SwissMissMeg

In late March, I was fortunate to have my good friends from Istanbul visit me in Ticino. Tracey and Zach flew in for a long weekend, their first visit to Switzerland! It was incredibly fun to see them again. They spoiled me rotten, bringing the best that Pazartürk has to offer – dried apricots, grilled olives, dates, and pistachio lokum. All the delicious treats of Turkey!

Some of you may remember Zach and his mom Tracey from my old blog, The Turquoise Chronicles. Neighbors in Bahçeşehir, we grew very close over my two years in Turkey. I was incredibly lucky to have their unwavering support during my recovery from knee surgery last spring, with Zach coming over to care for Moloko and me each day after school. He and Mol always had a great rapport and, as you can see, their reunion was quite sweet. Zach designed one of his infamous toy chutes for Mol, Swiss-style!

With the visit on the books since early in the school year, I was eager to show them around my new spot. Starting strong at the Saturday market in Bellinzona, pork and cheese topped the list for obvious reasons. After securing the goods, we walked the edge of the castle. The clouds put on a show on this windy but beautiful day.

We grabbed a grocery store picnic lunch and drove on towards Valle Verzasca. The valley is a gorgeous spot where crystal clear mountain streams flow past boulders smoothed over the course of millennia. Mountains envelope the valley, reaching heights of 8,000 feet at their peak. At the base of the park sits a massive dam, once featured in the James Bond film Golden Eye.

The BoBosco Trail was our goal – the discovery thanks to an Instagram reel T + Z had sent me long ago. The trail provides entertainment for younger hikers in the form of a life-size marble run. After purchasing a wooden ball from a vending machine in the parking lot, we headed downstream to the first spot, a chutes and ladders game replete with a slingshot. Zach seen here solving the puzzle at spot #2.

One surprise win for the weekend was a birds of prey show at the Locarno Falconeria. Though the show was narrated in Italian and German, it was exciting enough to hold our attention for the entire hour. The eagles and falcons whipped past just over our heads, quick enough to feel their wind in our hair.

Perhaps the coolest of all was the Secretarybird. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, this bird walks on legs that look like chopsticks, strategic for stomping black mambas and cobras to death. Their name derives from the feathers that look like a quill tucked behind an ear.

Of course, no visit to Ticino would be complete without a sampling of the regional fare. My mission was to find fondue and raclette, traditional Swiss-German food typically served in the winter. As the season was drawing to a close, one solitary hotel in Lugano was still serving fondue. The decorated cabin on the edge of Lake Lugano was truly, as they say, a vibe! We had an awesome time dipping potatoes and bread into the cheese while playing a math game Zach had written out for us. He even included Mol, who received a score card in absentia.

We took a day trip to Milan to see the Duomo (their first time in Italy!). We treated ourselves to a pasta lunch in the galleria and Zach even spun three time on the bull’s testicles for good luck (click here to read about the tradition).

Stopping at Lake Como on the way home, we found the town already full of tourists. Still a cool town to check out, nevertheless, with its winding cobblestone streets. We wandered but faced huge lines at every gelato shop (a promised treat of the day). Thankfully, we found Vanini open back in Lugano – Zach’s first gelato!

All too soon it was time for T + Z to return to Istanbul. Mol and I were sad to see them go. Truly a privilege to have friends who are so wonderful that it leaves a hole when they’ve gone! I certainly hope this won’t be their last visit. Certainly plenty of good memories to last until we meet again…