Sentiero dei castagni is the name of this hike in Italian – translation: The Chestnut Route.
Despite the late walk home from the Osteria in Bologna last night, I got up early enough to take a high-speed train to Milano (185mph) and then transfer to another train to a resort town on the shores of the biggest lake in Italy nestled in the Alps in time to do something. The something was a hike was from Stresa to Belgirate. When I got to the end of the hike I went to catch a ferry back to Stresa but there were no more scheduled that day. Then I went to the train station but it was such a small village that there was little information posted about whether or not you could get on a train without a reserved seat. The guide said to “remember the time tables before you set off”. No time to figure out on my phone before the next train arrived so I decided to walk back on the busy highway along the shore and watch the end of the sailboat race I had glimpsed during the hike.
Followed up with a nice meal in the tourist district.
