My hubby and daughter have nicknamed me ‘Lisa Where’s-my-phone Last-minute.com Monticelli’, a name which I thought was only half true (the phone part – that little device is nearly impossible to keep track of), until Friday night when I grabbed my purse and my hubby (notice I didn’t say phone) and headed for the nearest SBB office with the intention of taking up a special offer to buy a day ticket to anywhere in Switzerland which was going to expire in the next 48 hours, a special that has been running for the last 2 months.

With no idea of where we were headed, we asked the lady at the counter if she could recommend anything worth seeing and nearly ended up with a 12-hour-return ticket through the mountains on the Bernina Express before we remembered that we have a dog. Plan B involved opening a map of Switzerland and pointing to a destination which we had not yet explored … Ascona, Lugano!!!

Ascona is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore in the Canton of Ticino and as soon as you step off the bus you are welcomed with palm trees, rolling hills, colourful houses, cute little cafe’s overlooking the lake, narrow cobblestone streets, and warm sunshine. Not only are you greeted by the friendly Italian-speaking locals but it feels like the landscape is shouting “Benvenuti in Paradiso!”

  • If there’s water, she will find it!

After lunch in one of the gorgeous little cafe’s along the shoreline, sharing what can only be described as the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, we discussed where our next destination should be. The local trains weren’t running which meant that we had to head out of Lugano on a bus and our travel time would increase significantly. Whilst Benito scanned a map of the area, I got out my secret weapon and the only way to find beautiful travel destinations … Instagram! (Also, the more exotic the name, the more beautiful the destination.)

Our next stop … Lavatezzo!

I’m starting to think that the ‘last-minute.com’ thing was actually meant as a compliment and if it means days like this, then I’ll keep it!

Shout-out to this little pooch who has got to be the best little travel companion ever… yesterday, she traveled on 8 busses and 4 trains for a total of 7 hours, cuddled up at my feet and every time it was time to get up and go, she’d look at me, wag her tail and jump into action eager to go on the next adventure. Someone is going to be very lucky one day!

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