Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

During my last few days in Switzerland, snow started to fall closer to Zurich and my sister and I took a drive into the hills in search of photo opportunities. Living in South Africa, we are not exposed to a whole lot of snow and I have never walked in, touched or played in proper snow. I was in such awe! It was the highlight of my trip and a supreme delight to experience real snow for the first time in my life. The stunning beauty and silence of it on the one hand and the uncomplicated fun on the other hand - nature truly is wonderful. Now for the first time do I understand the obsession people have with skiing and snowboarding - it must be absolutely awesome!

Gotthard Pass

When we travelled from Zurich to Lugano, we took the Gotthard Road Tunnel which, at 16km, is the third longest road tunnel in the world. This tunnel provides a much faster link between central Switzerland and Milan than the Gotthard pass.

On the way back though, we decided to take the Gotthard Pass instead as it promised to be a beautiful drive through the Swiss Alps. Not being a huge fan of heights and feeling a little weary of slippery icy roads, I was not too sure how much I would enjoy the excursion, but it was worth every nail I chewed off!

Lake Como and surrounds

After a day and a half around Lake Lugano, we decided to cross the border to Italy and explore Lake Como. One of the reasons that Lake Como is so famous is that George Clooney owns a house here. Unfortunately I didn't get to see either George or his house - next time girls ;)

More of Carona

Lake Lugano and Carona

So after a few days in and around Zurich, we took a drive to the south of Switzerland where we stayed in a tiny village called Carona high up in the hills surrounding Lake Lugano. My sister told me that we would be entering the Italian part of Switzerland, but I didn't realise just how Italian it would be! Suddenly all you hear is Italian, all you see is Italian, and all you eat is Italian (yum ). The architecture is also completely different and so many beautiful textures and colours - I was in photographer's heaven!