Turning 40 in Style

After being shown the ropes by our AirBnB owner Rosanna we wandered along the lake as they had a market on showcasing food and produce from the Piedmont region. We fell in love with some local salami and ended up going through that on the first night, luckily the market was still going the next day and we bought more. 

We walked down to where the cable car used to run from (it is getting repaired and should be operational again by July), along the way getting some great snaps of the 3 Borromean Islands, Isola Bella, Madre and Superiore.

The cobbled town centre was the next destination on our wanders. It is a beautiful little area of narrow streets filled with restaurants, shops (particularly clothes and leather goods) and of course Gelaterias. Straight away we found our favourite Gelateria. If you wander the back streets more you can find out more of where the locals hang out playing bocce. 

The next day was Kylie's 40th and of course Mother's Day. It was great to look out across the lake from the comfort of the bed. Here in Stresa they were having the I Love Mumma festival in the pedestrian centre of town. It seems every where we have gone we have come across a festival.

For lunch we headed out on a ferry to Isola Superiore or as it is now known, Isola Pescatori. It is only a small island that is cram packed with lakeside restaurant and hotels. We booked in to one of the highest rated restaurants on trip advisor, Hotel Belvedere restaurant.  Whilst the meal was good I didn't find it as spectacular as I was hoping. But the views are amazing. The highlight for the kids were the fact that there was a cat wandering around and also when the lady on the table across from us spilt red wine all over her partner. Thankfully he had a sense of humour and laughed along with the kids. 

That evening we headed back into the town centre and they had a number of singers performing outside some of the restaurants. We ended up drinking beer and cocktails on the street (oh how much more relaxed the liquor licensing is here) whilst the kids danced around the some classic English songs. It was a nice way to end Kylie's 40th.