Airolo to Como

It was a long ride today but fortunately I felt much better, still a bit bleugh in the morning, but paracetamol and electrolyte combo seemed to work and the legs mostly cooperated.

The morning started with a lovely descent through the mountains with hardly any traffic, a big relief after yesterday.

Switzerland isn’t all beautiful mountains and chocolate box houses, much of the valley areas are industrial and crowded so I thought I would add some editorial balance to the photos!

The lakes however are just stunning and we rode around the edge of Lake Maggiore and crossed the border into Italy. I had carefully filled in the Italian passenger locator form online but we crossed in out of Italy and Switzerland three times without even a glance in my direction.

Lunch was a picnic by Lake Maggiore, followed by a rolling ride through wooded hills to Lake Lugano.

I was really surprised by the lack of traffic and potholes on the Italian roads!

As we approached Como, it got a bit busier but I think the timing was good judging by all of the full restaurants. I checked in and was very tempted to conk out on the huge bed but I looked up ‘gelato’ on Google maps and it was impossible to resist..

Pistachio, white chocolate & strawberry cheesecake - epic level gelato!

Como was full of stylish Italians doing a Sunday afternoon stroll, a lovely atmosphere but hopefully it will be much quieter for a proper explore on my rest day tomorrow, in between essential naps.