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So we got back from the bike ride and Dave uttered those inimitable (!!!) words, “Darling, shall we pop over to the cocktail bar for one ?”
The “cocktail bar” was a wooden hut 15 feet from our van and there was only one other chap there initially – Luca.
We started off with a red-coloured vodka (me) and rum (Dave) both with sprite… Massive (Spanish-style) measures…
What I’ve never noticed in England (and I’m not saying they don’t exist) is floral trees – and there was loads as we cycled around the lake – so when I noticed one at the cocktail bar, I had to get a photo !!!
I then switched to “Gin-Lemon” as Rino (the bar tender) was pushing it (probably had a job-lot !!!)
A few other peeps turned up (only one lady – Vita – piccie with her below) – who – by the wonder of the Google-Translate app – I managed to have a conversational with – and she was “finding herself” – from what I could gather, she’d done a Shirley Valentine – good luck to her !!!
Also below is a photo with Jordano – who I liked because he was the only one who went to Mass regularly 🙏 !!!
Suffice to say that and Dave had to remind me this morning about the pizza 🍕 that they shared with us and I cannot remember going home 🥴 xxx 💋💗

• Location: 45° 48′ 56.23″ N 9° 24′ 5.02″ E

So we packed a picnic and trundled off on the bikes round the lake.
It was a bank holiday (15th August) – the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Catholics believe she was taken up to heaven BODY and soul) and as Italy 🇮🇹 is a Catholic country…
So everybody was out but nowhere felt rammed – families having picnics, at the (several) parks around the lake, people fishing or just mooching around and enjoying the day…
There was a safe cycle path around most of the lake, it was hot 🥵 so it was nice to feel the breeze – and the views – as ever – were amazing 💋💗 xxx

• Location: 45° 51′ 26.76″ N 9° 23′ 2.84″ E

So one of these photies is already on Facebook but basically on Wednesday we left Lake Lugano and tried to drive into the centre of Como but it was an absolute nightmare – absolutely zero places to park…
So we drove further to a place called Garlate and ended on a fab little site right on the lake – with a view of the lake from The Van.
Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y and Como (the city) is at the bottom left hand stalk and Lake Garlate is just under the bottom right hand stalk (I repeat – my Geography knowledge knows no bounds 😂😂😂)…
We had a LUVLEY BBQ tea and then took a bottle of wine to the lakeside (about 20 feet away) and just took in the idyllic view until it went dark 🌙 …
Idyllic that is until I realised that I had been breakfast, dinner and tea for the b@… mosquitos 🦟 🦟 🦟 !!! Xxx 💗💋

• Location: 45° 48′ 58.58″ N 9° 24′ 2.71″ E

So due to technical reasons (or possibly because I was hammered when editing the post) I lost this so am quickly re-doing it but it should be before the Lake Lugano post…
Below is Heidi (the owner of the Interlaken campsite that Dave has been visiting for years on his motorcycle), the view from our pitch and the 3 mountains 🏔 famous in that area – The Eiger, The Monch and The Jungfrau (the highest mountain in Europe).
From our pitch we could see The Eiger and The Monch and I loved to look up and even though it was (sometimes !!!) boiling 🥵 on the ground I could still see the snow capped mountains 🏔 xxx 💋💗

• Location: 46° 40′ 18.89″ N 7° 49′ 4.96″ E

My Geography is coming on in leaps and bounds on this trip !!!
So I thought “The Lakes” were in Italy 🇮🇹 but no there are some in Switzerland 🇨🇭 too 😂😂😂 and we ended up at Lake Laguna – which is in-between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como…
We attempted to drive into the centre but there was simply nowhere to park The Van so because we were still in Switzerland, we ended up at a TCS campsite at the bargain price (NOT) of 69 Swiss francs for one bleedin’ night !!! THEN – to add insult to injury – we popped into the on-site shop and ended up paying a further 30 for 2 bottles of wine !!!
We then hopped on the bikes and found an Aldi next door selling wine for 4.95 🙂 Bad planning or what !!!
So we had a little ride around the lake and it was very tranquil… 💗💋 xxx

