Across the Border to Locarno

Weather-wise, this was simply a beautiful week in Italy.  The weather is perfectly spring-like, and John will soon have to revive the lawnmower and tend to our yard.  We're amazed at how quickly Thomas is progressing with reading at school.  He brings home a few books (20 to 30 pages each) for homework each night, and is now able to breeze through most of them.  Sammy is doing well, and can't get enough of being outside.  

This weekend we took a short drive to the northernmost end of Lago Maggiore, and it was the first time we've been to that end of the lake.  We visited Locarno, Switzerland.  What a great and bustling little town.  Besides having a great lunch and exploring the streets and shops, we also did a lot of sigthseeing.  We rode a funicular to a vista overlooking Locarno and visited the Madonna del Sasso sanctuary.  The town was full of people from all over Europe, many seemed to be on holiday and were passing through the town.  Also, although Italian is the primary language in this part of Switzerland, there was an incredible amount of German spoken (and virtually no English).  All in all, it was a great day (made better by the near-perfect weather).