Here is Matt outside of the hotel where the conference was held:
Just blocks away from the conference was the ferry to the islands. This is a view of Stresa from the ferry. You can see the neighboring Swiss influence in the architecture.
We decided to go to two of the three islands. The first island we went to was Isola Bella, where the Borromeo Palace and gardens were housed. The palace and gardens were beautiful, although slightly over the top.
After taking our time exploring Isola Bella, we took the short trip to Isola Pescatore to have lunch. Isola Pescatore was even smaller than Isola Bella. We walked the entire circumference of the island in 10 minutes.
There were quite a few charming little restaurants to choose from. We eventually settled on a restaurant right on the water. The food wasn't anything fantastic, but the setting was worth every penny.
After visiting the islands, Matt and I took a cable car to the top of Mount Motaronne, the tallest peak in the area. Although the cable car was grossly overpriced, it was still worth the lift. The views at the top were awesome.
Instead of taking the cable car back down the mountain, we decided to hike. Our travel book described the hike as long and easy. Matt and love hiking and usually find that books and trail maps over-estimate the difficulty of most hikes. So when this hike was described as easy, we expected it to be. It wasn't. The trail was filled with large, unstable rocks, which made it really difficult to maintain our footing. It wasn't aerobically difficult, but our feet took a serious beating. After several hours of hiking, we decided to change our route and head back to the cable car to take it the rest of the way down the mountain.
This picture shows one of the few spots along the trail that was free of rocks.
On the narrow road back to the cable car, we passed through a tiny village. We heard what sounded like cowbells in the surrounding woods. I was delighted to see a small herd of mountain goats. The bells started to get louder, and I remember telling Matt, "They're excited to see us!" The bells got louder and louder and we suddenly realized the goats were running toward us. I didn't react very quickly to the danger, but as soon as I saw a goat with its head down and horns pointed our way, I realized it was time to get out of there. Matt grabbed my hand and we started to run as the goats chased us down the mountain. The goats got within a few feet of us and the only way to get away was to slide down a small cliff. Fortunately, the cliff was grassy and not rocky, but we still got a little scuffed up. The goats must have decided we weren't worth the effort because the stayed at the top of the cliff and just looked down at us. I'm not really sure what would have happened had we not escaped, but I'm pretty sure those goats would have kicked us off their mountain one way or another. Thankfully, we didn't have to find out. Matt and I still think it's hilarious that our biggest danger traveling in Europe came in the form of a pack of goats.
Despite our adventure with the goats, we had a great time in Stresa. The islands were charming and the views of the lake and the alps were incredible.
