2. 'This place beats paradise all to hell.'

13 July 2026

My birthday! And what a wonderful place to celebrate!

It had been very disconcerting last week when bombing between Iran and the United States resumed in the Middle East, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz. We had been booked to travel on Qatar Airways with a stop in Doha, so the last few days before flying were a little stressful as I wondered whether our flights would be changed at the last minute. Despite the conflict, our flights are uneventful and arrive on time.

At Milan airport we almost immediately find our driver, who quickly leads us and another couple to a van. I had sort of expected a 43 seater bus to carry the vast numbers of tourists who had taken advantage of this offer, so having a private driver to take us from Milan to our hotel on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Baveno is an unexpected bonus. Although we do not see central Milan, our drive through the outskirts of the city is interesting as we pass by ancient churches, modern blocks of flats, and various other buildings until we leave the city behind. I do not expect to see dense rainforest-like vegetation as we head towards the mountains. At this time of the year, the green bush is interspersed with pink and white oleander, providing a colourful vista through the window. We travel on smooth highways that we can only dream about in Australia, and in concrete tunnels that bore through mountains, carrying us quickly and safely to our destination.

Arriving just after 8:00 AM means we cannot access our room until about 2:30 PM but that is not a huge problem. The grounds of Hotel Splendid on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Baveno are beautifully kept and we manage to find a table under a tree, a morning breeze gently cooling the air. I cannot recall a day of such perfection.

I'm surprised at how hazy it is. The distant mountains are layered in various shades of blue, their sharp edges softened, almost disappearing in the haze.

It's not hard to sip coffee and watch bright yellow seaplanes circle over the top of us before losing altitude and briefly landing on the water before taking off again.

I watch families paddling in the shallow water. The beach is not sandy at all here, but is made up of smallish rocks, which must be hard to walk on. Paddle-boards riders and kayakers use their oars in perfect synch as they glide across the surface of the lake.

Over on the other side of the lake, villas and other larger buildings are dotted up the steep hills, whilst a mountain just on the other side of the hotel is scarred and scratched by a yellow earthmover that works at extracting the pink granite that is prevalent in this area as a building material. Baveno pink granite is used across the world and had been famously used in L'Opera Paris; the pink columns originated from this very quarry.

It is a lazy type of a day. We did start to venture out beyond the walls of the hotel, but scurried back, as after a lengthy plane journey of just under twenty-four hours, I am too tired to fully appreciate the beauty surrounding me. Today, I am happy to take a mental snapshot of the scenery and to view it from a distance. We will have time tomorrow and the day after to immerse ourselves in these immaculate surroundings.

Title quote: Ernest Hemingway