May 4, Rainy days, LOST WALLET!, football & other stories

Since our last great hike, our month of sunshine has ended and we are in our second week of foggy skies and rain on and off. No exciting photos but a few stories to tell. 

Starting with today, Rick and I took the bus down to the Migros grocery store. Rick paid while I packed the groceries. Outside, we waited for the bus to come. When we arrived home, I always look back on the bus to make sure we didn't leave anything, and I said "just making sure you have your wallet". Rick checks his back pocket, NO WALLET! Yikes!

We hop back on the bus for the 4 minute ride back to the store. No wallet at the store, none where we were sitting waiting for the bus. We went in a few shops in the area in case anyone turned it in. No luck. We went back into the store, because a few minutes earlier the cashier we had was on break and we wanted to talk to her. She hadn't seen it, and the store manager was so nice and called the security to look back at the security video. While he was doing that, my phone rings. It's a woman who said she found the wallet!!!! Oh how lucky we are that an honest Swiss found Rick's wallet! And it just happened to be that only the week before, Rick had decided to slip a piece of paper into his wallet with our address and phone numbers. Phew! The woman said she would send her son down to the Migros to give it back to us.

So all is well that ends well! We got the wallet back and gave the boy a reward for him and his mother. She had found it on the street right at the bus stop by the grocery store. We think it slipped part way out of Rick's pants and when he stepped up into the bus, it fell. It really was a scare, because how would he get a new driver's license while here? In addition to the hassles of getting new credit cards, etc. So glad it all ended well. :-)

 Here is just one example of what happens when streets are steep and narrow. The man in the wheel chair couldn't get down the street because a truck was in the way. The truck couldn't move because of another truck in front of him - they were nose to nose! The white truck had to move backwards up the street so the yellow postal truck could move. Some good samaritans helped the man in the wheelchair go onto the steps while the trucks passed. 

Parco del Tassino

 On May 2, it wasn't raining, only cloudy. We wanted to go to visit another town, but a rare occurrence happened. We took the train, about a 12 minute ride south along the lake, to Capolago-Riva San Vitale. We got off the train to get the bus, a 4 minute connection, but the train must have been just a few minutes LATE (unheard of!) and the bus was gone. Next bus was in 2 hours. Forget that town. We got on the train back to Lugano and explored this Parco del Tassino which is really just a few steps south of the train station, but so well hidden that Rick and I never knew of this park over the last 10 years! There is only foot access and no where to park a car, so it's a quiet park with great views, although we heard from a local that it is also where the druggies go. Oh oh! It was still very nice on a Saturday afternoon! 

 View of Monte Boglia from Parco del Tassino

 In Parco del Tassino

 Parco del Tassino

The property once belonged to a wealthy family who had a hunting lodge. This tower was on the property, from 1855. There are also many varieties of roses. 

 On the north side of the park and above the train station, there is a big hotel called the Continental Park Hotel. There is a large, park like area next to the hotel, where there are natural grottos. These are found in many places around Ticino. 

 Another grotto

 On Saturday evening, we went with our friend Berny to the town of Lavena, Italy. It is just along Lake Lugano, after the border by Ponte Tresa. Because of the weird shape of the lake, the mountain and houses you see across the "straight of Lavena"  is Switzerland. We are standing in Italy. 

Here is another view. On the right is the town of Lavena, Italy, and on the left is Caslano, Switzerland. 

Football!
Oh yes, I haven't talked about football! Well, here is the story. Just as we were arriving in Switzerland, the Lugano Lakers were finding that they were losing players. As the regular players were getting older, a number of them had to do their 1 year of mandatory military duty, others were now going to college, and a few others were injured. The Lakers found that they just didn't have enough players for either the senior or junior team.
If they tried to play the season but found themselves canceling games because of too few players, the team would have been fined for each game forfeited. The committee in charge of the team decided that it was less costly to the team to cancel the entire season. But some Laker football is still happening! There is also a team of under age 16 players. Their season is in the fall, but practice was started this spring, 3 evening a week, with groups from Lugano and Bellinzona areas. So Rick does have football practice with the younger kids and although there are no games scheduled, they do play flag football and have fun!
Other Laker projects are to visit schools in the area and begin new promotions for the team to recruit additional players. We will see if we can grow the team in the next few years!