two lakes, and a very photogenic donkey.

I really enjoyed my time in Stresa. It is a place I would have never thought to go to on my own, but ended up being lots of fun. So beautiful and also very calm and peaceful. A place I would totally recommend to others.