Lugano was actually a quaint little town which happened to be at the strategic southern tip of Switzerland, right by the Italian border. The language they spoke there was Italian, and so were the signage. This'd driving into Switzerland proper from Italy would have to go through this town and clearly, during the summer months, with the lake and plenty of hot sunshine meant that the town was more like in Spain rather than Switzerland.
On the day I arrived, I could see people sun bathing in the sun. It was that hot.
Another aspect of the town was the fact that it was hilly. Very hilly. With the town centre - where the congress was held - located in the valley by the lake. My hotel, on the other hand was right on top of a hill - it felt more like a mountain. It took a 40 minutes bus ride to get to and from the hotel, which only ran hourly. And the last bus being at 7 pm!
Although the town centre was in the valley, the hill came right near the edge of the lake, creating a steep incline. Walking around the town then became a challenge. Most of the residential area were zoned at the hill edges, connected by winding series of road snaking up the mountains.
The hills also became the attractions of the town. There were many fonecular train taking us up the hills, and we took one yesterday. As the main train terminal were also up the hill, there was a small train leading up to it right from from within the shopping centre. Quite fun actually.
Walking around would take some stamina. And as the commercial area were on the flatter part of town, space was at a premium. This meant that the streets were narrow and walking around would bring surprise as you'd never guess what would be behind the corner for visitors with a camera like me.
I was there during the beginning if summer and the start of the Lakeside Festival. There were concerts and other activities being planned for the months and the city looked lively when I was there. I got some extra information when I spoke to an English student doing some waitressing job there during the summer. She told me about the festivals and places to go to. Unfortunately, today was the last day I would be in town and I already had the day planned out for me.
To be honest, there was plenty to discover in this interesting and picturesque little town. I wished that I stayed near the city centre as I SaaS sure there was plenty more to explore there given the time. I would blog about the Congress separately as I felt that I learned a lot at the meetings. Something that I should vesit maybe once every four or six years - the meeting was held every couple of years. Puan Anita had told me that she would be tagging along the next time I were to come here. She had been here before - with me back in 1996, but we only just passed through the town then en route to Lucerne.
