April 26 - Visiting the lakefront in Bissone, Walk Lugano Day

We decided to go somewhere closer, to a town we've never been to before. We had passed through Bissone on the local road in the past, and I remembers a pretty lakefront with restaurants and cafes under many arcades. 

But this poor town of Bissone....when the train line and road was built on a bridge over lake Lugano, it literally cut the town in half. The old nucleo is a small area between the lakefront and the train tracks and autostrada. To make matters worse, there is only one bus stopping here (with an inconvenient schedule), and for some reason, the train does not make a stop - there is no station. 

So to get to Bissone we took the train to Melide, at the other end of the bridge. 

 We got off the train in Melide and one sign in the underpass of the tracks pointed to the lake (lago). We wanted to walk on the north side of the bridge because then there is an unobstructed view of Lugano. Here is our view from the center of the lake. 

 Now, this is not the main path to walk across the bridge, but we took it anyway. The autostrada is just behind us behind the trees. 

Once we got to the middle though, we realized that there is a passageway for boats and we couldn't continue on that side. We walked under the road and railway to the other side, where a nice, narrow, lakefront park made for a peaceful walk. 

 We reached Bissone and their lakefront park. You can see the old buildings and arcades in the background. 

Here are a couple of very old park benches, along with a typical stone table and chairs. 

 Rick with a statue of doing laundry by the lake in the old days. Monte San Giorgio is in the background. 

 We choose this nice cafe under the arcades. I'm sorry I don't have the name. It was a bit chilly in the shade so Rick made use of the blankets offered on the chairs! We enjoyed a nice cappuccino, and here's a tip: they had one of the nicest bathrooms I've seen in Switzerland! Plus, the cappuccino was only 3 francs each, as opposed to 4 to 4.50 in Lugano - but don't forget the trek to get there! 

Walking back to Melide to get the train, we walked the south side of the bridge. The lakefront park area in Melide is very nice! 

April 27 - A very chilly, rainy day in Lugano and everywhere in Switzerland. It happens to be Walk Lugano day, to promote fitness, with several courses around the city and through the mountains. One course passes by our house, and there were many die-hards out there in the rain! 

The Lugano Lakers are playing in Basel. I didn't take the long trip because the weather wasn't any better there!