Audrey Takes on Lugano

Audrey, a friend from Colgate who is teaching English in Dijon, came to visit this past weekend! I was lucky enough to visit her in October and this time around she got to see Lugano. It's great having a friend living abroad at the same time because although in different countries, we have similar experiences. Audrey arrived Thursday afternoon with the snow and left Sunday morning with more snow. She was way too kind and brought me delicious French food such as macaroons, Dijon Mustard and the most amazing Fig bread that we discovered when I was in Dijon.

Snowy Lugano

Friday we started the morning at Grand Cafe Al Porto, because no Lugano trip is complete without it. We had coffee, tea and pastries while we chatted. After, we went to the Museo Cantonale d'Arte in Lugano where they were having a special exhibition, "enoisullillusione" (and we illusion) by Mariapia Borgnini, a contemporary Ticinese artist. The exibit was a mix of photos, videos, drawings and sound that represented the uncertainty of an individual's relationship with the outside world. Many of the pieces were in Italian, so it was good practice translating [almost] everything into English for Audrey. Borgnini's exhibit was extremely interesting and we really enjoyed it.

Audrey & I in Lugano

Luckily, the snow stopped and we had a beautiful afternoon complete with blue skies. We were able to walk around the city and through the park enjoying the scenery. For lunch, we enjoyed amazing pizza from Gabbani while looking out over the lake. We then went to the Lugano Art Gallery to see a Marc Chagall exhibit. Chagall, one of the most successful artists of the 20th century, created works on almost every medium in bright, vivid colors. In addition to his paintings, he created many stained glass windows, including one in the Union Church in Pocantico Hills, NY! The gallery was tiny but filled with a wide range of his paintings.

In the Park

Saturday we heading to the Alprose Chocolate Factory, a 30 minute train ride from the city. Sadly, they don't make chocolate on Saturdays but, we could still see the machines and the chocolate museum. Audrey was able to bring local Swiss made chocolate back to France, a total necessity when one visits Switzerland!

Dinner Saturday was Raclette, a traditional Swiss dish, consisting of cheese, potatoes, dried meat, mini corn, gherkins and raclette spice. Raclette derives from the French word, racler, "to scrape." The cheese round is melted in a machine and scraped onto your plate, over the potatoes. It is served with white wine and not water or other drinks, because according to local tradition, water causes the cheese to harden in your stomach.

Raclette from Giardino Ristorante

Sunday morning, we awoke to a blizzard and Audrey hopped on the train to head back to Dijon. It was great to see her and I can't believe the weekend is already over. Next time we see each other will be back in the US!