March 27 - A visit to Comano, hike up to San Bernardo, and lunch with Gina

Today we took the bus to Comano, which is the town we lived in for 1 year, 10 years ago. We always enjoy a visit back there, to see what changes have been made, and hike some of our favorite paths. Last year it rained so much that not once did we have a chance to hike there. 

So today we were walking up higher in the town when we saw a helicopter doing some work. This often happens in Switzerland. They will use helicopters for construction of a home or delivery of a large item. Sometimes a truck can't maneuver the narrow roads. This helicopter was working with some lumberjacks - taking the cut wood over to another area to pile it up. It's always fun to watch this, but then our entire hike up the mountain was so loud with this helicopter moving back and forth! 

Back down in Comano, we stopped in our favorite little grocery store called "da Gina", which basically means "Gina's place". Gina is the elderly lady who runs the store, and when we lived here, she was our "go to" person for any kind of info on what was happening in town! 
As usual, she was so happy to see us. Since it was noon, she invited us to a restaurant in Comano called Osteria Ronchetto. She wanted to treat us to lunch. We had a lovely time and ate pasta and polenta. Gina says that she feels so touched that we come to see her every time we are in Switzerland. We love seeing Gina! She is our Ticinese grandmother! 

 This is one of the little streets in the old section of Comano. They are re-doing all the water lines and sewers. As you can see, it is quite a project! The space is so narrow between the buildings, and you can see the black tubing along the buildings so they can have water during this long reconstruction. 

 Helicopter ready to lift up a large log. 

 On the way up to San Bernardo (where there is a little chapel), we saw these new bas relief sculptures of the stations of the cross. In Comano lives a famous Swiss sculptor, Nag Arnoldi. These are his works. There are quite a number of 3 dimensional sculptures by Nag Arnoldi in Comano. 

 Ahhh, finally at the top! Looking down on Lugano and the lake. 

 A view to the east from the top of San Bernardo

 We sat on a bench for a while with this view. Gee, we could have had a bar-b-que! 

 Rick, Gail and our "nonna" Gina at the Osteria Ronchetto. How fun!

 These small towns are great. Everyone knows everybody. On our way out, the cook asks Gina if she had dessert. He had made a plum tart. No? Here! He puts some on one of their plates for her to take home. :-)

Walking back to Gina's store in Comano. We are standing between two parts of La Comanella Hotel. We always buy something at Gina's - my favorite? Someone around town makes homemade gnocchi and she has them in the freezer!