• Location: 45° 58′ 47.35″ N 8° 53′ 41.15″ E

Our last day in Interlaken was due to be damp so we said we’d catch the bus into town and do some shopping 🛍…
Traditionally Cuckoo Clocks are associated with The Black Forest 🌳 and we looked at every single one (really, we did) whilst we were there…
The main jobbies have long chains hanging down which you have to pull to wind the clock up either once a day – or with the bigger clocks, once every 8 days. Now (once we’d warmed to the idea of actually possibly getting one) we knew that our cats 🐈 (Arthur & Babe) would attack the chains…
So they also make battery operated cuckoo clocks and the added advantage of these is that they have 12 tunes (the manual ones only one or sometimes two tunes) which play after the cuckoo chirps AND there is a switch on the side to silence the music and or the cuckoo !!!
I initially REALLY wanted “The Kissing Couple” (smaller) clock but it simply wasn’t good value compared to the larger “Children On The See-Saw” clock. Dave wanted a nice roof and a water wheel – which they both had… What finally swung it was that there is space for me to pop a small nativity scene on there at Christmas 🎄 🎅 plus the discount the shopkeeper applied – along with free shipping !!!
We also bought a cow bell to hang outside out front door at home (as I haven’t had a doorbell since I got a new front door 2 years ago !!!) and then had a mooch around some pretty gardens – check out the big clock in the middle of the flowerbed below…

The one we didn’t buy…

… and the one we did !!! xxx

• Location: 46° 41′ 1.17″ N 7° 51′ 7.08″ E

Sunday was going to be the last sunny 😎 day so set an alarm ⏰, got up, showered and on the bikes cycling into town to make 10am Mass.
It was a sparsely decorated church with only a couple of modern stained glass windows but a lovely service with 1 x English reading and 5 x hymns 🎵 – one of which was the tune of “All People That On Earth Do Dwell” so I got stuck in and had a good sing !!! The great thing about the German 🇩🇪 language is that you you pronounce all the letters so I also had a good go at the other hymns too !!!
Then we locked the bikes up at the nearby railway station and hopped on a train to Grindelwald which was a pretty little town nestled in a valley being overlooked by The Eiger 🏔
I had dashed off with no breakfast so was starving so we found an idyllic little place overlooking the valley and snow-capped mountains… 💋💗 xxx

• Location: 46° 37′ 24.08″ N 8° 2′ 26.73″ E

So opposite the campsite there were some moo-cows 🐄 and you could hear the tinkle of their cowbells… > > They apparently wear them to deter predators, do the herd is easier to locate – and some say that they find it soothing to know where their mates are – awww 🥰 💋💗 xxx

• Location: 46° 41′ 0.99″ N 7° 49′ 48.59″ E

So here is a video showing the (shiny) workings of the engine…

We kept a constant check on the weather (as Interlaken has its own climate) and Saturday was supposed to be a complete washout all day.
So we had a lay-in but then it unexpectedly cleared up just before lunch so we hopped on the bikes and headed the opposite way to town – not really knowing where we’d end up.
We sort of followed the lakeside, went through a wood and suddenly came to a clearing where a paddle steamer was arriving.
We asked if we could bring the bikes on and they said yes but that it was going to cost 8 CHF (Swiss Francs – about £6.80) per bike if we left them “erect” but if we collapsed them – they would be free !!! It was mad because even after Dave collapsed them they took up just about the same amount of space !!!
The boat was built in 1906 (check out the date on the bell 🔔) and was kept pristine. Lovely polished decks, a waitered restaurant and bar and Dave particularly enjoyed the engine which was on display showing polished moving parts – short video to follow in next post…
It was about a half hour trip to Interlaken and then it ended up being totally free !!!
We did a little bit of shopping and then stopped off for a wee, a custard doughnut and a cup of tea at the Coop !!! 💋💗 xxx