After taking a leisurely stroll down the west side of Lake Maggiore, we were ready to get out of the car. The afternoon rain had passed. We arrived at Orta San Giulio, managed to find parking, and trekked down the hill.
There are no cars allowed in the heart of town. Or more precisely, the town could not fit any cars. It's a labyrinth of tiny little cobbled streets. There's one main drag that most people use to meander through town.
First things first, we stopped for a cappucinos. Ah...
Then after walking through town, we stopped at the main docks. There are boats that take people to San Giulio, an island just off the coast that is right out of a fairy tale. Here's a bit about San Giulio:
According to the legend, the Island of St. Giulio was dominated by a big serpent that destroyed everything. But when St. Giulio, that had the power to command over the waves, the storms, the wild animals and the human beings, arrived near the lake , waving his hand he chased away the dangerous menacing animal.
He reached the Island journeying over the water on his cloak guided by his staff. The big reptile disappeared and St. Giulio, tired and near to his death, thought that the island was the right place to build his hundredth and last church dedicated to the Holy Apostles. The Island of San Giulio is today a place of great mysticism.
At first, David didn't want to make the trek because it looked like there was a huge line for a boat. It turns out that getting a boat did not take long, but it was total chaos. There was a dispatcher that was shouting at all the boat captains and pointing various tourists to each of the boats.
As part of the trip to the island, they take you all the way around the island. You get to see just how beautiful and bizarre the island is. There is only one road and it goes all the way around. If you go in one direction, it's called "The Street of Meditation" and has little signs giving you motivational phrases in 4 languages. If you walk the road in the other direction, it's called "The Street of Silence" and the same signs have writing on the back to encourage an appreciation of silence. Unfortunately, there were a lot of tourists and no one was much into the concept of silence.
After lots of strolling, we went back ot Orta San Giulio, checked out the local church, and then headed back to the car.
It was Sunday, so finding a place that was open for dinner was quite a challenge. We dropped the rental car off at the airport and got a very exuberant cab driver that took us to a couple of places, but they were all closed. We found a place near the hotel to eat.
