It’s been a cold and dreary week in Quebec City. After a warm and mostly sunny summer, it really felt like the local climate was urging us on vacation with a week of cold and rainy weather. However, the sunny and warm adjacent (20ºC) day was a nice touch see us off.
Our vacation started after we dropped off the cats at the 5-star hotel that my aunt’s condo is for them: she’ll fuss over their every need for the next 4 weeks. We walked down to our favourite coffee shop (📍deTerroir café), then stopped at a nearby restaurant for brunch (📍Le Hobbit). Brunch at noon is what most people call lunch and what we call breakfast while on vacation. Mind you, it’s not because we’re some kind of vacation intermittent fasting weirdos. It’s just hard to eat before noon if you get out of bed at 11:00.
After a quick stop at the bakery (📍Pâtisserie Chouquette) for one of their soft, gooey, sweet and salty chocolate cookies, we made our way back home to grab our bags and head to the airport and the obligatory person in the security line who’s surprised they can’t bring a gallon of shampoo and their Crocodile Dundee knife in their carry-on. While I do not judge them for needing those things, whatever makes their trip better is something they should bring. I, however, judge them hard for not knowing about a more than two decades-old regulation (yes, the day airline rules got over the top was almost 23 years ago).
The trip to the lakes region of Italy starts with a series of flights that will bring us to Switzerland. And, air travel being the efficient thing that it is, it begins by going 731 kilometres the wrong way, to Toronto. For the second time in more than 15 years of vacation travel, we were picked up by Air Canada’s concierge service and driven to the Lounge.
We still don't understand what gets us that privilege and, while I know it comes from a desire to add a little something to our trip, it does feel very privileged to be driven in a Porsche SUV to avoid a 10-minute walk. It’s not like the point of our vacation is eating and walking everywhere to spend those calories after all.
The stop by the Signature Lounge and the very insistent attendant that we drink all the wine and eat all the food was much more on par with our travel style. It also made a good ingerlude before the seven and a half hour flight to Zurich and the second part of the first day of our vacation.
First stop in Switzerland: brunch! Like the army, we travel on our stomach. We planned a 3-hour layover in the center of Zurich before boarding our train to Lugano, just enough time to walk a little, eat an excellent meal at 📍Babu’s and have plenty of coffee. Coffee is a pleasure and a survival need on 3 hours of sleep. Without it, people’s survival might be at risk.
Well fed we hopped on the three-hour train to Lugano. The views on the train ride where majestic. Small lakes or rivers nestled in valleys with green mountains on all sides. Other than the occasional long tunnel it was a great prologue to Lugano. At first glance, with our caffeinated but sleep addled brains, Lugano is quite charming. Built along the slopes of the not quite alps (more commonly known as the prealps), the region has been inhabited since the stone age but settled as a trading post between Como and Milan in 984.
The Swiss sense of being orderly and on time is very present but signs and most food is Italian (you’ll find soft pretzel next to prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches). In Italy, one usually dines after 21:00 and the meal will take at least two hours. In Lugano, Switzerland, you can get the same Italian food from Italian speaking locals but it’ll take you less half that time to eat. The perfect combo for us today.
We had diner, walked until sunset and headed to our apartment to rest and conclude that very first and very long day.
Places
deTerroir café · Québec City, Quebec
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Le Hobbit · Québec City, Quebec
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Pâtisserie Chouquette · Québec City, Quebec
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Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse · Zürich
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