Orta San Giulio to Cannobio

May 30, 2022

We started the day with the breakfast buffet at the hotel. I hadn’t booked this when I made the reservation, not wanting to commit to a 15€ per per person breakfast. However… Our room has an electronic key card, the kind you need to put into a slot to get lights in the room. But when you do that, the TV also comes on with a loop advertising features of the hotel. When Al saw the breakfast buffet, or more specifically the omelette station, he decided we were having the hotel breakfast. It was good, but a bit of a splurge. As was the hotel, really, but I got a decent room rate by booking early.

This should have been in yesterday’s post. Evening view from the hotel roof deck.

Part of the breakfast buffet. A seven- to eight-jammer, but this being Italy, not that much jam.

We were on the road shortly after 9 and ahead of most of the traffic. The ride to Omegna park as actually pretty nice, trending downhill and on nice new asphalt. Once we got to Omegna, though, the on-ramp to the main highway, the one with the long tunnel, was closed. We weren’t planning to take it, but this meant that those who were were now on the other roads through with us—at least as far as the autoroute access at the far end of Omegna. There was also road work with single lane alternating traffic. And the grade was downhill. We hadn’t expected Lago d’Orta to be higher than Lago Maggiore, but it seems it is.

A few km before Verbania, we saw a bike path and decided to take it as far as it went. It started paved, then we were on an unpaved path beside a river, then an access road through a nature reserve. When we finally popped back out on the highway, there was a new-looking wide bike/pedestrian path alongside. There was also a long queue of vehicles on the highway due to another single-lane-alternating section for replacing. We cruised on by and the bike path continued on other forms all the way around Verbania’s point into Lago Maggiore.

We finally had to ride on the highway again but it wasn’t too bad. The vast majority of drivers passed with adequate space and patience. The road was narrow, though, so although riding was okay, there weren’t many places to stop and take photos.

First view of Lago Maggiore. Doesn’t look that enticing, does it? The weather improved as the day went on.

The Cannero Riviera cemetery has a nice location.

Al took this photo that shows not only how narrow the highway is, but why it is.

We arrived in Cannobio an hour before our room would be ready so wandered around a bit and had lunch at a restaurant on the promenade. I had something I hadn’t seen before, pinsa romana, sort of like pizza but not quite.

Later, after checking in and relaxing a while, we went fir a short explore and a very delicious dinner. We lucked out; the restaurant, recommended by our host, is highly regarded, affordable, and small. We enquired, but tonight was fully booked. While the server we were speaking with went in search of the reservation book, he learned someone had cancelled and we benefited. Lucky us!

Al had spaghetti alla scoglio. This time, it came not only with a bowl for the shells, but a bib for the diner.

Al asked if I’d like to share a dessert. I said yes, but I’d share it like he shared. You mean 70-30? Yes. He ordered his own dessert. This is mine, bonèt, a Piemontese specialty.

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Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 1,301 km (808 miles)

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