Richard And Jo Demeester's photos

Ultimately, we reached the footbridge, jutting out from the cliff. The weather had not yet closed in, although soon after we left to walk back down, we were enveloped in a mist with its accompanying light drizzle. No worries about that, as it had stayed away just long enough to really appreciate the viewpoint and its magnificent panorama.

From the trail high above, we look over one branch of the Lake Como, over to Valmadrera and Malgrate, with the Briantei Lakes beyond them. An easy walk up from the parking lot with spectacular vistas.

We met Peter some years ago, online, as we were part of a group studying Italian "licence" vocabulary. Learning parts of the car; first aid concepts; words about directions and carriageways; whatever we could to get ourselves across the line in the exam. Eventually, we met him in person, when we were overlapping in Melbourne. Finally, though, this was the opportunity to accept his hospitality, the invitation extended 4 years ago. He cooked us some brilliant meals, served us a few fantastic wines, and ensured we had a wonderful time in the Lecco area.

On the shore of Lake Lugano, Campione d'Italia is entirely surrounded by Switzerland. Over a millennia, the territory was donated to the Archbishop of Milan, and it has remained politically connected ever since, although not physically. Unlike many other European geographical oddities, their complications were not instantly alleviated with the creation of the EU, since their biggest trading happens with Switzerland who remain a non-member. It continues to predominantly use Swiss Francs, Swiss phone networks and electricity, although police and elected officials are Italian. The early twentieth century saw the building of the casino, and due to the odd administrative anomaly of Campione, this facility has many intriguing stories, particularly those dating from the war periods.

Awww. Post tour in the Lindt Factory Outlet Shop. No bargains, really, and I certainly didn't feel I needed to buy after leaving the tour with our pockets loaded with samples.

A two storey centrepiece at the Lindt Chocolate factory. Yes, it really is chocolate running down the sculpture, although one can probably assume the quality is quite basic. We did a tour which surprisingly worthwhile, and did include generous samples of various chocolates in various states.

We went to Zurich to meet with Australian friends, Steven and Heather. Couple to couple friends only for about 30-something years. Jo and Heather, though, were class mates, so their friendship goes back 40-something years. Best not to do too much maths. We monikered our little group the Fondue Crew, and drove to Zurich to catch them. While a lovely city to visit, Zurich is not particularly loaded with must-do sights. This was perfect, and meant we did not feel guilty when we stopped to just sit, talk, eat, drink. Of course, fondue had to be consumed at least once.

As often occurs in Italy, uncut pizzas, from a pizzeria without seating. Leading to some creative dining in a less-than-perfect setting. The pizzas were so good, though, they eclipsed any criticisms of the dinner experience.

A cricket, on a stalk of grass. There were many around. One could be located on almost every surface or rock in the abandoned monastery.

Sometime in the 12th century, a monastery was established on this site, later expanded in the 14th century. In the 18th century, the Venetians suppressed the order, leading to the buildings being abandoned and falling to ruin.

In theory, access is prohibited. You may not believe me, but our entry was in fact entirely accidental. We were following paths and roads that encircled the fence, replete with warning signs, but at some point found ourselves inside the complex. We did not jump a fence, or scramble through a hole. We just walked and chatted. When we eventually got down to the main gate, we found ourselves in an awkward position. We were inside, and the fencing was quite secure in this part. We found a weakness in the chainlinks nearby, and we had to scramble through to get out.

Hidden in the Euganei Hills is a now abandoned NATO air force bunker. Operating from the mid 1950's until 1998, it was entrusted with the task of monitoring airspace for northern Italy, and the entire Adriatic.

The meeting location had been altered to allow visits to nearby Venice for the Bienalle.

The reason for our visit was the (near) complete walls. Once we had ascended to the top, we were able to circuit the entire town. Incredibly high at some points - although they look uniform the entire way, they actually vary in height due to the undulations of the land.

The five of us on a day trip to nearby Cittadella. Stefan, son of Andrea and Hermann, joined us.

We walked town; visited a few churches; photographed some sights. We drank some coffees; ate seafood in the market; had aperetivi under a colonnade. It was a big wonderful day, and it had an unfortunate story to sour it at the end. Perhaps a story to share in person, not delve in to here. It was not a friendship strain, something that affected us as a group. It took a few days for us to move on from it.